For lunch, we revisited Herman's Meat & Smokehouse in Topeka. Today's special was 3 ribs, choice of side and a fountain drink for $8.50. which sounded like a great deal, so we all went with it. It turned out that there were actually 4 or 5 ribs, so we each had ribs to take home. They had plenty of flavor from the smoking and the dry rub. Herman's is also a deli and I bought Italian sausages to take home.

For supper we made a second visit to the reopened Speck's Bar & Grill, also in Topeka, Kansas. It closed last June, but was purchased and reopened a few months later. It is now open under the same name and several long time favorite items (such as the 3 pound burger and Bomber Dog) are still on the menu.

Our findings during the first visit in December were mixed and I wanted to give them more time before another try. I believe they are really trying, but it just isn't the same type of food experience it used to be. At 5:30 PM. they apologized that it would take extra time because the fryer hadn't been turned on and needed to warm up. That really didn't seem to take that much extra time.

The BLT could have used more meat and we moved all the bacon from one side to the other. The fresh cut fries were limp and underdone. The chicken gizzards had a thick coating, like fired mushrooms, and I would have liked less batter. The chef brought out a gizzard sauce. When I asked him what it was, he described it as cocktail sauce with some heat. All I tasted was ketchup and black pepper.

The prices were very reasonable and they didn't charge anything for soft drinks or iced tea. A light meal for three people was under $30. I really want to like this place and will probably try them again in a year or two.

Speck's Bar & Grill

It doesn't look like there is any work being done on the mill any longer.

Lunch was at Holly Kaye's Country Cafe in Mullinville, Kansas. The restaurant had recently been recommended to me for burgers, but after reading the online reviews and asking a few questions, I went with the small (5 ounce) chicken fried steak dinner. The salad which came with it was uninspired, but was chilled and had a generous amount of dressing.

The service was casual, but good. I appreciated the server heating the roll in the microwave. The steak and mashed potatoes were fine, but not really what I would try again. I was very happy with the Dutch apple pie, sweet with a good flaky crust. The server asked if I wanted it heated as well and I did. It did seem a bit pricey at $5.99.

Only two people were working in the small (only 6 tables) restaurant. The chef is Holly, the owner. The rest room was clean, but quite small. It might be an issue with a wheelchair. 

The next stop was at the Gallery at Landmark Center in downtown Liberal, Kansas. The hallways of the neat old building are lined with historic pictures from in and around Liberal, with one hall having old Kansas maps. There is a small "Downtown Museum" in a room off the atrium, with a sign on the door saying to request the key at the Candi Prater Insurance Agency in the ground floor west hallway. The agency is open 8:30 - 5:30 Monday through Friday.

The museum has only about 5 exhibits, but they are nicely labeled, as were the photos in the halls. The atrium also has Uncommon LLC, an antique shop where the merchandise is also well labeled, kind of extending the museum.

I had an early supper at The Hamburger Place, a food truck on the north side of Liberal. I tried to dine here in 2019, but although that time I had confirmed their hours in advance by phone, it was closed. This time the food truck was open and after reviewing the short menu, I ordered chilly fries and a cheeseburger, with both of them Maria Style (grilled onion and jalapenos). The cheeseburger was well cooked and the patty has a nice flavor. The chili fries were good despite the many beans in the chili. All were seasoned well and I felt no need to add anything to either one. I assume that the nice lady who took my order and prepared the food is Maria.

Driving north, I stopped at the Grant County Adobe Museum in Ulysses, Kansas. I last visited the museum in 2007 and was checking to update its review. It is a very attractive museum. Comparing this years photos to 2007, the exhibits look largely unchanged, but I think that there are new exhibits related to the oil and gas industry at the rear. This time I did not see the Native American petroglyphs from before and I don't know if I just missed them. After I left the museum and was taking exterior photos, I noticed some buildings a short distance away that appear associated with the museum. I had forgotten that they had been locked when I visited the first time and the docent in the museum had said nothing about them today. The museum was about to close for the day and the next place I was visiting would close just a half hour later, so I didn't go back in and ask about them.

In downtown Ulysses, I visited the Main ARTery, which is an art gallery with classes and an attached flea market. Most of the artists whose work is in a variety of mediums are from Ulysses, with  a few from neighboring towns and one from New York City. There must be a story there, that person's work was all marked half price.  Main ARTery has 25 artists in the gallery and 35 vendors in the store.

After a brief stop for some photos in Jetmore, I went on to Laikin, Kansas and checked into the Cobblestone Inn.

Dutch apple pie
 
 
 
 

Landmark Center
 
 
 

The Hamburger Place
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

South half of the gallery

The curator opened the other adjacent buildings, which included the White House with turn of the 20th century furnishings, one room Columbia School House and a relocated Santa Fe Depot. The machinery area of the museum and small round barn across the street were kept locked up.

Heading east toward Junction City, I stopped at a historic marker, and found an attraction named Charlie's Ruts, which is maintained by the Kearny County Museum. In addition to parallel sets of Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts, there is a 1987 Kansas Historical Society marker, metal art depicting a wagon on the trail, and a mail box with guest register. The mail box is treated much like a geocache and people have left souvenir trinkets which you may take with you, or you may choose to leave some for other travelers. The ruts are fenced off, but there is a gate and visitors are encouraged to explorer the 19th Century wagon ruts.

The next little community on US-50, was Deerfield, Kansas and I pulled through town to see what could be found. Fortunately my route brought me past 105 West 6th Street, where there is an attractive little classic Texaco service station which was built in 1923. There is a small Texaco sign and wooden boxes painted to look like old gas pumps out in front.

This turned out to be another site maintained by the Kearny County Historical Society, which purchased it in 2006. Through the windows I could see photos and Texaco artifacts, but there was nothing to indicate if and when the building is open for visits.

My first stop in Garden City was Valley View Cemetery where the grave marker for Mitchal Runnels contains the engine from the 1924 Chevrolet he was driving when he was hit by a train. His father made the original marker and it badly deteriorated over the years. The marker the engine sits on had been replaced since the last time I visited Valley View Cemetery.

I drove toward downtown to photograph the 900 Block North Seventh Street Historic District, with 5 attractive homes from the early 1900s. Then continued on to Stevens Park to photograph a cannon carried by the battleship California during the Civil War and the nearby set up of food trucks and booths for Food Truck Friday, which is taking place the first Friday of each month.

Driving east on on US-400, I turned into Ingalls, Kansas to visit the Santa Fe Trail Museum. Although I had called earlier in the week to confirm hours, the museum was closed and the sign on the door said they were closed until 1 PM/ Trying to change my schedule on the fly, I checked the website for the Stauth Memorial Museum 17 miles south in Montezuma, but it was closed until afternoon as well.

Heading east again, I stopped a little before Dodge City at the Santa Fe Trail Tracks (AKA Dodge City Ruts). I first visited this roadside park in 1985. US-400 is being widened to 4 lanes and the driveway and parking for the park has been recently redone. Post rocks which once marked a campsite used by a U. S. Survey team in 1825 are just laying together on the ground.

There is a nice paved 100 yard trail to the lookout point. While taking photos I was startled to see a rattlesnake a couple of feet away, but is was only the body of one whose head and rattles had been cut off.

For lunch I went to Kate's in Dodge City, Kansas, which is a bar & grill which opened as the Coney Island in 1946. I first dined at Kate's in 2019 and last dined here in 2022. 

This time I reordered the chili burger which I had on my first visit and which has been on our Kansas Best Burger list. The first time I had the burger it was open faced on white bread. This time it was on a bun. That isn't a problem, but the patty this time was like hamburger steak. Neither the texture or flavor I loved before. 

My order of chili fries had nicely cooked fresh cut fries. I enjoyed the chili despite the beans which I don't believe belong on chili toppings. The chili has enough flavor that I didn't feel the need to add hot sauce or crushed red pepper.

When I requested some onion, the server brought a nice little dish of diced onion.

Kate's is still on my unique Kansas restaurant list, but is dropping off the list of best hamburgers.

After lunch, it was a short ride to the Boot Hill Museum, which generously provided my admission so I could update their listing with the new museum and entrance which opened in 2020. I like the new museum, particularly the People of the Plains exhibit at the entrance. I would love to see that exhibit expanded. I also like the Law & Order exhibit, which shares some stores from Dodge City, asks if you would have voted that the person guilty or not guilty, and then explains what the law actually decided.

There were a lot of children participating in a one day "Cowpoke Camp." I saw groups of children being led by costumed reinactors in arts and crafts, roping, can-can lessons, deputizing and roping. 

I followed up on some of the Stan Herd art in Dodge City. The artist is particularly famous for crop art and grew up just 60 miles away in Protection, Kansas. I found one of his large paintings in the Dodge City Public Library, titled Dusk on the Santa Fe Trail and a smaller painting with no title listed. I also visited three Stan Herd murals nearby. One location has two of his murals, one showing cattle branding on the range and the other showing building the railroad. A muffler man which was customized as a caricature Salsas Man and given to the city by actor Dennis Hopper has been placed in front of the murals. Just two blocks away is a Stan Herd's three story high homage to Frederick Remington's "The Old Stage-Coach of the Plains."

A few miles east of Dodge City, I revisited Fort Dodge, a fort which was used from 1865-1882 and was repurposed as the Kansas State Soldiers Home in 1890. The 752 acre campus offers long term nursing care, domiciliary care and cottages for US service veterans. Most of the historic campus is open to the public.

Fort Dodge includes a sutler store, post office, chapel and repurposed barracks and officer's quarters. The army quartermaster building was built in 1866 and now houses the library and a museum. The museum is only open in the morning.

Driving on to Jetmore, Kansas, I was met at the Haun Museum by Alison Guthrie. The museum is normally closed on week days, but Alison agreed to meet me there to open the museum and brought along Rick Lucas who told me a lot about the history of the building and many of the exhibits. Large portions of the collection will mainly be of interest to folks with a community connection, but other interesting stories told by the museum include the death of Morton the elephant. Morton killed his trainer while in Jetmore in 1911 and was destroyed by using a train engine pulling to break his neck. A.E. Hunt's Rotary Aeroplane was a failed early helicopter built in Jetmore in 1910.

The museum has produced calendars with historic photos of Jetmore and Hodgeman County, Since they tell a lot of the history of the community, Alison presented me with a set of them and they will provide for interesting Facebook post going forward.

I had supper at Judy's Cafe. I selected it from polling the folks on the KansasTrave.org Facebook Page on which restaurant I should visit. Judy's Cafe in Jetmore or nearby Bruce's Country Kitchen in Hanston. Kansas. 19 people weighed in and the majority said to go to Judy's.

Judy's is a small restaurant with 5 booths and a counter with 4 chairs. Two young women were working, doing all the things in the restaurant. I selected the Longhorn Burger, which for $10.25 was described as a 1/2 pound burger loaded with cheese, grilled onions, homemade jalapeno paste and an egg. The egg didn't really work for me, particularly after I bit into the yoke which ran out of the sandwich. Still I enjoyed the burger after removing the egg and it was more than I could eat. 

I also ordered a $4 side of fries and was astounded when it turned out to be what looked to me as being about 3 pounds of fresh cut fries. The side dish dwarfed the large sandwich. I heard regular customers who came in after me request a small or half order of fries. Now I know. When I asked if many people finish the fries, the server said that was rare that someone ate the entire order, and that they once had a person who was unfamiliar with the restaurant ask for two orders of fries.

I asked about desserts and was told they had in-house made strawberry rhubarb pie. I shot the works and asked for it warmed and à la Mode. I'm more of a straight rhubarb person, but this pie was great. 

When I was paying, I was asked where I lived. When they learned that I came from the far side of Kansas, they requested that I sign their guest register. I was the first one to sign in June, but there were 14 parties in May with the most recent ones being from Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Colorado, and Quincy, Illinois.

It was a nice experience.

As I drove north toward Wakeeney, Kansas, dark clouds filled the northern sky. There was still no rain when I reach Wakeeney, so I took a few minutes to photograph a new mural which was painted across the street from on the former Masonic Lodge, across the street from the Trego County Courthouse. It is quite attractive and spells out the name of the town.

I've stayed at the Wakeeney Super 8 several times. As I was checking in tonight, the owner was watching weather radar for Hill City, about 25 miles north of town and said they were really getting hit by the weather. About 45 minutes later  I was in my room and the power went off. I went to the window to open the curtain and get more light. There was driving rain and 55 mpg winds which lasted another 20 minutes or so.

Power came back in a couple of hours.

Charlie's Ruts
 

Texaco Service Station
 
 
 

Mitchal Runnels Grave

Food Truck Friday
 
 
 
 

Santa Fe Trail Tracks
 
 
 
 
 

Chili Burger & Chili Fries
 

Law & Order Exhibit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fort Dodge Chapel
 
 
 

Haun Museum
 
 
 
 
 

Judy's Cafe

Longhorn Burger
 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
 

Across town I stopped at the Kansas Merci Boxcar. It is one of 49 boxcars given to the United States by the grateful citizens of France in 1949. It was originally displayed in Topeka and then was taken on a 140 day tour of 120 Kansas towns ending on Armistice Day, November 11, 1949.

When I last photographed the boxcar, it was kept next to the American Legion Hall Canterbury Drive. It has since been moved about 100 feet to be a centerpiece of Veterans Memorial Park. The park also has a M-60 A1 Tank, many flag poles and an obelisk with a similar shape to the Washington Monument. There are phone numbers to call to schedule a tour of the Merci Boxcar.

I drove downtown to the Hays Arts Center Gallery. The Gallery was scheduled to open at 10 AM. It was a couple of minutes before 10, but the door was unlocked and I started to go in, but I was quickly told that the museum was not open and the door was only unlocked for a delivery.

The next stop was at the nearby Stone Gallery (art studio of Pete Felten). The gallery does not keep regular hours, but a call earlier in the week had confirmed that Pete might be at the gallery working this morning. It was all locked up. Fortunately the grounds are open and I photographed many examples of his art carved into the stone fence behind the neat old stone building.

The gallery is across the alley from the Ellis County Historical Society museum complex. The museum was closed a few years ago because of mold, but portions have reopened. The main galleries in the large old brick church are still closed for remodeling which will take several years, but there is a temporary gallery in the basement and the smaller historic stone church. The Sternberg Firearm Collection is housed for the summer in the basement of that church.

Next I went to Dorrance, Kansas to the Dorrance Bankery, a restored 1905 stone bank with a small museum and selling a few baked goods brought in from a home baker. Three baked goods were offered today, raspberry bismarks, long Johns and cream puffs. I bought one one of each to try later. The cream puff was my favorite. The long John did not have filling and tasted much like the bismark without the raspberry.

Tony Mahoney, who created the museum, was on vacation and it was a being kept open this morning by a local volunteer who kept apologizing for not knowing even more about the building and exhibits. She did a fine job and the visit ended up taking over an hour.

The building had many other uses after the bank closed in 1933 and when Tony acquired the building in 2007, the interior looked nothing like a bank. Based on old photos, he has returned it to an earlier time. The back portion of the building has interesting exhibits devoted to several entrepreneurs and inventors who called Dorrance home.

There is a second MGM Shed with old farm equipment and a tractor and wagon used to give tours of Dorrance when Tony is present to drive.

Before leaving Dorrance, I stopped for lunch at Tipsy Bull, a bar and grill a couple of blocks away. A young woman was waiting tables and a young man was the only one in the kitchen. To this aging man, neither looked old enough to be selling alcohol. Both were working hard.

The short menu was crudely marked up by hand with more items removed, changed or added than were unchanged. There were 6 sandwiches, 3 baskets and 3 salads, plus sides and appetizers. With the name being the Tipsy Bull, I wanted to try the bull fries basket, but they were out, so I went with a patty melt and fries. The rye bread was a little stronger and a little more toasted than I would have preferred. It was an average meal.

The next stop was Fort Riley, just east of Junction City. After checking in at the Visitors Center and getting permission to enter the active US fort, I drove to the parking lot next to the U. S. Cavalry Museum. As I drove on to the post, this was the first time that no aircraft were visible on Marshall Army Airfield.

The museums were closed for many years for remodeling and updating. The Cavalry Museum reopened last year and I visited in in August, but the First Infantry Division Museum reopened just a few weeks ago. I walked over to the building I remembered it being, but there was no sign for the museum and nothing to indicate that it was open. The only sign was a small one on the door saying that an alarm would sound if the door was opened. I stood on the porch, bringing up info on the museum online, confirming that this was the correct building and yes the museum was supposed to be reopened.

The door was unlocked and although interior lighting came on when I walked in, I was the only person in the two story museum devoted to the Big Red One. My favorite exhibits were devoted to World War 2, but the galleries cover the history of the Division from its organization in 1917 into the 21st Century.

I had an early supper at North Star Steakhouse on the north side of Topeka, Kansas, where I had dined with others in March. Calling for a reservation just a little after 4 PM, I had to settle for a seat at the bar. I was the only one eating at the bar, but there was a steady stream of other people either picking up take out orders or having a drink while waiting for their tables. It felt like the staff knew and liked all of the other customers, but I felt welcome as well. My food was brought by servers, but the bartender supervised my meal.

I had chicken fried steak, which came with a salad and fresh cut fries served family style with gravy. Neither the steak or the gravy had as much seasoning as I wanted and I added too much salt. Having the leftovers the next day, I discovered that what I should have added was hot sauce.

For dessert I ordered the Ooey Gooey Brownie, which seemed a little pricey compared to the $21.99, Just after I first photographed the dessert, a server brought a martini glass filled with additional ice cream, saying that the bartender said I hadn't been brought enough ice cream on the plate. That isn't nuts on top of the brownie, but toffee. I ate all the dessert.

Kansas Merci Boxcar
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Stone Gallery
 
 
 
 

Dorrance Bankery
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tipsy Bull Menu
 
 
 
 

First Infantry Division Museum
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chicken Fried Steak

Ooey Gooey Brownie

Lunch was at Sommerset Hall Cafe, a few miles west of Topeka in Dover, Kansas. The famous restaurant changed hands in March of 2023 and I had only dined here once under the new ownership. The menu is unchanged since last August and I think it is unchanged from before the restaurant changed owners.

We had a shrimp basket, fish basket and chicken fried steak sandwich. 

The senior fish basket had one piece of fish, small drink and French fries. Nothing special about it. other than the price of $7. The shrimp were mostly breading and the person who ordered it was very unhappy when it was served to learn that no cocktail sauce was available. The chicken fried steak sandwich wasn't bad, but I wished the fries had been more crispy.

As expected, the pie was the star of the meal. The mixed berry pie was good and the chocolate caramel was even better. The filling was like a brownie, rather than cream and had a nice rich, dark chocolate flavor. Pie was $4.75.

Supper was at Sheridan's Frozen Custard in Topeka. The chain started in Overland Park, Kansas in 1998 and was an extremely popular place for frozen desserts for many years, but that location and most of the others have closed. Now there are only 4 locations, with 2 on the Missouri side of Kansas City and 1 on the Illinois side of St. Louis.

This is the only one which serves meals and it has a small dining room with about 6 tables in addition to walk up and drive through windows. We ordered a chicken sandwich, Super Dog, fries, limeade and small chocolate malt. You order at a counter and the food is brought to your table. The grilled chicken sandwich had good flavor, though the meat was a bit tough. The fries were fresh cut and very good. 

The Super Dog is described as an all beef dog on a whole wheat bun, Texas all meat chili, spicy Jamaican relish and spicy brown mustard. It was a large dog on a larger bun with a lot of toppings, including the raw onion I requested. It was very good and the excess toppings was great with the fries. An order of fries with the same toppings would be great. One quibble, there were a few beans in the all meat chili, though they didn't detract from the meal.

I don't think I have ever had a malt at a Sheridan's before. It was all right, but I would go with a concrete if I went there again.

Chicken Fried Steak
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Super Dog

My server wasn't quite as attentive as I might wish, but he respond well to all requests and was willing to make suggestions on what to order when requested. 

I ordered a $16 two meat sandwich with brisket and pulled pork. The meat is pretty thick on the bun, but doesn't seem that big for its price point. There is less meat than a single meal sandwich a mile away at Arthur Bryant's. I think the pulled pork is better than most. Brisket is harder to review, because different people tend to expect different things in beef brisket. I would say that it is in the mix of places offering better brisket in KC. Any sides are an extra charge and I had a $3.50 serving of lightly battered French fries.

There are no desserts listed on the menu, but when the server brought the check, I asked if they had any house made desserts. He said that they have cheesecake that is made in house. When I asked for a recommendation, he suggested the sweet potato cheese cake, but the berry one is good too. The sweet potato New York style cheesecake came out quickly. I though it was pretty good and it is nicely priced at six dollars.

Wolfepack BBQ's website is one of those annoying ones which don't list their menu, but make you go to an ordering program which makes it very hard to look at their selection and prices. They also don't provide a phone number on their website or listing on Google.

2 meat sandwich & fries

Cheesecake

When we were seated, we learned that on Sunday they are using a special Sunday Brunch menu. The lunch items are rather limited, with all the entrees being more breakfast type items. We were looking for lunch items and and decided to share three appetizers and skip the entrees.

We had Kalbi Short Ribs, Fancy Deviled Eggs, and Smoked Salmon $ Cream Cheese Dip. The ribs were very nicely seasoned and and generously sized serving. I was also very happy with the deviled eggs.

It was an inexpensive meal, just $44 including tax and soft drinks.