[personal profile] sugarplumkitty
I woke up regretting the snack food dinner. My tummy wasn't happy at all. The free coffee provided in the room probably didn't help my tummy much but it woke my head up. I needed to be awake. It was my turn to drive. We went in search of breakfast. The pancake house was closed. The best we could do was Sonic. They did have breakfast food but my stomach churned at the thought of anything with eggs or bacon. Blech. I ended up having a grilled chicken sandwich. Eric had a jalapeno cheeseburger. Wow! He's so happy Kansas is getting with the Mexican food thing. I felt better after eating real food and we hit the road.

Luckily my foot was doing OK. It had a bruise but no swelling. Also luckily, it was my left foot and not the one I needed to drive the car.

I can't drive for extended periods without irritating my neck so we took breaks every hour or so. Sometimes it was to take photos of flowers or scenery. Sometimes it was just long enough to find a bathroom. Sometimes it was to browse through a Dollar General store (Eric's thing).

Boot Hill, Dodge City, KS
I was ready for a longer break when we got to Dodge City. Eric had poo-pooed the idea of going to Boot Hill and the O.K. Corral but once we got there he left it up to me whether to go in or not. I didn't see anything about the O.K. corral. I guess it's in a different part of town but Boot Hill is a big tourist trap. We poked around the gift shop and used the bathrooms. It was hot and sticky. A nice cold sarsaparilla sure would taste good, I thought. But the only way to get one was to pay the price and go to the saloon. Eric was tempted by that thought, too. We went in. Most of the bodies were moved from Boot Hill. The places they were are marked. The stories are told of how they died. The original jail is between the stairs and the history museum that separates the cemetary from the rest of the tourist trap. Down hill from there is an old replica street, all the shops air-conditioned and most of them attached to an interior hallway. We explored the buildings, looked at the first floor displays in an old authentic house that is too weak to allow people upstairs anymore and went back to the saloon for our sarsaparillas. Ah, they tasted good! I kept my bottle as a souvenir.

The bartender chatted us up and asked about the weather where we're from. He says he's getting very worried about the weird weather everyone says they're having this year no matter where they're from. We agreed global warming is a serious thing that needs to be addressed right now.

In the gift shop, I picked up a magnet for our refrigerator and a woven wheat decoration for Helen and Dad. It was two entwined hearts with a golden ribbon and flowers. We missed their anniversary last month. Better late than never! We'd picked out an anniversary card for them at Walmart in Liberal so now we were set.

We headed on down the road. I was hoping to get back to Moundridge by dinner time but that just didn't happen. We called Helen to let her know then stopped at Geneva's convenience store to have another of those wonderful pizzas. We called Sis as soon as we decided to do that and she met us there. Another relative dropped in and chatted with us for a while. Before we all left he said the nicest thing, that it was nice to know there were some down-to-earth people like us in California. lol

Eric wanted me to detour through Windom where his dad grew up. He wanted to see if his grandmother's house was still there. The house was surrounded by a thick band of trees so he wasn't sure it was the same house. His dad confirmed later that it was. It was out on a muddy road about a block away that we saw the pretty weeds I snapped photos of. Eric pointed out where Uncle Dwight used to live and where a pond used to be. It was a pretty little town even though the few shops that used to be there had been out of business for a long time. The buildings look like they're about to fall down.

Eric appears in the newspaper
We got back to Moundridge about 8PM, too late for us to go meet Helen's kids. We'll just have to go back! Helen's sister gave her a copy of the Hutchinson newspaper. The article about the Bullseye Grill featured Eric as the lead part of the story! Kansas boy moves to California and develops a taste for jalapenos. Bullseye Grill delivers! teehee!

Then Eric and I both focused on packing. He had an antique aviation journal collection he'd decided to bring home. Since he knew he'd be bringing home more stuff, he brought the collapsible nylon suitcase we bought on our honeymoon, packed in his suitcase. I managed to get everything into my suitcase and backpack. I packed everything I thought might cause problems into my suitcase including my salt and Sarsaparilla bottle. The hand-crafted Amish somethings I didn't trust to the baggage handlers. Those went into my backpack to be carried on.

I slept so well that night. It was starting to be nice to sleep touching Eric all night.

A Plains sunflower on the side of the road. A Plains sunflower on the side of the road.
A Common sunflower on the side of the road. A Common sunflower on the side of the road.
Eric amid the sunflowers Eric amid the sunflowers
Me among the sunflowers Me among the sunflowers
We stopped for a cool sarsaparilla at Boot Hill in Dodge City, Kansas. We stopped for a cool sarsaparilla at Boot Hill in Dodge City, Kansas.
The barkeep was very friendly. The barkeep was very friendly.
Front Street on Boot Hill in Dodge City, KS Front Street on Boot Hill in Dodge City, KS
A typical weed near Eric's home town.  He calls it 'Kansas Creeper' A typical weed near Eric's home town. He calls it 'Kansas Creeper'
How pretty the weeds are near this old water tower! How pretty the weeds are near this old water tower!

Date: 2007-07-12 05:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] annaonthemoon.livejournal.com
How big is the mock sunflower? it might be a brown-eyed-susan (sometimes called a black-eyed-susan).

Date: 2007-07-12 06:10 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
They vary in size but the largest one was probably about four inches from petal tip to petal tip. They're different from the black-eyed susans we have in California. Ours are quite small, but then ours have to deal with a dry summer.

Date: 2007-07-12 06:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] annaonthemoon.livejournal.com
I've seen Black-Eyed-Susans get to be that large in this area, and in Michigan, so I'm going to bet they were large susans :)

Date: 2007-07-12 07:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
Nope! I got curious and looked them up. What we have here are Plains sunflowers. The Kansas state flower is the Common sunflower. My labels have been changed.

Home sweet home

Date: 2007-07-12 05:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] remontoire.livejournal.com
You have had your moneys worth out of that trip! :D Thanks for the tour. I enjoyed the ride.

Re: Home sweet home

Date: 2007-07-12 06:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
No wonder we're exhausted! lol

Date: 2007-07-12 06:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] penpusher.livejournal.com
Great times!

So, I've heard tell of this Sarsaparilla (I always thought it was "sasparilla" but what do I know about it). What sort of flavor does it have, and what's it made from? Is it like root beer basically or something totally different?

Date: 2007-07-12 06:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
It's pretty much a root beer flavor. It's a more delicate flavor than true root beer. That's about as well as I can define it.

Everyone I've heard pronounce it leaves out one of the 'a' sounds. Sarsparilla is how I'd spell it phonetically.

Date: 2007-07-12 07:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angelsmum.livejournal.com
I've read all your holiday posts and thoroughly enjoyed them! :)

We tried some root beer the other day; we found it in the supermarket. I've never seen it here before. It was awful, really medicinal tasting! I don't know whether this was the true flavour though, might have been a cheap imitation (like generic brand colas never taste like either Coke or Pepsi...).

Date: 2007-07-12 07:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
I'm glad you enjoyed them! :)

I've always loved root beer but it is different. Maybe it's an acquired taste?

What brand was it?

Date: 2007-07-12 07:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angelsmum.livejournal.com
I can't remember the brand, something I never heard of. Will check, if they still have any. It smelled like a brand of antiseptic ointment my Mum used to have!

Date: 2007-07-12 07:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angelsmum.livejournal.com
Jeremy liked it but he likes anything sweet!

Date: 2007-07-12 07:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
I wonder if I could send some good stuff to you? Is it legal to send fluids these days?

Date: 2007-07-12 07:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angelsmum.livejournal.com
I'm not sure! That'd be nice of you, but certainly don't feel obligated :)

PS

Date: 2007-07-12 07:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angelsmum.livejournal.com
"Weed"s indeed! Is that the hemp??

Re: PS

Date: 2007-07-12 07:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
Yes, that's hemp. It's more suited to making cloth than medicinal purposes.

Re: PS

Date: 2007-07-12 07:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angelsmum.livejournal.com
Yeh :)
I've never seen it growing wild before...although some to think of it my Mum once found a plant in our old place which she was paranoid was pot, maybe it was hemp!

Re: PS

Date: 2007-07-12 07:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
It might have been. They use hemp seed in some birdseed mixes but it's usually nuked so it won't grow.

Date: 2007-07-13 01:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] amusingmuse.livejournal.com
I love Sarsaparilla! I prefer it to Root Beer. Even better than bottled is fresh brewed! A friend long time ago gave my momma some Sassafras root and we boiled it up. Oh Sweet Love! Delicious!

Date: 2007-07-13 02:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
Ooh! A recipe for Sarsaparilla? Will you share?

Date: 2007-07-13 02:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] amusingmuse.livejournal.com
I was 12 at the time. I'll have to ask my mom and see if she remembers. I seem to remember we just put the roots in a big pot of very hot water and let them steep. It was better the next day. It tasted more like a root beer type tea, since there were no fixies. (I'm sure sugar was added at some point or other.)

Date: 2007-07-13 02:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] amusingmuse.livejournal.com
I mean fizzies. I also think Firefox spell checker has no clue that it comes from the Sassafras tree! (WHich, yes, when the bark is pulled back, smells like root beer. I so want a sassafras tree!)

Date: 2007-07-13 04:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
lol I think they primarily grow in the South since that's where we tend to find the candy and drinks.

Date: 2007-07-13 09:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] amusingmuse.livejournal.com
I think it's a Midwest plant as the first place I saw a Sassafras tree was on a field trip in middle Illinois. It gets too hot where I'm at for most Southern plants to thrive. (I'm watching one poor plant wither in the sun.)

Date: 2007-07-13 11:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
oh, you're probably right. I haven't been in the South, proper. It was in Arkansas, southern Kansas and Missouri that we've found it.

Date: 2007-07-14 01:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] amusingmuse.livejournal.com
Arkansas is 'close', but still more Ozark than Southern.

Date: 2007-07-14 03:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sugarplumkitty.livejournal.com
lol I've always figured states proud to be part of the Confederacy were "Southern"

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