i know no one even *looks* at a post without pictures these days, but i'm doing it anyway. just writing. i *do* have pictures, but i haven't played with them yet, and -gasp- i could not *possibly* show pictures straight from the cammie could i???

the poet and i had a small vacation over a long weekend. we do not have big expectations for "vacation". sure, it would be fun to go far and long, but we have neither the time or funds for such and tend to find delight in most any adventure. so, we chose to visit old and new (to us) places in Kansas. we had lots of wholesome food packed and much water. we took a weekend special rentalMobile instead of tinaMerlot, because it might be best for tina to stay closer to home at her age.

first, we drove to the starting point of one of our favorite drives in Chase County, stopping for diner breakfast in downtown Emporia first. our rental car had XM radio and the poet was instantly enchanted with Spa station, which made the whole trip, with the prairies rolling past the windows, somewhat hallucinatory. fun without drugs! i did most of the driving, because i like to, and also to ensure that if there is a little town i want to take a spin through, it gets done! we stopped in Cottonwood Falls to view the river from the arched bridge, then took the back road to Elmdale, as it looked like rain, so we did not want to take our hike yet.

Elmdale is an old ghostTown, with only a few inhabitants. i have made pictures there several times. there is good stuff to see. one of my favorite places is the old school and gymnasium. it is now USED! i had heard through the dark Kansas grapevine, that it had been purchased. i could not imagine a prissy B&B there. in that town. but instead, a church group has acquired the place and are restoring it for a community center for local kids. as i was poking around outside, the woman in charge came out and she was GLAD to give us a tour and tell us all about. it was so cool to get to go INSIDE the old school and gym! the kids are actually doing most of the work themselves and are amazing. they are re-using lots of the structural things, like using fallen-down-tin-ceilings as patches for walls, etc. and pieces of blackboard for floor repairs. it is funky and cool! i will visit again, i'm sure.

so it was afternoon and baking HOT by the time we got to the Tallgrass Prairie, but we loaded up with sunscreen and water bottles and our hats and took off anyway for a 2 mile hike. the season is wrong for the best wildflowers, but we enjoyed ourselves. it is a beautiful place. then we checked in to the Prairie Fire Inn, where we have stayed before. showers and rest, then out again to Cottonwood Falls for catfish and some townWandering, more carExploring. all good!

next morning, after a stop in a Council Grove donut shop for my coffee (where people were actually drinking Pepsi and eating donuts first thing in the morning! gah! mature people even, not kids!) we continued our scenic drive north to the Konza Prairie, near Manhattan, where we have never been. WE WILL DEFINITELY GO BACK. it was a little tricky to find, especially as we didn't print off the directions and only had a general idea, but we found the entry and set off for a hike. there were options, but we chose the 3 mile for this visit. it was a beautiful place, the landscape much different from the Tallgrass, more hilly and varied. even different wildflowers, that we had not seen before. and the best thing was a viewing of a large, turquoise-blue collared lizard! posing on a stone, just waiting for me to spot him. baby lizards were all over the paths.

after the hike, we stopped in Alma for a picnic of havarti dill cheese, seeduction bread, mustard, cucumber hummus, baby carrots, cold water. then continued on down the scenic native stone byway, touring through Eskridge (where i have longed to go back, wandering, but it was WAY TOO HOT that day) and Harveyville and Burlingame and finally back home. showers and macbook theatre. okra gumbo from the freezer.

next day, we left from home, hiked in Weston Bend (too humid, kind of nasty and overgrown, a little spooky, i thought. all those spider webs!), drove to Atchison, picnicked by the river, walked at some favorite places (including an open house of an awesome 1880's house up for auction! ooo! i love to go IN.), got lost in farmLand, made it back, more macbook theatre and the Chinese buffet. a good vacation!!

pictures to follow.

next up - Texas in two weeks. whew.