Day 6: Kansas and Nebraska
We started our day after eight, exulting in the fact that we would drive westwards with the sun shining on our backs and not in our faces. After making a stop at Starbucks to get Kelly coffee, one more stop to get gas, and yet another stop to buy ourselves a take-away lunch at Panera, our first proper recreational break was at Mushroom Rock State Park. The area is home to three large rocks that have eroded unequally to resemble giant mushrooms, as well as several other interesting geological features. We ate our take-away lunch there, with me alternately scooping and impaling my salad using a knife, as we had only received one set of cutleries.
To my
surprise, the navigation decided to send us westward instead of northward. We
were heading to the geographic centre of the 48 contiguous states, which is on
the border of Kansas and Nebraska, and based on my perusals of Google Maps, I
thought the more logical way to get there would be to first head north and then
west. Nevertheless, we followed the whimsical gods of GPS.
As we were
passing through the town of Ellsworth, I noticed a sign for Krizek Park.
Recognising the name as Czech, I immediately searched up the town’s history on
my phone and discovered that the entire area is home to a sizeable community of
people with Czech ancestry. Not only that, the nearby town of Wilson prides
itself on being the “Czech Capital of Kansas” and boasts of the “world’s
largest Czech egg.”
I persuaded Kelly that the town would surely have a Czech pastry shop selling traditional koláče, and we made an ever-so slight detour to the town of Wilson. It was an exhilarating and completely bizarre experience. The town was full of Czech artefacts – not only the world’s biggest Czech Easter egg, but also a number of other, smaller eggs, as well as shops selling traditional Czech costumes and foods, and a church named after the country’s patron, Saint Wenceslas. We stopped by Grandma’s Soda Shop and Diner, where I asked for koláče and was met with a rather puzzled look, after which the diner owner paused and asked “oh, you want koh-lay-chee?” Despite this gap in communication, the koláče were excellent. We got the traditional poppy seed flavour, and one with peach filling. Since they were very warm, we did not eat them until we reached a lookout over Wilson Lake.
The next
stretch explained why the navigation sent us the way it did. Not long after we
turned northwards, the smoothly paved road turned into a grid of gritty paths
that made the car produce awful sounds. The navigation had clearly assumed we
would cross it just like a normal SUV, but we were too concerned about Kelly’s
tiny Toyota Corolla to drive any faster than forty miles per hour. Scrambling
to get out as fast as possible, we took a slight detour that got us back to the
asphalt road.
Due to our
unplanned stop in Wilson, we made it to Lebanon later than expected. The town
is home to the alleged geographic centre of the contiguous states, which it
denotes with multiple signs, and the site even houses a tiny wooden chapel with
a guest book. I think it was around that time, in the lonely remoteness of the
vast landscape, when I was finally hit by the realisation of just how far we had
gotten.
Kansas is a
state filled with superlatives. Not only does it have the world’s largest Czech
egg, but it also claims to have built the first interstate and is home to the
Eisenhower Presidential Library (we passed by his childhood home at some
distance from Kansas City). Also, despite our little mishap on the rural roads,
its roads generally seem to be of a higher quality than those of Nebraska. As
soon as we crossed the state border, the well-paved asphalt road ended and was
replaced by some kind of loud and gritty concrete.
I have,
however, been looking forward to Nebraska, which is filled with quirky
attractions and interesting geological features. We made our first stop in the
state at the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, a museum dedicated to
the trails that once spanned the prairies. Built in 2000, it towers across the
highway in a truly impressive fashion. It is also flanked by a big statue of a
bison and an American flag, which is a somewhat ironic combination.
We ate
dinner at Front Street Steakhouse, which forms part of a recreated frontier
town-style street front. While the outside looks as though it were copied
straight from a movie set, the inside is more modern, though it abounds with
various old-timey paraphernalia. The food was unexpectedly good. I was
positively shocked that the restaurant offered a variety of vegetarian options
and ate my “impossible burger” with relish.
Our total
mileage for the day was 564, with the grand total now at 2226 miles.
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