Finally Interesting Stuff!!!...and in Kansas!

So - I woke up to 4 Cop Cars pretty much parked adjacent to me at McDee's- they didn't seem to mind my Motel though, and when I went in to brush my teeth in the morning, I saw them all happily eating together.

Onwards I figured, time to hit the road again, and soon I was putting the miles behind me once more, 70 per hour! Kansas was blowing by swiftly under blue skies, and my cars thermometer was rising swiftly too. Before I knew it, it was in the 60s! Hold on a second I said, it's 60 degrees and sunny and I'm just blowing by everything on the red and blue again....I see a sign for a Scenic Byway-...heading North...oh well, lets hit it I decide, direction isn't as important as interesting at this point, lets see what Kansas has to offer- Turns out quite a lot.

I stopped immediately off the I-70 at Hwy 232's tourist information center. There, a kind lady told me there was hiking nearby behind the damn to Wilson Lake and handed me a few brochures.

Zoom Zoom Zoom - 8 Miles later down a 65mph speed limiit highway and I was seeing some impressive hills and beautiful water! I got to the damn and drove down behind it, but before I could find the trail there, I stumbled upon something even better, a free very clean and well maintained camp ground completely empty, and with unlocked shower doors! Score!

After getting cleaned up, I headed up to the Park Rangers station to find out exactly where this trail was, and what other trails might be in the area. He told me the trail I was looking for was a .75 mile trek down to the river, and that another possibility was a 3 mile loop nearby with some neat rock formations and on the water, but mostly through unshaded prairie land. But its name was RockTown Natural Area, so my mind was set, a 3 mile hike/jog with the sun, prairie, water, and neat rock formations to boot was just what I needed.

First though, I needed the fuel to make it happen, and when I arrived at the Lucas Park, about a mile away from the campground I had been at, I grabbed the meatloaf sandwhich my mom had packed me and had a great meal with a spectacular view.

Then it was time to hit the trail... I found it easily enough, with the roads switching between paved and gravel a few times. The prairie was stunningly beautiful, with plenty of pastels, a lovely lake, and a perfect sky for backdrop. The trail was also stunningly obvious, with its 2 inch grass compared to the tall prairie all around it. In fact, I could see it below going in both directions of its loop.

As I began to bounce down the start of the trail, it hit me that although my ankle was fine for normal walking, my usual tigger dance of the great outdoors might not be prudent while the ankle healed up. Thus, I simmered down and began to stroll through the prairie. Still too eager to unleash my pent up energy, I began to try and jog in an adjusted manner, placing very little weight on my right leg and ensuring I didn't put my ankle in the wrong position, but this particular dance wasn't going to treat the rest of my legs well, which I could immediately tell, and so I once again simmered down and walked along.

I enjoyed the varieties of colors of the prairie grasses and plants, and found numerous wholes in the trail that had been filled (by rangers I suspected) and a few that hadn't yet. Prairie dogs I wondered and hoped?

Onwards I strolled, thinking and enjoying my walk. Then Axel Foley's theme music began to blare at me from my pocket, and I reflected that although I was probably the only person within miles, and had this park utterly to myself, I was still connected my the magic of modern day society. After a discussion regarding with my roommate regarding the furnishings at my house, I had completely zoned out to the nature I was treading steadily through, till I hung up and came back to the present and saw them...the rocks...! Immediately, the climbers perspective that my brother spiderman (aka kevin) had instilled into me made me ask the question...I wonder if I can climb those.

They were still off in the distance, and the process of weighing the risk and reward of such a venture began to take over in my mind, although I knew it would definitely take a thorough examination from closer to really decide. Along the way I happened on a few more neat minor rock formations, and some very deeply red powdery sand. I quickly mounted all these minor mounts, and was disheartened to see peoples names etched into them all over the place... such a sad and selfish practice! Oh z well, all it takes is a few knuckleheads!

Finally I was at the formation that stood out from all others, and as I climbed easily to the top of the first of three summits, I saw that the third summit would be unattainable due to water being in the way....but the second...was oh so tantalizing to ascend.

I paused, I examined, I reviewed it from all angles. Could I make it up? More importantly, as Ed Viesturs, one of the greatest American mountaineers around, states in his book "No Shortcuts to the Top" could I make it back down? Indeed, I was fairly certain one way or another I could get up there, but down climbing is a far scarier prospect, and although I had my cell phone, I wasn't looking to plummet into rock or water, or call for rescue.

The south face of the rock definitely looked promising though, although it would require a bit of traversing over the water, I set down my nalgene, and investigated. I knew this path I had found was cake, but wondered about coming down it, quickly decided it was within my limits, and headed up. Within a few moments I was at the top and quite satisfied with myself.

There I sat for awhile, reflecting on how lucky and fortunate I was to find such a beautiful place to play on such a beautiful day. Then I decided it was time to get a move on and end my worrying about my down climb. With solid holds and footings on three out of four points, I slowly lowered my weight down and was quickly back on lower ground.

Off I went up the hill to see more spectacular views, and hopefully find some prairie dogs. Along the way I had caused some disturbances, hearing the distinct shuffling in the grasses near me on quite a few times, but the only views I got were of tiny birds that popped up and flew away. Then, while taking a picture of a gulch on my left while moving, a giant horn cry came from behind me a few feet away, scaring the bajeezus outta me as a 20 pound goose/pheasant/i have no clue bird took off with a bellow at me and flew quickly into the distance. I chuckled a bit, and continued back to my car.

So far very satisfied with this post rock scenic byway, I decided to continue on and check out the Garden of Eden in nearby Lucas. It was truly a sight to see. Constructed entirely by one Civil War Veteran, a Mr. Samuel Dinsmoor, in 1907, the Garden of Eden is definitely a sight worth seeing. Sam was 64 years old when he built this garden, spending 22 years to mold together over 113 tons of cement. He also conducted tours throughout its construction.

There are four main areas that particularly caught my interest, and the attending historian was kindly enough to explain upon my inquiries. First, was of course, the biblical side of the Garden, containing Adam and Eve and several pictures from the story of Cain and Abel.

Of more interest to me however, was the Darwinism depicted on the front of the house. It began with a beautiful lady in pink, who was after a soldier who had his gun pointed at an Indian, whose bow was pointed at a Dog, who was barking up a tree with at a cat, which was about to pounce on a bird, who was about to nab a worm off a leaf! This definitely entertained me quite a bit, seeing his food chain extended upwards to social levels.

The next bit that caught my attention was the giant pyramid, and when I went over to view it I saw it had "G.S. Dinsmoor & Wife" etched into it. The & Wife gave me a good chuckle, especially when I soon heard he got himself a 20 year old 2nd wife at the age of 81 in 1924, seven years after his first wife died!!! The wife entombed with him though is apparently his first wife. Was the second a gold digger I wonder? 81 and 20!!!

The final really interesting piece was a man labeled labor being crucified. His tormentors? Doctors, Preachers, Lawyers, and Bankers. Apparently a populist politician, Sam wasn't too fond of the upper classes feeding off the burden of work conducted by the average layman. Oh, also on a minor note, politically Sam also agreed with Benjamin Franklin in that he thought the Turkey the proper American bird, although he did have a nice bald eagle over one of his ceramic flags.

Quite enchanted with the small town of Lucas, I headed over to it's mainstream and got the best beef jerkey I've ever had at Brant's Meat Market, a small shop that has been passed down for generations for nearly a century. After buying 5 dollars worth of the homemade jerky, then tasting it's deliciousness (I'm literally salivating at the thought of it), I quickly bought 20 dollars more! Now I have a huge bag of jerky for my voyage.

And then it was time to head back to I-70, and get moving in a westerly direction once more...

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