In the heart of Kansas
Monday, September 26th, 2011August 31st– September 1st
Unsurprisingly, we had another long day of driving to cross Kansas. We did break up the day with a few interesting stops. By the time we packed up the tent and had breakfast, we had already broken a sweat. Far from the cool mountain air of Colorado, we were now in the Great Plains in the middle of summer. The guy at the campground wasn’t kidding we he called it “hot” Kansas.
Our first stop was at the Tall Grass National Prairie Reserve. Before the settlers occupied this land, the vast part of the Great Plains was covered in prairie. Today it accounts for only four percent of the land. The reserve encompasses an area that was difficult to cultivate, giving the grasses a chance to survive. We visited the ranch house which has been restored to its original appearance from the early 20th century and then took a walk through the prairie. Although small, the landscape was picturesque. There’s a plan to reintroduce the native bison to the area when the prairie has recovered. They are still trying to get rid of non-native plants that we were introduced by the settlers.
From there, we continued the road to Topeka, the capital of Kansas. We stopped at another historical site dedicated to the Supreme Court case: Brown vs. the Board of Education. This monumental decision declared that segregation and the principle of “separate but equal” schools was unconstitutional. The site was dedicated to the court case, the civil rights struggle, and the struggle for equal education. This was a point that particularly touched me during our trip. Education in the United States is not equal for everyone. Considering that investment in education is so heavily reliant on state and local budgets, the money spent and even the curriculum very heavily depending on where you live.
In the heat of the afternoon, we took a small walk around the center of town where we saw the capital from the exterior. Then we continued the road to our destination for the evening: Perry State Park. The park was basically deserted and we found a place to our put up our tent next to the lake which had partially flooded the campsites. In the middle of the night, we woke up to a big storm. Fabien got up and put everything in the car. When the thunder started, we decided to move our tent away from the tree that lurked above us. The next morning, we saw a tent in the lake. Apparently our neighbor abandoned his tent in the rain storm and the wind blew it in the lake. I’d like to know how he fished it out.
The marathon trip across the mid-west continued with a visit to Lawrence, a town founded by abolitionists (people against slavery) from Massachusetts. They established the town to counter-balance the neighboring state, Missouri, which allowed slavery. During the Civil War, a group from Missouri massacred civilians and burned the city. Today the town is based around the University. It has a young, liberal vibe. We spent an hour or two walking through the old neighborhoods, where there are still some historical homes.
Back on the road, we decided to stop in Kansas City (which is bizarrely in Missouri and not in Kansas) and treat ourselves to a motel. We found a place with a swimming pool and spent the afternoon in the pool and in the room watching the U.S. Open on TV. We finally decided to drive into downtown. It was pretty quiet so we had an early dinner (BBQ, of course) and went to 18th and Vine Street (the jazz quarter) where we found a cozy little club to have a drink and listen to some live music.
In three days in Kansas, we drove 500 miles due east through a small heat wave.
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