Off early again – actually, early enough to shoot a sunrise from the parking lot. On the road by 0647 after buying gas for $2.94/gal. On the way out of town, passed Mrs. K's Farmhouse Restaurant, where Sandra & I dined on a previous trip. Abilene is home to the National Greyhound Assn, with Hq and a track on old US-40 and a Hall of Fame in town.
Old 40 runs parallel to a BNSF line. This stretch, like so many todaay, was pretty flat. The railroads like flat ground and I followed a lot of them. Salina is a railroad town, with a large rail yard and multiple tracks running N-S and E-W. I went to kindergrten and 1st grade here, and actually remembered where the school had been – I found it when we came thru in 1974, and again today. The empty area back by the fence once held frame buildings.
K-140 runs along tracks in a valley, with small hills to the south. This is the start of the Smoky Hills. Just west of Brookville (estd 1869) mounted people are working cattle. The Prairie Trail Scenic Byway goes thru this area. Ellsworth is on the Smoky Hill River; beyond it, K-156 is a modern 2-lane with a 65 mph speed limit.
I wonder which tribes ran this area – is it part of Comancheria? Kiowa? Cheyenne? Arapaho? I may find out later. This is part of stone post Utica country, stone largely supplanted by T-posts. Many towns, such as Holyrood, have elevators no longer served by railroads, and have suffered.
Now I'm on K-4 (& will be for the next 180 or so miles) . Claflin is home to Squeegee's Bar & Grill. Like many of these towns, the main street is perpendicular to the railroad. Now I'm on the Wetlands andWildlife Scenic Byway – sure enough, there's Cheyenne Bottoms National Wildlife Refuge. Nearby Hoisington actually has a DQ, Pizza Hut, and the Duck Blind Motel.
A farm along the road has a big windmill generator that's not turning. Olmitz's skyline consists of 2 elevators and a Catholic Church steeple. The farms all have windbreaks on their north sides – wonder why... I take a break at Casey's in La Crosse, the last decent-sized town I'll see until I finally get to Scott City.
I'm now on the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway at Brownell. Ranches around here still use old-fashioned windmills to water stock. Ransom has 2 big elevators, sans railroad; it also has the 1st State Bank of Ransom – make your own joke. Utica, with only a Post Office and Legion post downtown, is a far cry from the one in upstate NY. I didn't choose to visit Wild Horse Canyon, a “point of interest” per a sign at K-4/K-23 junction. Healy has a real gas station, complete with dinosaur sign.
I pass a number of small feed yards (their term) to US-83, the Western Vistas Scenic Byway. I head north to find Monument Rocks, about 10 miles north on 83 and 9 miles east on dusty gravel roads. This area is still in a drought. Monument Rocks are chalk formations left from an ancient sea. Sharks teeth abound, and Mososaur fossils show up now and then. The rocks are inhabited by cliff swallows. I took a bunch of pictures!
See the swallow nests!
Another 9 miles of dusty gravel roads put me back on US-83, soon to turnoff on K-95 to visit the El Quartelejo reconstructed ruins. They were originally built by Puebloan refugees and were abandoned after the Spanish sent troops to drag them back to a form of slavery. They're now part of a state park.
Another 10 miles or so south on 83, Scott City has the El Quartelejo Motel, where I will stay, and the El Quartelejo Museum/Art gallery. Thorough, well organized and well interpreted, and adequate space to do so. A mediocre Mexican supper at El Dos de Oros because I had no lunch, and go through lots of pictures.
Tomorrow: South to Dalhart, TX, then cross over to New Mexico, visit Mosquero and spend the night in Tucumcari.
Miles for the day: 280.7, for the trip 537.9
Travel time: 7 hours, including photo stops.
Average mileage for the trip thus far 41.1 mpg, not bad considering I was driving uphill with a head wind most of today.
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