As we left Methodist Cove, we saw two
tractor trailers, each with a huge, white cylinder – we think the
vertical part of a wind turbine. We had passed them on the way into
the campground on Friday, but because of the oversize load, they were
parking for the weekend, but on Monday, a couple of miles down the
road we saw them underway again again. There seemed to be two main
crops in the area we were driving through: oil fields with storage
tanks and pump jacks and acres and acres of a brick red-topped plant
that looked a bit like corn. As we passed through the countryside, we
noticed a cowboy on his horse overlooking the countryside. It was
another of the popular hilltop silhouettes we've seen in the west –
everything from dinosaurs to moose, bears and even a jack-a-lope!
Ellis is a small town (2,100 people)
with several blocks of stores. Most on Main Street were occupied and
it was a pretty little place with some beautiful old buildings. A few
miles down the road is the city of Hays (21,000 people) and has a
much larger selection of stores and restaurants. Ft. Hays University
and a branch of Kansas State University are also located there. Our
new “home” at Riverside Park is definitely a small city RV Park.
I use the term “RV park very loosely” – although it's kept
clean, the restrooms are old and dark, and mainly it's a place to
park an RV with hookups. The river the campground is next to is very
low – the drought is several years old here and you can certainly
tell. About half the occupants a construction or oil field workers
who were quiet and friendly. That being said, it was a satisfactory
if not particularly attractive place to spend the week.
We visited Augustine Obour, a young man
who worked with Rich before we retired, while going to UF for his
Ph.D. in soil science. Augustine was working at the University of
Kansas in Hayes where we visited his office and were treated to a
tour of his lab and the experimental plots where they working on
hybridizing a drought resistant sorghum, which was the red-topped
corn-like plant we saw. I found learning about his work fascinating,
perhaps because my Dad was a farmer in Illinois and I've been a
gardener most of my adult life. I was interested to hear they are
finding that by boring holes for the seed more soil moisture is
retained than if plowed. Even when they mulched the plants after
plowing, the plants didn't do as well as those growing from the bored
holes. I remember reading about Native Americans and early settlers
using sharp sticks to make holes in the soil in which to drop large
seeds such as corn and beans. In fact, I've planted seeds that way a
time or two myself in my garden. I love it when we find that the old
way is the better way! (Augustine – if I got this wrong, please let
me know and I'll correct it.) After our tour, Augustine and his grad
student took us to lunch at a wonderful B-B-Q spot, then that evening
we were invited to Augustine's home for dinner with his family. His
wife, Mary, had made a delicious goat soup, Augustine barbequed ribs
and there were yummy sides and we brought dessert. It was so good to
see them, catch up on their life, and share our experiences on the
road. We had to leave sooner than planned, but we hope to see them
next time we're in the area.
Now, we're off to Cottonwood Point
Campground, a US Army Corps of Engineers park near Marion, Kansas.
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