Most of the images taken today are framed by the car's window. We had miles to go and Steve wasn't willing to stop for much today. I like this perspective anyway. There is something rather magical about the glimpses we catch while speeding by.
We left at 6:10 AM in time to watch the sunrise. Throughout the drive, various sights drew our attention. This large church, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, made us want to explore the little town it was in- Park, Kansas.
This once prosperous city began when a Union Pacific Railroad station was established here in 1868. It was initially called Buffalo Town due to the numerous buffalo that were visible from atop the station's 120 foot tall wooden water tank. By 1879, businesses flourished and the town housed stores, hotels, livery stables, restaurants, saloons, a barbershop, blacksmith shops, a bakery, a college, and a newspaper. In addition, its amazingly beautiful, and very visible, Sacred Heart Catholic Church ("Cathedral of the West" ) has dominated this countryside since 1923. The current population, while only numbering about 150, seemed to take pride in their historic town. One day, I'd like to go back and maybe get out of the car.
This huge work demanded the question, "Did I see what I thought I saw?" In 2001, Cameron Cross created a 24 by 32 foot reproduction of Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers and mounted it on an 80 foot steel easel. This photo doesn't do it justice. The structure and painting weigh 40,000 pounds and resides in Goodland, Kansas. By the way, Kansas is nicknamed 'the Sunflower State' so this painting is perfect for so many reasons.
Another one of those glimpes that demands further explore is the World's Wonder View Tower, a defunct roadside attraction located in Genoa, Colorado. The tower was built in the mid-1920s by C.W. Gregory (known as Colorado's P.T. Barnum) and his partner Myrtle Le Bow. The promoters boasted that it is possible to see six states (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Mexico, and South Dakota) from the top of the tower.
The tower is 65 feet tall. The site it was built on was confirmed in 1934 to be the highest point between New York and Denver. The tower was also a museum and vintage shop which contained curiosities and novelty items such as a two-headed calf, an eight-legged pig, and more than 50,000 types of glass bottles. It also contained historic American West artifacts and weapons, Native American arrowheads and other artifacts, and fossils. It closed due to the last owner's death but the building remains for all of us wanderers to glimpse at while cruising by.
We had a delightful lunch in Vail and this was the view from our table on the front porch of the café.
Sleep will be in the little town of Green River, Utah. We traveled 680 miles today and we're still doing great. The open road is addictive, even at 80 miles per hour!
"Road trips are the equivalent of human wings.
Ask me to go on one, anywhere.
We’ll stop in every small town and learn the history,
feel the ground and capture the spirit.
Then we’ll turn it into our own story
that will live inside our history to carry with us always.
Because stories are more important than things."
-Victoria Erickson
posted under |
2 comments:
The adventure continues even from the car windows. I love it!
That easel is incredible. You cannot tell the size unless you compare it to the nearby houses. Who would think to do such a thing? Who would pay for it? The kind people of Goodland, Kansas. That's who. It is VERY cool. :)
***
Post a Comment