Rolling through Kansas

It was a little sad leaving the AirBnb in Denver that we had called home for seven months. We had sort of grown to like the place, cramped as it was. We don’t feel cramped in the RV. I don’t know why that is, but we’re very happy to be back in it and on the road again for a journey across the Midwest. First, though, we have to get through Kansas. At our speed that entails three nights.

First stop – a repeat in Goodland at the KOA. Goodland’s claim to fame is the huge Vincent Van Gogh replica painting that stands on a 80-foot high easel. I had Cal take a picture of little me for perspective.

Goodland is a tidy little town, with old houses on quiet streets that you can walk down the middle of and no one would care. On a previous visit we discovered that they have a cute historic downtown area. There’s also a tiny museum which, on the outside of its building, proclaims their other claim to fame: America’s first helicopter was patented here.

This time, we only walked as far as the restored White Eagle Gas Station.

Rod Cooper, who owns the Crazy R’s restaurant in town, moved the gas station as well as historic gas signs here from another location. Every town needs a visionary. His latest project is a huge historic home which he placed right next to the KOA. It’s still a work in progress.

Further down I-70 lies Wilson, Kansas. We discovered Wilson a few years ago when visiting the Garden of Eden in Lucas. Afterward, we had lunch at the “Made from Scratch” diner across from the grain silos in Wilson. It’s only open at lunch time and on certain days. A tradition was born. We try to stop whenever we venture across the Kansas prairie. It’s a good homestyle lunch with great pies and we always enjoy soaking up the local atmosphere: seeing all the farmers coming in to chew the fat with their buddies.

Tiny little Wilson RV Park, where we booked our stay this time, is a bit of a work in progress. Unfortunately we were here on a day when the diner was closed. They have problems finding help. Just when I resigned myself to having our leftovers for dinner, we discovered another Wilson restaurant which sits inside the 1899 limestone Midland Railroad Hotel.

This is called “The Sample Room”, in the basement of the hotel. You could guess that it’s named for attempts to try the samples of alcohol behind the bar. Actually, though, this hotel was once a popular railway stop between Kansas City and Denver. Salesmen would bring samples of their wares down here to try to score a sale. Cal and I watch “Antiques Road Show” and I’ve seen these samples. They are often intricate working miniatures of the real thing: windmills, tractors and other farm implements, as well as household items, which would fit in a small case.

Verdict: I think lunch at the Made from Scratch is more fun, and we love those pies, but our humble little plates of meat loaf and chicken fried chicken at the Sample Room were also delicious. Besides, one place is only open for lunch and the other place is only open for dinner.

Wilson is on the “Post Rock Byway”. Besides the pretty view of the hills and prairie on the road, you can also still see fences made from limestone on this road and also all over western Kansas. You can see two of these antique posts in this prairie view, as well as the modern barely visible windmills on the horizon. The past meets the future.

Early pioneers discovered that wood was not plentiful here, but limestone was. Besides being used for fencing still, these posts are included in landscaping everywhere. There was a pretty little garden outside the hotel using them as the legs for a limestone table. It is on the right in this picture.

Wilson was built by Czech immigrants and has dubbed itself “The Czech Capital of Kansas”. These decorated eggs can be found all over the little downtown area, but this golden one was especially beautiful.

The most fantastical, though, is this: at 20 feet tall, the world’s largest Czech egg:

In a state where all the sights are small-scale, Kansas likes superlatives. North of here, we once went to see the biggest ball of twine in Cawker City. We haven’t seen the world’s largest belt buckle in Abilene yet, though.

This complex consisting of a grain elevator, a office, and a coal storage building dates from 1900. Trains still do blow by here fairly regularly.

Our RV park owner also has a little coffee shop in front. As we stood in line for treats, we spoke to her, and to the owner of “Missile Silo”, which is a decommissioned missile base. There are more things to see around Wilson and a good restaurant in a neighboring town was recommended. I guess we’ll have to come back! Next time, though, I’ll make sure “Made from Scratch” is open.

We waved out the window as we passed Manhattan and Ft. Riley. We lived there many moons ago. A plan to include a visit to our friend Gayle had to unfortunately be scrapped when the itinerary expanded to too many days out.

The last Kansas stop, a new one for us, was Lake Shawnee County park on the west side of Topeka. Everything was paved so it was pretty nice. The campground is above the lake on a little peninsula that juts out into it, so there was water to be seen on both sides. A sunset view over the lake was right out our back window.

It was a good start to the trip, so we are looking forward to continuing eastward.

Next time: biking and Laura I. Wilder in Missouri