...or maybe it is. Today was all about Kansas, starting from the west end, and finally ending over the Missouri border on the east end. This rest area where we stayed was very quiet; I don’t think people have figured out that the loop to the picnic area and the dump station serves as a perfect overnight spot, away from the truck lanes and the freeway. It was cold again, nineteen degrees, which just makes you want to curl up and stay in bed under the blankets.
First stop was in nearby Goodman, which sports one of three “world’s largest” Van Gogh Paintings. This painting (a reproduction) can be seen from the freeway, but we stopped here to take a picture to add to our
World’s Largest collection.
Leaving here, we immediately lost an hour, crossing into the Central time zone, and traveled on I-70 until US-24 branched off. We were all too happy to take the more minor road. Listed as a scenic route in our atlas, it goes through lots of farmland and small towns. Deb found a quote in the Kansas tour guide book which resonated with us both:
Interstate highways are like hit singles--big sellers with successful formulas that appeal to mainstream audiences. Scenic byways are like album cuts--deep tracks underappreciated by the masses yet treasured by connoisseurs.
Driving 65 is a much more pleasant experience than driving 65 on the interstate. With a speed limit of 75 (or 80 in Utah), cars and trucks blow by on the interstate, and I am probably an annoyance to them. On the minor roads, I am often all alone and can pull off whenever and wherever I wish.
Our first pull-off was in Nicodemus at the Nicodemus National Historic Site. This little town was founded by former slaves in 1877 and was the first western town built by and for Black settlers. This town is still largely populated by direct descendants of those settlers, or still own the land even though they live somewhere else. We talked with the ranger who happened to be there for a meeting, even though the buildings were closed. He told us that the Park Service would like to make some renovations to the buildings, but the owners have no desire to sell. So some of the buildings remain in sorry condition, ravaged by the elements. One of these is the First Baptist Church, which still retains one of its original limestone walls from the 1800’s.
As we walked through the town, it was eerily quiet. There seemed to be no one here. We were followed, however, by six cats who came out, begging for attention.
Cawker City was the next stop as it had another item to add to the World’s Largest list. This town boasts the world’s largest ball of twine. Containing over 8.5 million feet of twine and weighing over 27,000 pounds, this ball of twine grows every year in the summer when the community adds to it. They’ve been doing this since it was created in 1951.
This is a rather interesting little town. Coming in, we noticed a lot along the road with rows of old cars, paint long gone, and another lot with several old tractors. Across from the ball of twine was a restored gas station called The Old Station Inn. We were looking at this when we were approached by a guy who was working on the building next door to the gas station. We struck up a conversation and discovered that the lots of old cars and old tractors, this gas station, another gas station, and several other parcels in town were all owned by the same person. Our bearded friend was a carpenter who was hired by this guy to fix up some of these buildings to use as hotel rooms or AirBnb’s for hunters and fishermen that came to this area to hunt birds or fish in the nearby lake.
He showed us the inside of the gas station. It was made into a tiny hotel-type room with an adjoining bathroom and another bed hung as a loft near the ceiling. All done very nicely. The building next door will eventually also join the available places to stay, and he was busy adding ornate ceiling treatments and wainscoting, pocket doors and wood floors.
Very interesting guy to talk to. He told us to check out the other gas station down the street. “I fixed up that one. If the blinds are up, just go on in because nobody is there,” he said. “It’s never locked.” We looked but didn’t enter. The blinds were down.
Deb asked him if there were donuts available in this town. He just laughed. “You won’t find them anywhere. Except maybe at Dollar General,” he told us. We had a hankering for a good donut but were unsuccessful in finding a suitable bakery, even in the larger towns along this route. And the Dollar General donuts were probably on par with Hostess Twinkies for satisfying that hankering. So today was a donut-less day.
We did a drive-by viewing of Rock City. It is the only place in the world where so many concretions of such size were found in one area. Having just been in the canyons of Utah, these looked like fat little pancakes.
We had a couple things to get at Ikea in Kansas City. Since we were running a little late and would not make it there before it closed if we continued on this route, we rejoined I-70. Aside from eating dinner in a rest area, we made no more stops. This was the one time when I drove the speed limit. 75 miles per hour seems very fast in a motorhome, plus it really reduces the fuel mileage, so I was glad when we arrived at Ikea, 20 minutes before closing. We got our stuff, including 21 chocolate bars to replenish our supply, and headed north on I-35 with the intention of leaving the interstate soon after leaving the city.
We found a Cracker Barrel just north of downtown Kansas City and decided to stop for the night.
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