Day 51 – Garden City to Lakin, KS
Rick doesn’t waste any time. “I sure as hell hope you’re not a Democrat.” Portland’s reputation precedes it. “I love Trump,” he says, “and I know you probably think less of me for that.” I insist that my goal in being here is to talk with people who see things differently than I do, to […]
Days 49 & 50 – Ingalls & Garden City
“Despina,” Italo Calvino writes in his masterpiece (well, one of them anyway) Invisible Cities, “can be reached in two ways: by ship or by camel. The city displays one face to the traveler arriving overland and a different one to him who arrives by sea.” The camel driver sees “a ship; he knows it is […]
Days 47 & 48 – Fort Larned & Dodge City
For all of the signs announcing the historical trajectory of the Santa Fe Trail along my last two weeks of walking, outside of Council Grove the extant remnants of that past have often been quite minimal. I’m sure part of the responsibility for that is on me; I’m not going to make a multi-mile detour […]
Day 46 – Great Bend to Larned, KS
I have been, very gradually, working my way uphill across Kansas. Ottawa stands at 900 feet, Council Grove at 1230. McPherson hit 1500 feet, while Great Bend climbed up another 350. This ascent, if you can call it that, has been indiscernible in the walk, obscured by Kansas’s implacable flatness, but it’s far from over. […]
Day 45 – Lyons to Great Bend, KS
“Crackheads,” muttered Richard disparagingly, as two younger locals walked into Kat’s Korner in Chase, Kansas. I encountered Richard soon after strolling into the gas station mini-mart, as he lounged in a booth just inside the door. I grabbed a coffee and joined him, as he was eager to chat while waiting on his biscuits and […]
Day 44 – McPherson to Lyons, KS
First faucet? Padlocked shut. Second faucet? Ditto. Third? Same story. Bathrooms are locked tight, too. I’m in the municipal park in Windom, a surprisingly lovely place in this village, nestled among freshly plowed fields, and I’m fresh out of water. A preservative-rich bagel with peanut butter blends together like mortar in my parched mouth, but […]
Days 42 & 43 – Herington to McPherson, KS
Everybody wants to tell me I’m going the wrong way. The most recent example of this takes place in Tampa, Kansas, a village tucked alongside a train line, surrounded by expansive farms. I had just given up hope of making it to Durham, the next town, in time for lunch when I am pleasantly surprised […]
Day 41 – Council Grove to Herington, KS
I could safely shut off the gps today. While the Flint Hills Nature Trail will eventually extend from Council Grove to Herington (if you believe Google Maps, it already does!), it remains a work-in-progress for this volunteer-run organization. As such, the ADT’s approach to Herington is simple: follow Highway 56 from Council Grove directly to […]
Day 40 – Admire to Council Grove, KS
The first sign that you’re approaching Council Grove is a narrow stone tower, made all the more striking by the prevailing flatness of the scenery around it. That tower is the Kaw Indian Memorial, or the Allegawaho Park (depending on who you ask), and it is dedicated to the remains of the unknown Indian. The […]
Days 38 & 39 – Lawrence to Admire, KS
I had to fight myself for a bit to stick with the ADT leaving Lawrence. Why would this westbound walker want to suddenly turn left and head due south for some 28 miles? Madness! I realized, though, that the goal is to get walkers onto the Flint Hills Nature Trail, which originates in Ottawa, the […]