If you fly over my home state of Kansas, you’ll see a checkerboard landscape of farmland. If you drive through on one of the main interstates, you’ll likely get the impression that so many have of Kansas—that it is flat and monotonous.
It’s true that we don’t have the mountains of Colorado or the oceans of California, but we do have treasures. To find them, you have to get off the highway.
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| Western Ribbonsnake. |
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| Butterfly on liatris. |
An additional benefit, for me, is the wealth of material I collect for my writing, from scene setting to character development. In August, our desire to escape for a day took us to Wabaunsee County in the northeastern corner of the state. At the Friendly Cooker, a diner where we had lunch, we eavesdropped on the folks around us (lots of characters in small-town diners!) and got the last two pieces of delicious strawberry rhubarb pie free because it was near closing time and the manager felt generous. We spent the rest of the day hiking a little-known prairie area managed by the Audubon Society, its path lined with boulders deposited by glaciers during the last Ice Age, and exploring roads most people don’t know exist.
The real adventure of the day came when we chose to follow a dirt “road” marked on our trusty Kansas Gazetteer but obviously little used. The farther along we drove, the narrower the road became and the taller the weeds. At one point, the weeds growing in the center of the
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| The "road" narrowed and the weeds grew taller on the other side of that hill. |
What are your favorite roads less traveled?
Jan and I travel blue highways (so-called because of the color representation or local roads on state maps) whenever possible. I am fearless/stupid and have taken many roads like the one you found with weeds taller than the car. My most recent insanity that way was in New Brunswick on a hilly road, slick with wet red clay that was so infrequently traveled we needed to pull a tree out of the road. I knew we’d get to the bottom of the hill; I wondered if we’d get to the top. I’m guessing my granddaughter may remember that for a while.
ReplyDeleteI avoided a traffic citation in Kansas by taking back roads. I was in the northwest corner of the state heading for a state part where we’d grab lunch, when a state trooper pulled me over for excess speed. I had Michigan plates and he asked where we were headed. So I told him of our desire to see states while avoiding the interstates. He was so taken with the idea of people actually looking at Kansas that he let me off with a warning.
I thoroughly enjoyed William Least Heat Moon’s Prairie Erth. It’s a wonderful book about the Flint Hills in Kansas.
~ Jim
Jim - I think it's wonderful when folks get off the main interstates and see any part of the country from up close. If you were in northwest Kansas, did you drive through the Arikaree Breaks? Stunning, rugged canyons unlike any other part of Kansas. I'm so glad you brought up Prairie Erth - it's a classic!
ReplyDeleteJulie -- we did see the Arikaree Breaks--a mini badlands area.
ReplyDeleteThat's great! There are a lot of Kansans who've never even heard of the Breaks.
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ReplyDeleteJulie, I loved your pictures and your descriptions of "off the road." Most of my vacations are camping with my siblings now. It used to be with my immediate family and extended family. The early part of our trip is the super highways - boring. It's when we leave those to go to the park we're heading for that I really enjoy the trip. Sometimes my sisters and I take the secondary roads and even veer off to see small towns or other things. Once we've settled into our campsite, we explore the areas in the vicinity discovering all sorts of things.
I guess we all have to have an interest--snakes being one of them. I'd rather see them through glass at a reptile house at the zoo. Your travels across the countryside sound more appealing. I need to become more adventurous.
ReplyDeleteI have a few favorite spots, although I'm not sure they are really "less traveled."
ReplyDeleteOne is Happel's Meadow, a unique uplands wetland in Blue Ridge Summit, PA. It used to be called Bear Swamp. It teems with wildlife, and there aren't many upland wetlands, especially as accessible as this one.
Another is the Sunken Forest, a rare maritime holly forest between the sand dunes on Fire Island, off Long Island, NY. Baordwalks have been built through it, and for part of the year, a ferry provides access.
Thank you, Gloria! I'm not much of a camper - I tried when we were younger, but I really prefer a roof over my head at night. One of my favorite places, though, is a cabin in a state park in Louisiana. We've had many fun vacations there. It's our "base camp" for hiking and canoeing adventures in the bayou.
ReplyDeleteGrace - The snake interest was hard for me to understand at first but I'm much more accepting now. I still don't handle them or get too close - I like a telephoto lens when I'm photographing them!
ReplyDeleteKM - Those both sound delightful. I spent a summer on Long Island, interning at Newsday, when I was in college. I saw so many things that summer, but not the Sunken Forest. Sounds like I'll have to go back!
ReplyDeleteGlorious story. I too am a big fan of the road untaken. What's the name of the critter on your hand? He's a little sweetie! Much as I like snakes, I would not hang around a coiled rattler long enough to take a picture! Call me chicken.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kait! That's a Western Ribbonsnake - cute little thing. I gotta say I don't get too close to the venomous snakes. If I can't get a decent photo with a telephoto lens, I hand the camera off.
ReplyDeleteI remember driving the Natchez Trace from Jackson to Natchez. Deserted, remote, a great place to dump a body. I didn't see any snakes which doesn't mean they weren't there.
ReplyDeleteMy roads are off the road. I beach drive and hunt for seashells. They can cut your feet, but they don't bite. Back in my home state of Pennsylvania, I had a lot of backroads to drive. On Hatteras, we only have one road--unless you create your own.;>)
ReplyDeleteMargaret - Ha! That's terrific. Backroads offer so many opportunities for mystery writers!
ReplyDeleteEB - I'm trying to imagine whether I would like living in a place that only has one road. Do you ever feel hemmed in?
Hemmed in? I can see miles and miles out into the ocean, the shoreline, dunes, and up into the sky. If I want, I can dig down in the sand. Nope, a road only has two directions. On the beach, I have 360 degrees of freedom.
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