great bend, KS

so, i've made it all the way to great bend, kansas. went all of 300 miles yesterday as my friend mary told me about a state park in oklahoma that i had to check out on my way to KS. it was wonderful and i ended up hiking for 3 hours along, into and on top of a gypsum canyon (also a little dolomite and shale in there if i'm not mistaken). i didn't see one other person until about 30 minutes from the end of my hike and that was a mountain biker - also about my age. what a little paradise! the first place i thought i was going to camp for the night i had to nix - it was a lovely little lake/ state park in KS but there was no one - i mean not one other soul - at the park. the only sign of the past presence of anyone were several empty 12 packs of coor's beer so i decided that probably wasn't the best place to camp. the next option didn't work out either so i ended up spending the night at an RV/ Campsite near pratt, KS. it wasn't where i thought i'd be but it worked and, as it was getting to be dark by that point, i thought it the best option. i didn't think i had any expectations for the trip other than getting to lemmon, SD but yesterday proved me wrong so i'm trying to let that all go. if one campsite doesn't work out, there will be another. my biggest problem - which is a wonderful one to have - are all the incredibly beautiful and awe-some places and people along the way. i just went through about a 1/8 wide track of farm that had been leveled by a tornado not too long ago - it was like a double-wide train had just plowed over the land for as far as i could see to the east and the west. i've seen areas hit by tornadoes in texas but they were more like "touch-downs." this was a wipe out - i can only imagine what it is like in alabama and missouri and the other places where tornadoes have wreaked havoc lately.

i also saw first hand yesterday the "amber waves of grain" - i could not believe how beautiful it is. miles and miles and miles - like a wheat or alfalfa ocean. i actually had to get out of the car and take some photos and break off a sheath - now i've got new mexico sage and kansas wheat dangling from my rear-view mirror. everything i'm seeing, however, is still colored with the books and stories i've read over the past nine months about the original peoples of this country. books by jim harrison, peter nabokov, vine and philip deloria, etc. i can imagine what the countryside was like before it was diviied up and parceled out -

as i've often thought in the past, state borders are really so amusing. the land doesn't change . . . the people don't change (except for their driver's licenses) . . . the borders are, for the most part, invisible and, if not for the signage (and sometimes a river or two), you wouldn't even know you've gone from one state to another. i've also been amazed how much water is in so many of the creeks - little mule creek, rattlesnake creek, and others are as deep as can be as are many of the rivers. i just crossed the arkansas river, however, and it was almost bone dry. having also passed several alfalfa and wheat fields before coming to the river - and seeing the massive watering systems they have going (when it's 91 degrees and in broad daylight) makes me wonder if that's what tapping the river dry. and i sure as hell wouldn't want to pay their water bill.

by the way, if you haven't read weatherford's "indian givers," i highly recommend it. it's not about what you'd think.

i'm in a little mom and pop coffee shop in great bend, ks. i told myself that i'd only stop at local establishments on this trip but, up until now, this is the first one i've found in KS that's open - and it's wonderful. i was even forced to eat at a KFC yesterday. i can't remember the last time i ate KFC (kentucky fried critter as cory calls it). i hope it's a long time coming before i have to do so again. note: i think there's money to be made if anyone's interested in opening a good restaurant or diner along 281 north/south in kansas.

yesterday, i drove through kingfisher, OK and learned that it is the birthplace of sam walton. who knew? of course, just across the road from the sign that read "birthplace of sam walton" wa a huge walmart. i wonder why they made arkansas the home base for walmart and not kingfisher, ok?

as i was leaving the SP yesterday - the one where i took the hike - about 10 miles out on hwy 8 - there was a grass fire. my friend kim had called me and i told her i had to hang up as a firetruck pulled out of no where in front of me and it wasn't much longer before i saw it pull over. at first i couldn't even see any smoke but then it grew and grew and grew. if i'd been ten minutes later, i don't think i'd have been able to pass. after i passed the area i stopped to look back - it was unbelievable how quickly the fire was spreading - truly licking it's way across the field. i so hope they got it under control. i'd said to myself at the park how i hoped people were being careful about cigarettes and campfires as the area was so dry - just like around austin. i also wonder how the fire i saw started - it was literally in the middle of a field of grain. i'm ignorant as to this type of environment - i've seen the beauty of it but also the hardship.

i'm hoping to cross into nebraska by this evening - but if i don't, that's ok, too.

it seems like i've been gone longer than 2 1/2 days as they've been so full of gifts - my friend mary catherine in OK City and getting to hear/ see her and louise goldberg perform . . . the gypsum canyon also in OK . . . the drive through kansas (thus far) . . . the cool and diverse people i've met. the young woman who works in this coffee shop is one of the coolest so far along with the park ranger yesterday. so many great people - who also don't change based on state borders.

i heard from kristen that she finished and loved doing her triathlon yesterday - she totally rocks. i wish i'd been able to be there to see it but as my daughter said, i could put this trip off forever because of things that might come up at home or that i wanted to do there. and so, the adventure continues.

back into the car to drive, be awe-struck as i pass through this beautiful land, say a few prayers for those suffering hardship (everywhere), to learn and to remain grateful for this incredible opportunity. it is true that the more we learn, the more we understand just how much we have left to learn.

peace!

peace!