Running errands has never been so much fun...

Day 141
7-26-2006
Started: US 56 Beyond Allen, KS
Finished: Counsel Grove, KS
Today's Miles: 12.0
Total Miles: 2037.1

Today was a very productive day. We walked a little, made new friends, enjoyed a few history lessons, did laundry, picked up our package at the post office, returned e-mails, wrote a journal, it was a busy day. We decided early on that we would take care of our errands in the early part of the day and then catch a ride later in the day, when the temperature cooled off, back to where Chris had picked us up yesterday, and walk back into Counsil Grove. Randy's blisters were not much better today, so Sheri set off into town to collect our package, pick up some groceries and clean our dirty laundry. She fell in love with Counsil Grove immediately especially taking notice of how friendly everyone is. She was overwhelmed with kindness when she made her way to the Laundromat, The Clothesline. She was greeted by the owner, a nice woman named Sylvia, who helped her get everything in order. After getting everything loaded into the washing machine, Sheri made her way to the grocery store to pick up some supplies. When she returned to the Laundromat Sylvia had already changed her laundry and was holding money in her hand to reimburse Sheri for the laundry fees. Sylvia expressed her desire to help us in our journey and even wrote down her address and phone number in case we needed her or her husband Max's assistance. Sylvia even invited Sheri into the back area of the Laundromat that was air conditioned while she waited for her clothes to dry. Counsil Grove, Kansas is definitely full of wonderful people. Counsil Grove is currently on the registry of national historic places. The importance of Council Grove to early travelers on the Santa Fe Trail is immeasurable. The area housed the last significant grove of hardwood trees that early travelers would encounter on their westward journey, making the spot a great place to camp and repair wagons before continuing west. The need to travel in larger caravans for the safety in numbers theory made Council Grove an important gathering point on the trail. The town was given its name by U.S. Commissioner George C. Sibley who was part of a "council" held in the oak "grove" on August 10th, 1825 with Pa-hu-ska, head chief of the Great Osage Indians and Ca-he-ga-wa-ton-ega, head chief of the Little Osages that led to the signing of a treaty allowing American and Mexican travelers the right to pass through Osage territory along the Santa Fe Trail. The town has done a wonderful job of preserving the historical buildings, including the Last Chance Store where travelers could purchase the last needed supplies until Santa Fe and the Post Office Oak where early travelers left mail for fellow travelers coming through Council Grove as well as the Kaw Mission forever documenting the presence of the Kaw Indians. There is also a monument known as the "Madonna of the Trail". The monument is in honor of all the women who endured the difficulties of traveling the Santa Fe Trail. When it was time to find a ride back to the spot where we were on trail, we decided to take Sylvia and Max up on their offer to drive us back where we stopped yesterday. Sylvia graciously returned us to the trail while Max took over duties at the Laundromat. They are a sweet couple that we hope to keep in touch with. Our walk back into Counsil Grove was really nice. The sun was low in the sky and the cows were more curious than ever. Randy's new catch phrase for Kansas is "curious as a cow in a Kansas prairie". He cracks himself up quite a bit as he talks to the cows. We both found ourselves cracking up when a car pulled over to check in on us. The gentleman inside stopped his car and looked at us rather strangely when all he said was, "is this a cardiovascular thing?" All we could do was laugh and say "yes", and that was all it took for him to drive away. He has no idea how much of a cardiovascular thing it really is! After a couple of hours of hiking we found ourselves back in Counsil Grove for the night where we will enjoy a good nights rest. The temperatures are supposed to continue to climb as the week goes on so we will work on getting earlier starts each morning before the sun comes up. For now, we are off to la-la land.

Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
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