Finally ensconced in a very dingy Comfort Inn outside of Wichita, I can honestly say I will be happy to leave Kansas in the morning.  With perhaps a little foreshadowing this morning when I discovered I was in Texas County, OK which was a bit confusing, I arrive in Kansas where there is a dearth of signage.  You don’t know you are actually in Kansas until 2 miles after crossing the state line.  You are lucky indeed if you can find signs that indicate the town you are entering, but you will find plenty of “No Jake Brakes” signs.  And my hotel was off an interstate that wasn’t posted until the exit ramp, followed by the exit for the hotel being called by a different name until… you guessed it, the exit ramp sign.  Add to that, people drive like maniacs here, and the trucks enjoy tailgating.  Not happy.

But there were signs and moments of the ridiculous and one moment of true beauty along the road today.

Left Albuquerque at 630AM, pretty sunrise and discovered that road trips are particularly useful for culling CD collections.  I discovered I no longer like Concrete Blonde.

Came upon Cline’s Corner sign ” Largest, cleanest restrooms on I-40…Worth the Wait!”  I decided to bypass, that was a lot of promise and I couldn’t bear to be disappointed.  I later came upon a sign for Billy the Kid and Ft. Sumner, evidently he’s buried there.  On the sign it promoted Rte 66 radio – which I turned on and strangely enough they were playing, “I fought the law, and the law won.”  I thought maybe it was a tourist pre-recorded station, and that this could be part of a loop.  No such creativity, next was an ad for a local church’s can drive and then the Eagles.  I am also perplexed by a sign for Broasted Chicken just outside Moriarty, NM.  I consider myself a foodie, but I’ve never heard of broasting… you?  And feeling country, 25 miles outside of Albuquerque and I have my first semi truck hauling hay bales!

Somewhere shortly after entering Texas, I come across the Nora Vista Community Center – an iconic brick building that is way cool…. I think I’m in love.

Just before leaving Texas, in Texhoma, I see Happy State Bank.  I want to be a customer there.

Into OK, and I-54 is a two lane highway, lots of stock yards…. ugh it smells.  Pass by the Livestock Auction Restaurant.  I decided to bypass… shocker.

Entering Guymon, OK (which I have no idea how to pronounce), there is a sign for Panhandle State University, whose motto is, “Education through knowledge.”  Clearly that is better than education through stupidity, but they couldn’t come up with anything more original than that?  Guymon has several points of interest for me:

1) My first sighting of the Sinclair Dinosaur (I’m on a road trip singing to myself… I have to enjoy the small things)

2) There is a drive-thru Donut Palace

3) Hunnys BBQ looks intriguing for lunch, until I come across the fluorescent sign stating that “Hunnys welcomes hunters!”  On second thought… no.

4) There is a giant – like 15 ft. high cowboy statue, and the cowboy has jazz hands.  Love it!

And now the evil empire of Kansas… I ponder irony while driving through Liberal, Kansas.  And strange but true, you have to drive through Hooker to get to Liberal.  And at Hooker … it gets worse… you turn right for Beaver.

I call my friend Ansley to tell her about this, and she asks me to tell her exactly where I am at that minute.  I tell her, ” I am somewhere between Hooker and Liberal.”  I guess that makes me moderate?

As I mentioned earlier, Kansas doesn’t give you a lot, but in Liberal, they tout the Dorothy Wizard of Oz House…. a recreated, i.e. not the real deal, house of Dorothy.  It appears licensing was an issue because the Dorothy on the billboard is not Judy Garland.  The young woman/”model” looks about 20 years too old and needs to invest in better ruby slippers.  Also in Liberal, a very strange, pretty creepy statue of a decrepid pioneer or native american girl.  And it features Pancake Blvd… which made no sense to me until I tried to look up on Wikipedia what’s up with the statue.  Turns out Liberal and Olney, England have a Pancake Day race… I don’t really know what Pancake Day is, but I guess if you are going to eat a short stack, a little running to burn off the calories couldn’t hurt. And last but not least, Krazy House – the Boot King of Kansas.

This blog tonight is way too long, but I will quickly admit to a moment of stunning beauty in Kansas… a prairie sunset.  The sky was such an intense orange, pink, it lit up the prairie in an amazing glow as the sun set behind me and the almost full moon rose in front of me.  The fields are harvested corn fields that were golden in the evening light and deer were seeking out kernels among the rows.  Other fields of cotton, where the plants were a deep ruddy brown sprinkled with the white cotton that was a muted pink.  A truly magic hour of sunset, and my pleasure was doubled by my road trip sound track… White Stripes.

I am headed to Clarinda, IA tomorrow to visit my friend Trish.  We have been talking and waiting and hoping for this visit for months.  Can’t wait!

As ever,

K. Quinn