Days 8 and 9 – An Unexpected Connection -- Me and KS
Setting out in Kannapolis State Park.
Kansas is the only state on this itinerary that I’d not seen on some past trip. Still, I wasn’t excited at the prospect of hours driving across another flat, featureless landscape. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There have been parts of Kansas that have felt more like home to me than any place I’ve been in a long time. But, I’m getting ahead of myself; I need to close out MO first.
Day 8 -- You know a place has made your animals uncomfortable when they pull you into the trailer to get the hell out of Dodge (or to Dodge, in this case). Still, we did take enough time to notice that Guillermo’s hind right pastern was swollen. Kurt quickly examined him and didn’t find much soreness; so, we hit the road. It was going to be a long-haul day of close to 300 miles to the west side of Kansas City. I’d identified a park along the route where we could ride. But given, G’man’s foot, we decided to just power through.
I’m happy to report the highway system that winds through Kansas City – though still a white-knuckler for someone like me who thinks every other driver is an idiot – is better maintained than in St Louis. And, the Phalen Equestrian Center in Bonner Springs, Kansas is every bit the professional establishments the place in Bourbon is not. With the boys unloaded, Kurt and I motored over to a nearby farm store and bought poultice, the one vet item Kurt hadn’t brought from home. He quickly had G-man’s leg packed and bandaged and the boys were making friends with the enormous Friesian in the corral next door. It was super-hot but a strong wind was blowing from the west –it smelled of good things to come.
We indulged with a stay night at a really nice hotel in a trending area of KC, The Crossroads. It’s that fun balance of an old industrial building – in this case a beer distribution center -- and modern luxury. We had amazing hot showers, then dinner at a place that’s justifiably famous for it’s BBQ – Jack Stack. Kurt got to sample a flight of bourbons; I got to eat a ridiculous amount of mammal. And then, we went back to the hotel and watched one of our favorite movies – The Natural. Altogether a good night.
Day 9 — We looked at the forecast and saw it was expected to be close to 100 degrees across Kansas. A few work calls made, we reluctantly packed up. Arriving at Phalen, we saw that the boys looked great and knew they’d done well when they resisted being caught. Still, many miles to go, we got them watered, fed and loaded then headed west.
The terrain around KC is hilly in that strange wavy way. All the hills are the same size and come in a regular cadence, literally like little waves. It’s fun and you get used to a rhythm for driving it that won’t jerk your horses around. Kurt had a number of calls with his team, so I was driving. I don’t think he noticed the smile widening on my face with each mile that passed under our tires. By the time the route led us into the Flint Hills, I was nearly giddy with the view.
Those little waves had changed into big rollers with grass as far as the eye could see broken occasionally by a more vivid patch of green around a spring, or the russet of a rocky canyon. Something about that landscape fills me with joy to the point of nearly crying. I’m going to be fanciful and say maybe it resonates with some long buried Magyar ancestral affinity for the steppes of the Volga bend and Urals. All I know is that I really wanted to get out into it on a horse. We’d pretty much talked ourselves out of a stop south of Salina at Kannapolis State Park. We had a potentially lame horse in the trailer. I was disappointed but it was the right thing to do.
There aren’t a lot of women, including me, who can talk honestly about their men without making them sound like Neanderthals. Still, I have to give Kurt credit. He doesn’t say much, but he watches. And, I think he saw my need to get in the saddle. “I want to see that park,” Kurt said. “We’ll unload the boys and check G out. If he’s still sore, we’ll just graze them. If he’s good, we’ll ride.”
I pulled the truck up into the only spot of shade in the empty trailer parking lot at the trailhead for Horse Thief Canyon. You can’t make this shit up. Kurt had me hold G while he flexed his hind legs and then had me trot him – no lameness. We saddled up and set out.
The tail starts by winding through the rough grasses of what seems to be a plain. Yellow flowers dot open ground as far as the eye can see, a strong wind keeps you dry if not quite cool. Then, suddenly, you are on the edge of a narrow canyon, looking down its rugged slopes to a stream hemmed by willows. A few dicey scrambles and you’re down in the canyon, crossing and re-crossing that stream; winding in and out of pockets of shade. But it’s hot down there – like 100 degrees hot. So, you’re happy to scramble back up out into the breeze and those amazing endless sightlines.
The horses did great; the boots on their feet not so much – we had three opportunities to dismount and look for missing horse footwear. We gave them plenty of water to drink and a sponge bath then loaded them back up and made the last 90-minute drive to Hays, where we again had the pleasure of working with a real professional and hospitable horse hotel, at the Branded 5 Stable. Their ‘bunkhouse apartment’ is nicer than most condos I’ve stayed in at beach resorts. I love Kansas!
For more info, check out:
https://phalenequestriancenter.com/ , https://ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks/Locations/Kanopolis , http://www.branded5stable.com/