25 April 06

Yesterday was cold and windy. Today was colder and windier. And I forgot to bring my gloves.

I made it to Dodge City and passed the rebuilt version of the original. I don’t really know what to say about it, so I’ll just insert the picture and let you decide. I did not pay to take the tour. It was so cold that no one else did either. The place was pretty much a ghost town.

On the way out of Dodge I passed a beefery. I kind of wanted to take a picture, but I’ve already mentioned the gale force winds so decided against getting out of the warmth and safety of the car. But then, I passed a sign claiming a scenic overlook. You can guess what the view was of. Yep.

You can't really tell from this pic, but believe me, it was A LOT of cows.

It’s kind of disgusting really. I mean we never want to think about the sad pathetic lives of the sad pathetic animals we eat. But here you have it. A crop of cattle wading through their own crap, waiting out their lives to feed us. Now I’m not saying I’m converting to vegetarianism, but I may wait a few days to forget the image before eating a burger.

I guess it doesn’t affect everyone this way, because I passed a sign for another ranch that claimed “The next best thing to Cattle Ranching and making money, is Cattle Ranching and LOSING money.” My friends, such is the philosophy of the backroads.

Since I was behind schedule, the only thing I really wanted to see in Wichita was Frank Lloyd Wright’s Allen House. Aside from the Guggenheim, this is the first I’ve seen of his. The house is in an old residential neighborhood; one of those neighborhoods where all the houses are built in very different styles and all look about 100 years old. The trees are old enough to cover the road, which is still brick in this case. It’s just there, on the corner of 6th and something. No fences around it, no “keep off property” signs. If you did not know the significance of it, you may think someone lived there. Like the rest of the houses around it.

Tours are by appointment only, so I did not get to go in the house. However, no one was there so I did peer in the windows and climb the garden walls to look over into the Koi pond. What I realized about this place, is how small it looks in pictures and how big it actually is.

Downtown Wichita was nice. The architecture reflected many different styles here too. But I wanted to get to Oklahoma City, so I didn’t meander too long.