[I just wrote a good chunk of this post, but when I tried to preview it, this stupid new "interface" deleted everything. Because the coders consider this program to be post-production phase, nobody is paying attention to comments from users any more. I wrote asking questions, but the only answers were from the pre-interface-change time. Given the problems these changes are causing with photo and text placement, I'm getting so frustrated I'm actually considering moving to another platform. But having enough to worry about right now, I'll just keep trying to cope and appreciate you hanging in despite my occasional gripes.]
Dodge City KOA, Dodge City
Wednesday, 30 September 2020
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| today's route |
I'm back on the Santa Fe Trail again. This is the same road I drove when I first came into Colorado, only now I'm going in the opposite direction, of course.
A Scissortail Flycatcher flew across the road in front of us. I love seeing them.
We got to Las Animas, elev. 3,901', which I'd forgotten having seen until we got to the courthouse. I mentioned it a month ago because I thought it was so beautiful, and this time I went around a few blocks so I could get in a position to take the photo I didn't have time for last time, and you can judge for yourself.
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| Bent County Courthouse |
When we stopped at Lamar, elev. 3,622', and got out for a walk, I could see the Front Range (Denver, etc.) area in the distance that seemed to be shrouded in smoke. It reminded me that on this morning's TV weather report, almost all they talked about was the smoke from wildfires that was blanketing the area. In fact, station staff were complaining about the smoke getting into the station.
I stopped here especially because of 2 statues I remembered seeing when we went though before but not finding online photos of. The first was in what's called Bi-Centennial Park.
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| Prairie Wings by Justin Young, 1986 |
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| a closer view |
While the dogs and I walked around the small park, we were entertained by the fire station across the street, which brought outside every vehicle it owned, complete with sirens sounding, apparently in order to park them outside. Maybe they wanted to sweep the floor? I couldn't see any other reason.
The other statue was harder for me to find because it was too obvious, I guess. It stands right on the main street of town, but I had to go back to hunt for it once I realized I'd gone too far without seeing it.
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| Madonna of the Trail NSDAR Memorial to the Pioneer Mothers of the Covered Wagon Days |
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| There were inscriptions on the other 3 sides - this is one of them. |
Speaking of lack of strength, as we continued down the road, still heading east, I was finding the stench of manure so overwhelming that I was getting sick. All day we've been passing large feed lots, with the stench getting inside the RV for a while each time.
Just before we got to Lamar, we passed another one, and I guess it was the direction of the wind that not only dumped the smell into the RV but carried it into town. All the time we were walking, I was having trouble breathing because the smell was making me feel nauseated. As we left town, I realized I'd gotten a real headache that lasted for quite a few hours. Surely there's some better system to feeding cows than one that gasses out an entire town.
As we were coming into the town of Grenada, elev. 3,484', I saw a small sign showing where to turn for the Amache Historic Site, and something about it being a Japanese-American Detention Center. I wish I'd known it was there so I could have budgeted time to visit. But as far as I can tell, there isn't exactly anything still there. Well, I think the foundations and some things like that are still there, which is more than many of these detention centers had to go by when they tried to reconstruct them. But it seems to just be a location right now, and there's an effort underway to make it a genuine historic site where people can go and learn what happened there. Here are 2 links that give more information. https://www.npca.org/amache-an-american-story and http://exhibits.historycolorado.org/amache
We crossed the Arkansas River, which here is probably only about 6" deep. Sure there's been a drought this last summer in this area, but also it's coming closer to its source, before it gets many tributaries.
And finally we came to Holly, almost on the Kansas border. With an elevation of 3,392', Holly has the lowest elevation of any town in Colorado. We stopped here for some lunch and a walk, and I found the park we were walking in announced it hosts the Holly Days Bluegrass Festival on the 2nd weekend in June. It's held to commemorate Holly's recovery from the 1965 flood and was reluctantly canceled this year (virus) but will be back again next year.
While we were out, a roofing crew on the First Baptist Church across the street started operating a nail gun and Gracie nearly came unglued. That sound, like the sounds of a hammer and of a ball bouncing, cause some sort of visceral reaction in her that is instant and really powerful. All she wants is to get away from it, even if she thinks that means running in a direction that's the opposite of safety - for instance, she'll strongly resist going back to the RV if it means walking toward the sound to get there. I've had her almost as long as she lived in her first home and have seen zero change in her PTSD. I wish there were a dog equivalent for PTSD counseling.
And Welcome to Kansas. Actually I don't think there was a sign, but we're now in Kansas.
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| Kansas - my 27th state |
Not far from the border, I learned that lesson with the town of Coolidge, "since 1880," according to a sign in the town. Coolidge had fewer than 100 residents 10 years ago, but I can report it's still there.
I was still seeing signs for the Santa Fe Trail, occasionally telling me I was on the original route.
I came to the town of Syracuse, pop. about 2,000, which has a sign noting this town had the first all-woman city council in the United States - in 1887. When Kansas wrote its constitution in 1981, it allowed women to vote in local school district elections. In 1887, it amended the constitution to allow women to vote in municipal elections and hold local offices. A few weeks later is when the Syracuse council was elected. And in 1911, Kansas once again changed to allow women to vote and hold office in any position in the state; that's 8 years before the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed. I had no idea Kansas was so progressive on women's issues. Well, they're having some arguments right now about whether the state constitution allows abortions, which might make them legal here even if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Comparing the prices at Love's Travel Stops, gasoline is 50¢/gallon cheaper here than in Lamar, about 45 miles back down the road. Which is probably an indication of the gas tax in Colorado.
I haven't left feed lots behind, nor have I left the stench or the nausea. I'm a big fan of agriculture but, at the moment, I'd welcome some industrialization.
Central Time isn't defined by the state border in Kansas. Instead, it wanders around and even my electronics don't always know which zone I'm in. Here, I finally leave Mountain Time about 15 miles east of Syracuse.
I expected to see flat land, which I don't see here, but I do see some gently rolling hills and crop land and grazing land everywhere. Fields of maize growing. Oil wells here and there, some working and some not. But as I drove east the land did in fact start to get flatter.
Outside Holcomb I found an enormous Tyson plant with hundreds of cars in the parking lot. No question about which is the biggest employer in town.
Then Garden City, which seems to be quite large by western Kansas standards. It has about 27,000 folks here, and I guess I missed a highway sign telling me where to turn (Google's directions aren't reliable) because I found myself heading south, instead of east, toward a town I didn't want to go to.
I came to what I thought was a little-used road to pull off so we could take a walk and I could look at the map. We did those things, but I also saw several installations labeled "H(2)O Poisonous Gas" which I found unnerving. Doesn't that mean hydrogen sulfide gas? [I couldn't find a subscript setting to make that 2 look right.] The dogs and I were walking on intersecting dirt roads between corn fields, past a sign that said Huber Sand Inc. - and learned this wasn't a little-used road at all. Three dump trucks came past us, blowing up a bunch of dust and making me glad I'd parked the RV at the edge of the widest part of the road. Anyway, we got to stretch our legs, and the map told me I was right in thinking I'd made a wrong turn.
Across the street from this place was a large facility labeled DFA - Dairy Farmers of America - and I watched any number of tankers and big trucks turning in there.
We got on the right road and I found us blowing around with some really strong winds. Especially when the long stock trucks - the ones that have air slots all along their bodies - pass us, we get really thrown around. Those are much worse about it than a regular semi.
Around the town of Ingalls, it started to feel like Feed Lot Alley - one after the other after the other. I think it was there that I saw a ConAgra meat packing plant. Figures.
Finally we got to Dodge City, where the elevation is 2,493' - a thousand feet lower than in La Junta. I hope it helps my breathing. On the other hand, we still had some strong winds, which I felt like I'd been fighting all day. It makes sense, though, because US 50 is an east/west highway and the winds have been blowing across it all the way.
I was glad to be able to stop somewhere I knew we could rest a few days.
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