We pulled out of site 9 at 8:56 a.m. CST, heading to Kansas City, MO. There is barely any wind today, hopefully it will stay that way and we’ll make better time.
I did not expect to get a picture of an oil well in Kansas. Who knew Kansas had produced 6.7 billion barrels of oil and 41.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas through 2018. Not me, when I thought of Kansas, I thought of cornfields. I definitely won’t think that any more. I tried to get a picture of a well in Oklahoma and Texas, I failed. But in Kansas I succeeded. They’re more plentiful here than the other places, I’m quite surprised. Interesting statue outside Hayes, KS.
We passed the Garden of Eden which resides in Wilson Lake, KS. Who knew? From what I can tell, the garden is full of windmills, it’s all we can see.
I am praying for whoever was driving this truck. God let them be ok. We couldn’t tell what happened. There were no other cars, the truck looked like it had rolled. I learned when I worked for Nautica most car accidents that result in death happen on beautiful days like this. People don’t pay as much attention as they do when the weather is bad. Interestingly enough, when I went to verify the last statement and make sure of its truth, I learned that it is no longer the truth. Twenty years ago we didn’t have cell phones, we didn’t text. Now distracted driving is the prevalent reason for fatal accidents. I was just reminded of how old I am by learning that fact. Times have changed, times have changed. I’ve also seen the stats on fatal accidents in Missouri, they have a sign that flashes the number; 587 people have died on the roads in Missouri this year, 60% of the deaths did not have their seat belt on. Seat belts really do save lives.
There is a storm to the north of us, nothing in front of us, the wind is already picking up from the south. I immediately start praying there isn’t a tornado, that is how fast my mind can go to worst case scenario. Constant mind battle for me. Ron quickly explained there was no worry of that For me, the only thing I know about the Midwest storms are the really bad ones. Whenever it makes national news is what I know. But those storms don’t happen every day. For instance, Ron and I were talking about Midwesterner’s. Ron said how friendly they are, so easy to talk too. I on the other hand said, “Yes, but don’t trust them.” I made this statement because I was close friends with three mid westerners earlier in my life and they hurt me deeply. Therefore I assume all mid westerners are the same way. But that is not a fair assessment, just because some people act that way, doesn’t mean all of them are that way. Or that we don’t grow and change. We were all much younger then, I’m not the same person I was 30 years ago, I’m sure, neither are they. I have met and loved so many mid westerners that are amazing people, maybe it’s time to go with the majority instead of the minority. How easy it is to focus on the bad and miss out on all of the good!
On and on it goes. I’ve studied, I’ve researched. Ron’s listening to the book, and forward we roll. An hour and 43 minutes to go.
We just passed through Topeka a little after 1:00 p.m. CST. I was reminded it is the capital of the state. Kansas City Turnpike, here we come.
We entered Missouri by way of Kansas City just after 2:00 p.m. CST. Ron happened to notice when we drove past the Kansas City Royals stadium, we were both looking the other away at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes building which sits across the street from the stadium. The Public Relations project I’m working on for my class is to promote the Regent Royals, the new athletic program that launched in 2017. The Kansas City Royals and Regent both share the same colors, and similar logo’s. Kansas City is the most traffic we’ve had the whole trip. The traffic patters here are confusing. When we got off the interstate to go to our campground, we almost got hit by an 18-wheeler. Th intersection sort of x’d, very hard to explain, but it would take some getting used too if you had driven it before.
I got in the truck at 2:48 p.m. from checking us into to site 37 at Kansas City East KOA. We’ve decided to head to an afternoon matinee to escape the heat. We’re going to the Blue Springs 8 Miller Theater to see The Art of Racing in the Rain.
The movie theater was empty, I thought it was just going to be us, but a Mom and 2 kids came in after it started. A good movie, quotable lines that I’m sure will be heard in days to come. We went to Sinclair’s afterwards for a bite to eat. We noticed on the back of the bar seats were plaques with different people’s names on them. I asked the waitress what that was. They needed new bar stools and couldn’t afford them, so they asked for sponsors. Within a week they had enough to replace all of their old ones. The cost $50 + $20 shipping per bar stool, then they received a $50 gift card to the restaurant. Basically they paid the shipping. A creative way to solve a problem. We met the owner, and bought a t-shirt.
Finally a fire, the one thing we have not had a lot of this trip. The one thing I thought we would do every night. This is only our second fire, the first at Mama Gerti’s campground. We didn’t bring a fire pit with us, we didn’t think we would need it. But we do, the majority of campgrounds have required one. Last night in Kansas, you weren’t allowed burning fires at all because of the wind. All in all, a good day.
