Today we drove, and drove, and drove.
Good bye, Dodge City!
We drove through wheat fields, over small brooks, watched the Arkansas slowly go from a dry bed of sand to a puddled gulch, to small stream in a gulch, to full-blown river, and enjoyed the space that rolled around us. In this part of the country, the land is populated by buffalo, cattle, deer, and horses, with some people here and there. Going west to east, the land gradually becomes more forested. Sometimes it is noticeably sudden, but then you notice that it is not a forest, but rather a river. When the river turns aside, so do the trees. We are still on back roads, meandering through Kansas. Besides the appearance of more trees, we did have the excitement of coming suddenly upon a derailed train that had apparently been sitting there, waiting for rescue, for several months. We hiked down to one of the engines, and as the kids tried to avoid the temptation to play in a silty mud pit, a truck pulled up, and a Kansas hick got out to talk to us. He got out just to talk. He was not suspicious of us, didn*t want to tell us that we were in danger, didn*t want to scold us for letting our kids play in the mud, he just wanted to hang out because, hey, that is the kind of people who live here! And he told us all about the train derailment.
According to him, a truck driver was hauling a full load of gravel, approached the train tracks, and found the booms down at about the same time he realized his brakes failed. Nice. So instead of stop, he plowed into the engines. Now, one would imagine that the force required to derail a train consisting of 2 engines and many cars would kill the truck driver and injure the train workers. But no. This is Kansas, land of Glenda the good witch, and Dorothy does not die in the tornado, neither does the truck driver die as he is smashed headlong into a train. Everyone walked away with a few scratches and had a beer afterward (one imagines). Miraculous.
Brandon has a hankering for as much Kansas BBQ as his gut can hold, so I have declared Kansas a non-vegan state so he can enjoy his vacation as well. As it got late, Brandon discovered a highly-rated place in Fort Scott called Sugar Foot and Peaches, so we went there for dinner.
Fort Scott is a cute little Kansas town where the houses are kept up and the yards mowed, cobbled streets and soft, slow living.
We found a great little camp ground at a county park with a camp site overlooking the pond. The kids found some friends to play with while we set up camp. Miss Magpie really wants to find a duck or goose to bring home with us. It breaks her heart every single time I tell her no, poor kid!
Our beautiful view, and a random, miniature house Sunshine found!
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