Kansas, the Sunflower State

 First off, KS highways have been the best we have seen on our trip. Whatever gas taxes you Kansans have been paying it has been put to good use, cheers!

Well, where to start...let's start at the beginning. We pull into Aunt Glenda's ranch a few klicks north of El Dorado, KS. Her family has owned these 1000 plus acres for generations. She greets us with a smile and a wave of the hand from the highway, we have arrived.

Glenda asks, you guys hungry? Hell yeah we're hungry...off we go to Willie's Sports Bar in downtown El Dorado, KS. Friendly hang and we meet up with her good friend Darlene.


That's me, Darlene and Glenda at Willie's.

We greatly enjoyed our visit at Willie's and really loved spending time with Glenda catchin up and having some laughs with Darlene. Darlene, enjoy your travels this summer with your family and if you ever get to San Diego please look us up, we'd love to return the hospitality, you gotta promise, OK?

By the by, Glenda knew most of the folks at Willie's... I mean, knew them from growing up. So cool, Glenda I can see how you love your hometown so much, you're a lucky woman.

After Glenda's parents passed away some years back, her and her two sisters sold off about 1000 acres of the ranch and retained 10 acres of the ancestral home where Glenda now lives. A most comfortable hang for sure. As I said to her, it's like living the ranch lifestyle without all the hard work of ranching.

Here's the view from Glenda's patio. You don't hear the moo's but trust me dear follower's they were there! Very peaceful.

On our last afternoon at Glenda's we spent some time on her patio with her sister Karen and husband Dwight who live in town and Jacob and Shelby who bought the 1000 acres from Glenda and her sisters. What a fine time we had! Very friendly folk and the conversations were flowing.

Talking with Jacob he mentions that cattle ranching covers maybe, in a good year, 50 - 60% of your costs...why do it I ask? Cause I love it man, there's nothing better than saddling up your horse at 5 AM and riding the grazing land, checking on your 1500 herd of cattle and watching the sun rise. Both he and Shelby hold down full time 8-5 gigs in addition to cowboying to sustain the lifestyle they've grown to love. I say hell yeah, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life!

OK dear followers one more musing and I'll close this post out....

We've all heard about these "flyover States", states that certainly KS would qualify for. 
But these are the States that feed this Nation and a good chunk of the world with hard working, decent and honest folks. To dismiss them as a 'flyover' is doing a disservice to them, me thinks.

And I get it, when you're in a pressurized metal tube flying at 36,000 feet at 600 mph, sitting inches away from your fellow passenger in the next seat and not saying a single word to them, it's easy to dismiss this important part of our country. Gotta make that Corporate meeting in Chicago, meet with the hot new prospect in San Antonio, attend the conference in Orlando, you gotta make a buck and there ain't much time to do it...it is so nice to finally be able to slowly travel thru this heartland and soak it in.

We're very fortunate to have experienced this, thanks Glenda! And Karen, Dwight, Jacob and Shelby come visit us in San Diego.

Currently posted up in Nashville, Music City, for 3 nites and then on to KY. I owe you all one hell of a story from our time in the Ozarks...put your seatbelts on for that one.

Peace out, Debbie and Howard 













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