What...where is the yellow brick road...
Day 138
7-23-2006
Started: Edgerton, KS
Finished: Outside Ottawa, KS
Today's Miles: 25.0
Total Miles: 1970.0
So once, yet again, we had good intentions of a really early start this morning but things didn't quite work out that way. The temperatures actually dropped low enough last night to allow us to actually take our sleeping bags out of our packs, something we haven't had to do in weeks. We were able to cozy up inside them, which resulted in a really great night sleep for both of us. So, we enjoyed sleeping in until almost 8:00am then headed out for another great day of walking. We continued to follow the Santa Fe Trail today and shortly after leaving Edgerton came upon a Santa Fe Trail Marker, placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution designating that from 1822 to 1872 the Santa Fe Trail passed this point. The marker was in Black Jack Park, an area with eighteen acres of virgin prairie that has been designated a permanent prairie preserve and historical site due to the plainly visible evidence of the Santa Fe Trail. The park also had a Kansas historical marker recognizing the Battle of BlackJack. The "Battle" was part of the struggle to make Kansas a free state. On June 2, 1856, Henry C. Pate's camp, a "proslave" state camp, was attacked by John Brown's "profree" state company, in a grove of Black Jack Oaks. While both sides lost many men, Brown's Company was eventually victorious. Because this "Battle" was evidence of Civil War, it received much publicity and excited both the North and South. After a short history break we continued down the road toward the town of Baldwin City. Baldwin City is named for an Ohio capitalist named John Baldwin who in 1857 hauled a steam saw mill in over the Santa Fe Trail. White settlement of the area began a few years earlier in 1854, the year Kansas became a territory. Baldwin City sprang up after Baker University was established. Baker University is the state's oldest four year college and is named for Methodist bishop Osmon Baker. We were very pleasantly surprised when we came upon a Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in Baldwin City, that seemed to appear from out of nowhere. We could see the signs from a good distance away, and our stomachs were telling us it was a great time to stop for lunch. However, Randy reminded us that through past experiences on this hike, most establishments have not been open on Sundays. But, not Pizza Hut, they were open and we were their first customers for the day. Our waitress, MaryAnne was very excited to hear about our journey, and made sure we didn't leave with empty stomachs. We also enjoyed talking with a local family who had lots of good questions for us and very kind encouraging words for the rest of our trip. It seems that what we have heard about Kansas has been right so far, the State is full of great people. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking on the shoulder of a pretty busy road, so we walked at a fairly quick pace. We had two different cars pull off the side of the road, one offering us a place to stay for the night, and the other a ride into town. It was a really nice day outside, so we thought we would take advantage of the cooler temperatures, so we thanked both trail angels for their offers and continued on. Isn't funny how we say "cooler temperatures", seeing that it was in the 90s all day. Compared to last week, when we hit an all time high with heat indexes of 114 degrees, temperatures in the 90s are so enjoyable. We made a quick stop at a convience store in the town of Ottawa and then were off to find a home for the night. Tonight's home is just far enough off the road that we can't be seen, between a couple hundred acres of soy bean crops and highway 68. The sky is full of stars and we are looking forward to a good night sleep and another great day in Kansas tomorrow.
Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
Follow our Journey at www.treckusa.com
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