Seg#22 Prairie Spirit Trail #2 KS 7_24_13

Start	Garnett, KS	38.40145 -95.252604	NS miles 7.9
End	Richmond, KS	38.28303,-95.24920	Trl lgth 9.6Ride 19.2

Ride Hrs 2:10

AVS 9

MXS 14

KCAL 1600

Temp 88

Elev 960-1130

*These data are estimates; I rode my black Trek that no longer has a working computer

Ride segment #22 was a feel good ride with pequeno vento (Portuguese: “little wind”--- hearkening back to living in the Azores while serving in the US Air Force) or humidity and plenty of sunshine. It tickled me to be able to complete unfinished latitude Geoff and I were unable to complete on Segment #16. Since I was alone, I needed to peddle up the trail to Richmond, Kansas and back to Garnett, Kansas nine plus miles each way.  The train station in Garnett is a classic.



Garnett, Kansas: This is one of the
nicest trailhead stops I have seen.
An awesome restoration



 The original railroad, Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Railroad, built in the 1868 eventually went bankrupt due to the Great Panic of 1891. The Santa Fe Railroad then procured the right of way and operated the tracks for ninety years. In 1990, the KTC Railway Corporation bought and subsequently abandoned the rail bed. In 1992, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks obtained title to the right of way and the first section of the Prairie Spirit Trail was built. Currently the trail is nearly sixty miles in length. Long range plans include joining the Prairie Spirit with the 117 mile Flint Hills Nature Trail and then connecting both trails to a Quad State Trail uniting four states,  Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.

Shorty after 5 p.m., I headed toward Springfield, Missouri for the Frisco-Highline Trail. Along the way I passed through Fort. Scott, Kansas. The town is quaint with eighteenth and early nineteen century buildings restored to their original glory.

Fort Scott National Historical Site today. The
post served to keep the peace and corral the
native Americans to the west side of the
Mississippi River. Heavy bloodshed occurred

The Fort was established by the US Army in 1842 to protect the Permanent Indian Frontier. Prior to the Civil War, Ft. Scott was a hotbed of controversy over the extension of slavery into new territories. Murder, rape, mayhem, robbery, arson and other hyenas crimes were committed by bold free-state, pro-slavery advocates in the name of the Cause. On January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the union as a free state but turmoil known by eastern newspapers as “Bleeding Kansas” continued throughout the Civil War. After the war between the states, the army pulled out of Fort Scott only to be called back in 1869 to deal with squatters  who forcefully opposed  the development of the railroad south of the military installation and the city of Fort Scott. The army became the scapegoat of problems between the squatters and the railroad, causing the troops to leave Fort Scott in 1873.  The development of the Fort Scott National Historical Site makes this area a destination point. I hope to return with Connie so she can enjoy the shops in the town along with the history at the historical site.

As I said before, I hate driving at night but that is just what I did. Trixie (the GPS Momma) was relied upon to get me to Bolivar, Missouri where I crashed a burned for a power sleep.

Even though Kansas is a flat state, there is tremendous beauty when the golden wheat contrasts with green trees and row crops. When I was on the farm, bales were liftable.

These two ton "porkers" require heavy equipment to lift, carry and stack. They are good for

hiding moonshine as we learned on the History Channel :-)