chase county / prairyerth

weeks ago I picked up the PrairyErth book from William Least Heat Moon

the book takes an in-depth look at Chase County, KS in the Flint Hills

I took Hwy 177 outside Emporia and took a look for myself

from the South to the North through the Flint Hills

train trestle!

from a scenic viewpoint - we're talking FLINT!

Cottonwood Falls is a main focus. - METH  WATCH program

the historic CHASE COUNTY courthouse

looks like the clock tower is under restoration again

that's what she looked like in 1910

I went in and poked around, and went up these stairs.

turns out the workers were on break and left the ladder up to the roof

so I got a rare look at Main Street and the whole county from on top of the courthouse

this cafe is talked about a lot in the book. looks like it's under new mgmt

the falls on the cottonwood river just north of downtown

they have horseshoe pits right on Main Street, but they look neglected

two miles up the road to the North is sister city STRONG CITY

this recent National Preserve is on the land of the Z-Bar Ranch

gorgeous view out to the west

back out on the slow road

slow rolling hills. some creeks, but mainly pasture lands

At this point I'm out of Chase County, but still in the Flint Hills. This is some protected research area used by KSU

lunch at People's Co-op in Manhattan, KS.

1st HOME stop on the Pony Express in Marysville, KS

quite the statue

and then I was into Nebraska and on to Lincoln.......to see Steve for a few days.......

he graduated~

the tornado warning siren was going off when we arrived at GRADUATION

Patrick shakes the bishop's hand and gets the diploma holder

he had a bumpy year & we are all thrilled Patrick graduated

making power moves right off the stage

stoked ~~~~ no more JUGs!

I get a shot of DAD getting a shot of the kids

follow your dream but take the right steps to get there.....

cannon fire

stoked to see this sign

not stoked to see this one

I reached out to my cousin DOUG BAKER last minute as I was approaching Hutchinson. I tried what looked like a land line in his name and left a message.... Five minutes later I got a call back and an invitation to come over and hang out. 

Doug, DAVID, Camo, me, Charlie - it'd been 20+ years since last linking up

 Doug sneakily didn't mention on the phone that his father and younger brother were there for the weekend. As a result I was pleasantly surprised to see so many long lost relatives. Doug mentioned that before I arrived they'd fired his homemade cannon. I immediately asked if we could shoot it again!

it could fire a golf ball, but we opted for a black powder shot

Doug packs grass down the barrel to boost the loudness

Doug lights the fuse and steps back

KA BOOM - see video here

Charlie & Doug react to the blast

GOOD TIMES - thanks for having me over - sucks it took 20 years to link up. 

I got into Wichita, got a salad at LOTUS LEAF, and called Adrian Parcel to see if he could meet up to skate Edgemoor. He was on the other side of town, but motored across town and beat me to the ramp.

Adrian has gotten a ton of tricks back, including the pivot fakie

 check out this short video 

classic Smith grind

We were hoping that Jeremy was gonna walk over and hang out while we skated. He never showed, so I went to his pad and ended up getting my butt beat in a game of dominos.

homemade donuts

Two months ago when I first landed in Great Bend and was aiding in the unpacking efforts, I saw baking pan for doughnuts that was still in the packaging. I made a comment on it and suggested we make some doughnuts while I was there. Bianca agreed that we should. Now I say "we", but I really mean Bianca, so I just left it up to her. Last night of my stay, the doughnuts got underway.

the dough gets squirted

two kinds of doughnuts and the icing begins

icing completed

somebody licked the icing bowl

dad goes first

Bianca made Iris a baby donut

she liked it

we all liked them

even the finicky eater

thanks for making it happen, B!