The Barn That Talked To Me

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

Kathy & I had just left our motel in Hayes, Kansas and were speeding down the highway when I spotted this barn alongside the road.  It had a very interesting character to it, the light was beautiful and I knew immediately it would make a nice photograph.  But I didn’t stop.

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

I don’t know how it did it, but soon after I passed the barn I started hearing this voice.  It said, “hey dumba$$, come back here and take my picture.”  It took nearly 2 miles, but eventually I started slowing down and told Kathy, “I’m going back.”

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

As I was walking back to the car the farmer drove by in his pickup.  I waved at him and he waved back.  Maybe he had heard the voice, too. 😉

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

A few days earlier I had passed another barn in Colorado where there was no safe place to pull off the road, and I stewed about it for a long time.  So I didn’t really want to pass this one by.  But I was already in “Get There Mode” and almost let it go.  I’m glad I didn’t!

Hangin’ With Monte

Breakfast with Monte at The Chicken Coop Restaurant in Fort Collins, Colorado

One of the highlights of our recent road trip (yes, we’re home now!) was a nice albeit too-short visit with our friend Monte Stevens in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Monte strikes a contemplative pose in his “office” on the Foothills Trail at the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado
Monte taking Kathy’s picture sitting on “his” rock along the Foothills Trail at the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado

We ordinarily would have planned on spending more time in Fort Collins, as we really like the town and Monte is a swell guy to hang out with, but between the fires and our growing get-home-itis we decided to make a quick overnight stop.  But that didn’t prevent us from getting out and burning a few pixels.

Firefighting helicopters carrying water to fight the Cameron Peak and Williams Fork fires in
Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Colorado near Fort Collins. Seen from the Foothills Trail at the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado
Foothills Trail at the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado

Kathy & I joined Monte on a walk through the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area, where we saw his “office” and were able to see a few of the firefighting helicopters coming and going from a nearby airfield.  We had a nice pizza dinner at a local pizza joint followed by a yummy breakfast at a local “American-Mexican Breakfast and Lunch” spot.

Any time with Monte is time well spent, and we look forward to getting back to Fort Collins at at time where the weather and conditions are better!

Breakfast with Monte at The Chicken Coop Restaurant in Fort Collins, Colorado

Postcard From Fort Larned National Historic Site, Kansas

Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas

Interesting history to this fort, which was established in 1859 and whose role consisted of guarding the transport of the US Mail as well as general traffic along the Santa Fe Trail.

The best part for us was that we spent over an hour at the fort and the only other person we saw was the caretaker, who we saw only from a distance.  A very quiet and peaceful experience!

Roadside Finds: Sorghum!

Sorghum fields along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

Driving through Nebraska and Kansas we kept seeing these interesting plants but didn’t know what they were.  The bottoms look like corn stalks but the tops were definitely not corn – more like big bushy cattails.  Finally Kathy consulted the interwebs and discovered that the plant in question was sorghum.  I’ve eaten sorghum but didn’t know what the plant looked like.  News you can use!

Postcard From Norton, Kansas

Former gas station in Norton, Kansas that is now a portion of the Norton Senior Citizen Center

An extremely rare 3-photo postcard! 🙂

Norton, Kansas boasts three vintage gas stations that have been repurposed for other uses.  It was on my list of stops last year but we didn’t get there.  This year we made a point of stopping by.  Very cool!

Former gas station and Chevrolet dealership in Norton, Kansas that now houses a title company
Former gas station in Norton, Kansas that now houses the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau

Photographs and stuff!