Day 11: Chariton to Chanute KS via Olathe

From Chariton, we headed back to Osceola. I saw a brochure with a picture of a carved Indian statue that reminded my of the totem carving in Pacific Northwest, so we tried to find it. The only location given was highway 34, "outside." I ran into a convienence store to ask where it was. The clerk had never heard of it, but the customer behind me in line said she knew where it was. "Just go straight around the bend," she said. "It's in front of a bank."

And that's where it was. Strange location, but nice art work. After that detour, we headed south on I-35 towards Kansas City. Chariton and Osceola are on the"Mormon PioneerTrail." This was the way the Mormons went from Illinois to Salt Lake City.

Civilization hit us with a vengeance as we approached Kansas City, Missouri. I think the KC Metro area has more people than several of the states we've passed through! And they all seem to be driving. We took a jog towards St. Joseph, Missouri in order to avoid what I call the "octopus interchange" where I-35 and about 5 other freeways bump into each other. We've been through that before and it's not pretty. Our evasion plan worked and we made it to Olathe in one piece and good spirits.

Most people think Kansas City is in Kansas, and it is. But Kansas City, Missouri is like Portland, and Kansas City, Kansas is like Vancouver -- across the river and smaller. And then there is Johnson County Kansas where Overland Park and Olathe are located. I went to high school in this area and the change has been phenomenal. Where there used to be corn fields, they now have a city with a skyline, giant hotels, shopping centers, a corporate park and now the new corporate headquarter campus for Sprint. Simply amazing.

We got off at Olathe and drove by my folks old house, then out the the cemetery where we put flowers on the grave. Then we got out of town and headed south on country roads for Chanute, Kansas where my parents grew up and I was born.

This area of Kansas has oil and natural gas. We went by numerous mini-oil wells (about 3-4 feet high). And I found another city to ad to my list of awful city names: Gas, Kansas. I think this will be a nice companion to Petroleum, Montana.

We arrived in Chanute and went to visit my mother's "gentleman friend" of 12 years, Kenneth. He is 87 and my mom would have been 81 on Oct 7th. He looks great although he had a fall last year that put him our of commission for a while.

Jim's Grandpa Fry said that his long life (over 100) was due to "salt port and a judicious amount of whiskey." I think that Kenneth might be able to credit his long life to cigarettes and a judicious amount of vodka. My mother was very health conscious. She was allergic to liquor and made Kenneth smoke outside or in the garage. I figure she is probably still mad at him for outliving her.

It was Sunday; football was on; we settled in and had a very nice visit.