Wednesday, June 13, 2012

May 26, 2012. Kansas. Yikes!

We left Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak
the morning of May 26.
It was a Saturday morning.

I had spent a lot of time consulting maps,
navigating our route home.
Unfortunately, Kansas was imminent.
Again.
We'd been through it before on our way West
and we didn't want to go back through it.
Mr. Hawthorne, after crossing Kansas the first time said,
 "If I ever see another damn cow,
it better be on my plate."

After much deliberation,
I found a route through Kansas a different way
where we could take a South route
and get through Arkansas,
then I found the hypotenuse of a triangle
to take us into Oklahoma,
then I40 into Tennessee.

 Going west through Kansas
there was nothing but cows.
Going east through Kansas
there was nothing but dust storms.



See that sky?



That's not overcast.
That's sand.




It got to the point where my autofocus camera couldn't focus.









I couldn't open the windows.
The sand and dust was that thick.


The wind was pushing the truck all over the road.

Those are not storm clouds.
They're dust clouds.








With the wind gusting like it is,
I'm surprised there's any soil left in the fields.
Once again,
I am HATING Kansas.







































6 comments:

  1. We got caught in a sandstorm outside of Reno NV several years ago. It's awful. How long did you have to endure that mess?
    We're planning a trip to the southwest (Arizona, specifically) and I'm going to use some of the information that you posted. So, thanks in advance.

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  2. Hi, NMOAC, we were in that mess for about 2 hours. When we got to the hotel that night (I believe it was Hays, KS.) the desk clerk told us there had been 3 tornadoes in the area the day before.

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  3. NMOAC, whereabouts are you traveling?

    You might want to check out our last trip for ideas. Scroll down the right-hand side and see if anywhere we went on our first Great Adventure" interests you.

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  4. Thanks, Rosie. I have every intention of checking out all your posts about that area. We want to go to the Grand Canyon, but that's the only place we're really firm about. I'm waiting for maps and tour guides from CSAA so we can plan a bit better.

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  5. Rosie, there are so many things I would like to say. As a Kansan, I am extremely offended by this post. You complain about the weather as if there was something that could be done about it. Let me just say I will no longer be reading your blog. And if you hate Kansas so much, don't eat anything made from wheat and lay off the beef.

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  6. Liddadog, I certainly didn't mean to offend you or the people of Kansas.


    At times, I have been known to say, "I hate the Outer Banks." Usually, this is during a hurricane or when stuck in traffic on the by-pass in the summer. I would say the same thing of any state or place during a tornado, a mudslide, a flood, or a wildfire.

    Please don't take it personally.
    I do have a tendency for hyperbole.

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