Home, Home On The Range

This morning I bought coffee in Topeka and was on the road north and west by 7:30 in the morning. I chose a route that kept me in Kansas as long as possible. The drive through the Flint Hills was beautiful. I love those long and winding roads that make your stomach drop as I fly by at 60 miles per hour. Kansas has great roads. By noon I was in north west Kansas. I did not know that Smith County is the geological center of our nation. I stopped to eat lunch at this park. This is the cabin where the song "Home, Home On The Range" was composed.

This free park has a little nature trail.

Some of the signs were unreadable. The second bridge over the river was either broken or taken on land for the winter.

A tree fell over the trail. I sat on this tree for just a moment going forward and also coming back.

At 1 I entered Nebraska. At 2 I stopped to buy popcorn at a store. Girl Scouts were there so I had to buy a box for five dollars. Four out the four daisy or brownie girls plan to get their gold award. I walked around a local park and saw my first snow since January 3. I went two months and two days without seeing snow. I got to my very nice hotel in Kearney at 3 and proceeded to do laundry.

Then I went for a walk in the neighborhood and found this lovely trail. I walked for almost an hour along the river.

The sun is setting. I had good weather for driving today. I saw hawks and western meadowlarks and robins and horned larks and sand hill cranes and snow geese and red belllied woodpeckers and hairy woodpeckers.