Across the Kansas plains to the foot of the Wet Mountains.
Crystal clear blue skies unfolded across most of the Kansas plains, until just west of the Flint Hills. A smattering of harmless fluffy clouds littered the western skyline just after Great Bend. Local forecasts promised rain later in the day for much of western Kansas.
The quest to reach the Wet Mountains of Colorado in one day did not leave much time available for inquiry towards relics of the past. A brief pause in Ness City offered up the Ness County Bank Building though. Built sometime around 1888–1890, the fully restored four-story stone building is on the National Register of Historic Places and known as the "Skyscraper of the Plains." Hand-carved stone arches and other intricacies cause many to claim it as the most elegant building of West Central Kansas.
The border appeared with very little effort and the reward of an ice cream break in Eads. The relatively recent establishment proved a fantastic break from the road, along with the opportunity to visit with the proprietor about the weather, business, future plans and a range of other topics.
A chance to get acquainted with a new neighbor across the street from said ice cream shop found a new visitor for the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. They are mostly in the business of distributing information about the actual location east of there and hosting a small gallery of the participants in the siege. According to the Park Ranger, they will soon have a library available to those interested in doing research about the event too.
It was not long down the road before the excursion found the usual shade in the park of Sugar City. This little spot always yields quiet relief for muscles aching to be walked and retinas bored with the asphalt gray.
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| "Takin' Care of Business" - Pueblo metal sculpture by George Manus |
In Pueblo, the search for sustenance found a place around the corner from the above artifact unwilling to accept any new company without a reservation. The host admitted to having plenty of tables available but, since the masked hysteria, they require advance booking online. Finding the situation a little ridiculous given the current state of affairs, the entourage moved down to a less uptight and outstanding little riverside accommodation at 1129 Spirits & Eatery on the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk.
A successful navigation through the middle of Pueblo led to the source of the clouds drifting easterly across the plains earlier. The Wet Mountains loomed on the horizon without much hesitation. These and the remainder of the Front Range generates this sort of commotion almost daily. Usually, it is an empty threat in this part of the world.
The mission for the day proved successful in the end, arriving at base camp on Hardscrabble Creek to greetings from good friends and a sunset that no cell phone could ever capture properly.
. . .
Further Reading
Kansas Sampler Foundation
National Park Service
Pueblo Arts Alliance
Pueblo, CO
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