Unfortunately the Royals had only 2 hits and lost 4-2.

I drove through Tonganoxie, taking updated photos of some of the murals and the cool old building which once housed the Myers Hotel Bar. Part of the building now houses Peace, Love and Yoga.

Continuing on, I took a few photos in McLouth, Kansas, including a neat Halloween display at McLouth Lumber Co. 

Arriving in Oskaloosa, Kansas. I took a few new photos of Old Jefferson Town, then drove through town to see what caught my attention. The handsome Oskaloosa United Methodist Church was unlocked and I took photos inside and out.

Lunch was at Ashlie's Homestyle Family Restaurant in Oskaloosa. It opens just for breakfast and lunch and at 11 AM it was just me, the server and the chef. I ordered the pork tenderloin and heard the meat being pounded in the kitchen a couple of minutes later. 

The food came out quickly and it was a nicely seasoned, large. deep fried tenderloin. I cut it in half to save the rest for later and it was still large enough that I was tempted to cut it in half again. It was a thick tenderloin. The menu said nothing about desserts and none were suggested.

Heading north on Hwy 56, I passed a historic marker for the Battle of Hickory Point. Its anniversary is next week.

I drove to the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Winchester because the grave of John Steuart Curry is in the Cemetery behind the church. When I saw how attractive the church was, I stopped to photograph the church first, and someone who was leaving invited me to come in and photograph the inside. It is simple, but attractive and has nice stained glass windows.

John Steuart Curry was an artist whose best known work is "Tragic Prelude," a mural in the Kansas State House. His grave stone is flat and would be easy to miss in a short row with other family members, but there is an upright stone with the family name and listing the individual members. 

Continuing north and west, I drove through Valley Falls, Kansas and photographed the Historical Shrine Church which was relocated next to the Valley Falls Historical Society Museum in March 2014. The building was unlocked so I was able to photograph the interior as well. The church was built in 1857 and the sign says that it was the first Lutheran Church built west of the Misouri River. 

A quick search online shows that a Lutheran Church was built in Sitka, Alaska in 1843, so perhaps it would be better to call this the oldest Lutheran Church building west of the Mississippi.

Passing next through Dennison, Kansas, I photographed some interesting old buildings and checked on the home which once was the Muleskinner Lodge, a really cool B&B which we visited in 2008.

Finally I arrived at Holton, where I was looking forward to seeing glass blowing at More Than Lemons Art Glass. Unfortunately they were not creating glass art today. I guess when contacting them in advance I should have asked when the studio would be in use, rather than their hours.

Next I drove straight through to White Cloud to take fresh photos around town and drive north to the Nebraska State Line to photograph the historic marker about the "Point of Beginning of the Public Land Surveys of the Sixth Principal Meridian.

About 80 yards north, there is an easily not noticed trail which leads up to the top of bluff and a short obelisk which is a monument to the actual starting point for surveying the 40th Parallel. There is a guest register - I was the first one to sign it since Monday. The trail up the bluff is pretty steep and the walk is probably risky when the ground is wet, but it was dry today, there is a railing to hold on to and anyone in average condition can do it.

Before leaving town, I also revisited the Four State Lookout.

One of the volunteers with the Iowa and Sac & Fox Mission State Historic Site near Highland, Kansas had agreed to let me into the building at 4 PM. He was already at work on exhibits when I arrived and they have a lot which they hope to do before the Powwow they are hosting on September 20-22. 

The building was a state historical museum until 2008, but for many years only the grounds were open. In 2021 the state gave control of the property to the Iowa tribe of Kansas and it became part of the Ioway Tribal National Park. The Museum was reopened in 2022, but I had not managed to be there when it is open.

Quite a bit needs to be done by the 20th. Although the second floor isn't really ready for viewing at this time, I was invited to view it as well. The main floor has two galleries lined with wonderful sketches and three paintings by Rudolf Friedrich Kurz, a Swiss painter and writer who came to the United States in 1846-52 to study Native Americans.

For supper I tried Kirkwood and Co. in nearby Highland, Kansas. It is a nice sports bar and my chicken fried steak, coleslaw and fries were fine, but not the treat I am hoping to discover when exploring Kansas. I'm not a fan of battered fries, but these were better than most. The chicken fried steak was unusually small, and part way through the meal I got on my phone seeking another restaurant to check out in the region.

Before going to my second supper, I drove a few miles south to Severance, Kansas to check out Wolf River Falls a little northwest of town. I went up river a short ways, but it soon looked like I wasn't going to reach the falls without going through a farmer's corn field and I gave it up.

The second restaurant I tried was Cajun Food Coma in Troy, Kansas. There was no sign and I hesitated when I first saw it, but the couple operating the restaurant were friendly and welcoming. 

I had the Swamp Sampler. For $18.99 you select three appraisers from fried shrimp, fried oysters, soft shell crab, frog legs and gator bites. I went with oysters, crab and alligator and was happy with them. enjoying the fried oysters the most. The gator bites had a spicy coating.

I suspect this is the only restaurant nearby where you can get oysters on the half shell.

The final stop of the day was southeast of Walnut Creek Falls, southwest of Wathena, Kansas. Unfortunately, these was another location where I couldn't find a way to approach where I understand the falls to be without going through what felt too much like private property.

The night was spent at Quality Inn Atchison in Atchison. Kansas. The room seemed pretty bland for well over $100, but was clean and well kept. The public areas are nicer and the stay included a better than average hotel breakfast

McLouth Lumber Co.
 
 
 
 
 

Pork Tenderloin
 
 
 

John Steuart Curry grave

Historical Shrine Church
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sixth Principal Meridian

40th Parallel Memorial
 
 

Iowa and Sac & Fox Mission State Historic Site
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cajun Food Coma
 

The day began with a revisit to the Atchison County Historical Society & Museum in the historic 1880 Santa Fe Freight Depot. Although I have visited the museum several times, somehow I have never made a page devoted to it.

The museum has a large exhibit devoted to George Washington Glick, an Atchison resident who became the ninth governor of Kansas on January 8, 1883. Other areas that might interest people from outside Atchison are devoted to the Lewis & Clark Expedition coming through Atchison, the Santa Fe Railroad, the seven Corn Carnivals which were held between 1895 and 1912, and  artist and teacher Walter Yost.

Outside the old freight depot is the open air Atchison Railroad Museum. The centerpiece of the collection of rail cars is #811 an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway steam engine from about 1902. There is also a 12" narrow gauge railroad with rides for children.

My next stop was the grounds of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. I photographed the grounds and the exterior of St. Scholastica Chapel and the monastery. I was pleased to discover that the tower on the Monastery Chapel has gargoyle down spouts, This is only the third church where I have found them in Kansas. The others are in Leavenworth and Fort Scott.

The chapels were both locked and there was no signs about visiting them, but I called the monastery later in the day to see if I might photograph them.

But for now... I had noticed Trinity Episcopal Church while on my way to the motel last night and stopped by there next. The congregation was founded in 1857 and this attractive building was completed in 1868.

After taking exterior photos, I tried the door and finding it open, went on in. The Rector, Rev. Jon Hullinger, greeted me, turned on the lights in the sanctuary and invited my taking photos. He pointed out some highlights and we talked for nearly an hour sharing our faith journeys. He even loaned me a history of the congregation, "A Song of Saints" by W. Richard Wise to assist when I make a page devoted to this church.

The church has particularly beautiful stained glass windows and I was delighted to learn that three of them were created by Louis C. Tiffany. Even cooler is the baptismal font where Amelia Earhart was baptized in October 1897.

For lunch I went to Jerry's Again in downtown Atchison. The restaurant was inspired by 20th Century Atchison restaurants Jerry's Restaurant and Jerry's Two and was opened in 2002 by children of the original Jerry and Virginia Kuckelman. It is in a handsome old corner building.

I ordered the signature Jerry's Two sandwich, which is Polish sausage with sauerkraut, cheese & thousand island dressing on grilled rye. I asked about their pies, but the apple dumpling was what really got my attention and I asked for one to be set aside for me to have at the end of my meal.

The sandwich was large and a treat. The waffle fries which came with it were a little over done, but the sandwich and the dumpling which followed were more than I could comfortably eat. The dumpling was excellent - large, warm and served with a big serving of vanilla ice cream.

I will be back.

After lunch, I drove to St. Benedict Parish, on the corner of Benedictine College in Atchison. We already have a page devoted to this large, imposing church, but the photos were taken in 2007 when my camera and experience taking photos were less advanced. These new photos were long overdue. The church is open every day and I quietly and respectfully took photos so as to not disturb those parishioners who were praying or reading.

Finally I received a call from the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and made my way back to their campus and to the Chapel, entering through the 1872 Price Villa, which was renamed St. Cecilia after the building was acquired by the Benedictine Sisters in 1877. There is a small museum called the Benedictine Sisters Heritage room near the entrance to St. Cecilia.

I was given an opportunity to photograph both chapels. 

The large St. Scholastica Chapel was built in 1933. It has magnificent marble columns and the sister who was showing be around pointed out a large nautilus fossil in one of the columns. There is a lovely rose window at the rear of the chapel and seven of the beautiful stained glass windows honor martyred women saints.

The smaller Choir Chapel in the Monastery was built in 1900 and reminds me of the portion of European cathedrals which is called the choir. The public is invited to attend mass here on Sunday's at 10:15 AM. Although I was told that the stained glass in here is quite old, it has a contemporary feel to me.

On my way south out of Atchison, I swung by the Amelia Earhart Earthwork. The one acre earthwork is a portrait of the aviator which was created by Stan Herd in 1997. It had been many years since I was last here and it is less visible than I remembered. The hillside near Warnock Lake is not very tall and even though there is a nearby viewing deck it doesn't look like much unless you are up in the air.

What does impress me is the nearby International Forest of Friendship. The memorial garden and arboretum was a bicentennial project of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots which is active in Atchison because Amelia Earhart was born and raised here. 

The forest contains trees representing all 50 American states and the 35 countries where aviation honorees reside. There is even a sycamore grown from a seed that traveled to and from the moon with Apollo 14. It is called the Moon Tree and is dedicated to 17 American astronauts who died advancing the space program. It was a lovely afternoon and there was just one other person in the park.

While in the park, I received a return call from Denise Wood who owns Hidden Valley Wilderness Retreat, midway between Atchison and Leavenworth. She invited me to visit their guest houses. 

Arriving at Hidden Valley a half hour later, I found Denise and her husband Stan hard at work cleaning Whispering Elm, an amazing two story tree house which can be rented. The retreat has three tree houses on their 32 acre heavily wooded property and several nature trails. The tree houses are amazing and I can see this being a big hit with guests looking for experiences.

All guests must be at least 18 years old.

The trip concluded with an early supper at The Nest Bar & Grill on the grounds of Falcon Lakes Golf Club in Basehor, Kansas. I appreciate Kansas restaurants with a view and this one is very nice. I ordered Buffalo style chicken wings and fries. The wings came out quickly and were quite tasty. 8 wings for $12 is a bargain these days and on Wednesdays they are only $10. 

AT&SF Engine #811

gargoyle down spout
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

baptismal font
 
 
 
 
 

apple dumpling
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

St. Scholastica Chapel
 
 
 
 
 
 

Moon Tree
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Whispering Elm

The Nest Bar & Grill

There is a page devoted to it now and the video is posting to our Kansas Travel Facebook Page on Friday.

For lunch we checked out Wilson's Pizza & Grill in Kansas City, Kansas. I was satisfied with the food and liked the people. This review is going to sound more negative that I intend, but I want people to understand exactly what we found, so they make an informed decision. I recommend their food for carry out rather than dine in, but we live too far away for that to work for us.

The old building looks interesting from outside, but inside the security wall separating the kitchen from the dining area lacks charm and makes the space feel cluttered and uncomfortable. For seating, there are two unappealing counters and a couple of tables. The single rest room was marked out of order.

The menu is longer that I would have anticipated and we chose a calzone, personal deep dish pizza, chicken wings and French fries. The large calzone was our favorite item and a little unusual in that there was cheese on top of the crust. You have to choose between beef, sausage or "just meat." There is a charge for any other toppings, but it is only 52 cents an item. 

Eating the calzone was a little awkward. It was too large to easily pick up to eat and the flimsy plastic forks didn't work well. When a knife was requested, the server brought a large kitchen knife, knowing that a plastic knife would not work. It was still difficult, because the plastic fork wouldn't hold it in place.

Deep dish pizza isn't my first style choice, but that is the only style available in a size smaller than medium. I liked the chewy crust and the large amount of sauce. The toppings weren't very plentiful and I didn't really notice their flavor mixed with the thick crust and sauce.

The wings were standard Buffalo style with nothing unusual. I liked them, but would have enjoyed them more with blue cheese dressing. Only ranch was available. The fries were average, though lightly dusted with seasoning.

Drinks are selected from a cooler at the back. They don't carry iced tea and were out of Coke.

Wilson's Pizza & Grill

Dining Area

Calzone, pan pizza & wings

For the most part, I avoid chain restaurants, but I do make exceptions, particularly small chains. Sickies Garage Burgers & Brews opened in Overland Park in May. The Fargo, South Dakota based chain has 14 locations including one which opened in Wichita in April.

They have 21 different flavors of chicken wings, 46 different burgers and 7 adult shakes without or without alcohol.

We had Parmesan and Garlic wings. The wings were large, tender and had a great flavor. They were my favorite part of the meal.

While I was looking at the menu, I didn't realize there were more burgers than those on the page of Super Charged Burgers. The only combination of items on the long list which appealed to me was the Beer Cheese burger, which was served on a pretzel bun and topped with Sickies' house made beer cheese dip, bacon bits, croutons, and green onions. It was pretty good and I didn't feel the need to add any other condiments.

The burger came with a side and I upgraded to onion rings. They weren't bad, but were not outstanding.

The adult shakes had my attention since I first learned that the restaurant was coming. The Peanut Butter Cup has peanut butter whiskey, chocolate liqueur, Irish cream liqueur and crushed peanut butter cups. 22 ounces for $9.99 (16 ounces without alcohol for $6.99. I enjoyed it, but will try a different one if we go again.

Chicken wings, onion rings & Beer Cheese burger

Peanut Butter Cup

The Reuben sandwich was good, with a nice balance of the amount and flavor of all the ingredients. The rye flavor was just strong enough to carry its own, without overwhelming the other flavors.

The cold chicken salad sandwich is as good as I have ever had. I really liked the slightly sweet flavor of the salad, which I learned is made (along with their side dishes) by Walkers Fresh Foods in North Kansas City, Missouri, which has been family owned since 1947.

If I return someday later in the day, I want to try the slivovitz, a plum brandy from Europe that is a featured drink.

Kansas City, Kansas has lots of beautiful old churches. Some are still in use and others have been repurposed. Before leaving the Strawberry Hill neighborhood, I stopped to photograph the former St. Mary's Church, which is now the home of the Police Athletic League of KCK. St. Mary's was the oldest parish in Kansas City, Kansas and this building was built in 1890. When St. Mary's united with St. Anthony's in 1980, the combined parish moved into St. Anthony's building and this building has continued to be used to serve the community, first as a Food Kitchen and more recently with PALKCK. 

The next Kansas City stop was at Bichelmeyer Meats, a family run meat market which has been operating since 1946. I like the sausages from this market, but it had been a couple of years since I last visited. I used the camera on my phone for new pictures, so it wouldn't look as obvious as using a camera, but one of the brothers who currently own the market (I think it was Joe Bichelmeyer) politely asked about the pictures. I explained that I blog about places that I like and he was quite pleasant.

After paying for my Old World Polish Sausage and Mexican Andouille sausage, I took a photo of one of the meat cutters at work and the cashier asked it I would like to see the back. It was a chance to photograph the hanging beef & pork and learn more about their operation. The cattle are raised on the family owned Silkville Ranch in Williamsburg, Kansas and brought to the building across the street for slaughter. They butcher about 20 cattle and 30 pigs in a typical week. The man who showed me around was Jimmy Bichelmeyer from the third generation of the family.

The final stop of the day was Sauer Castle, which was a decaying 19th century Italian villa style mansion when I first photographed in in 2017. It is thrilling to see the preservation work being conducted by the new owner. I look forward to seeing the result of the restoration which is yet to come.

Chicken salad & Reuben sandwich
 

Police Athletic League of KCK

Bichelmeyer Meats meat locker
 
 
 

Sauer Castle

Totally reworked the page devoted to Fort Dodge - 5 miles east of Dodge City, Kansas.

The bird dogs was the most distinctive item. fried chicken tenders cut length wise and served next to strips of bun with greens & red onion. The steahouse (½ lb. all beef patty, sauteed mushrooms, melted swiss cheese, 2 onion rings, and our house made A-1000 sauce), was good and need no added condiments. The only place that fell down was the onion rings on the burger. I would have been happier with crispy onion rings or even just raw onion.

Going by Mount Hope Cemetery I stopped at the grave of Carrie Frances Kiene to get a current photo of how the statue of a girl on the grave is dressed. It changes with the seasons or holidays. It is not known who does the decorations.

Carrie Frances Kiene grave marker

The first stop was at the parking lot of Fort Scott National Historic Site to take some new photos of the historic fort as well as murals. old buildings and interesting Fort Scott businesses within a few blocks of the fort.

Lunch was divided into two smaller meals so that I could visit two restaurants in Pittsburg, Kansas. The first one was Toast, a five year old breakfast and lunch restaurant in the downtown. Some type of project is being done to the large historic building which houses the restaurant and the scaffolding and equipment parked on the street in front of the restaurant cannot be encouraging business.

You order at the counter and the food is served at your table. Once seated, your beverage and some chipotle popcorn is brought to the table. I don't think it was popped today. It felt like they were working to put a twist on every dish. It worked more for me on some dishes than on others.

The Almost Deviled Eggs are described as 9 minute egg jammy eggs topped with their house devil sauce. It was available plain or with bacon or salmon. I got it with bacon. It was OK, but I would have rather had a regular develed egg,

I liked Sylvia's Reuben (house rye bread grilled and stuffed with house made purple sauerkraut, cheese, brined & slow cooked corned beef served with house horsey & Russian sauce on the side) better. The hand sliced corned beef was a contrast to layers of thin sliced meat. A little more meat would have been nice, but it was sufficient.

The Side Tators (cubed, fried in peanut oil and seasoned) were my favorite of the meal.

So I could try another restaurant at lunch, I ate less than half of the sandwich and only sampled the potatoes. The rest went home.

I would dine here if it was located close to me, but with typically only getting about 3 meals a year in Pittsburg, it will probably be quite a few years before I get to try them again.

The second lunch was at Bob's Grill, an old favorite of mine which I try to return to every year or two. It is on our list of Unique Kansas Restaurants and the quality of a review goes down the longer it is since one last ate there.

It was just after noon and the small restaurant was busy. There was an open table, but I felt guilt taking it for just one person and slipped onto a stool at the long crowded counter. The two men sitting next to me on the left were first time visitors to Bob's and we had a nice time talking about this restaurant and others.

Much as I love Bob's burgers and fresh curly fries, today I tried a chicken fried steak sandwich. It was a solid hit. Nothing truly stands out about the sandwich, but it was thoroughly enjoyable and I nearly finished it despite having eaten earlier. 

All three Pittsburg restaurants (I did another for supper) served Pepsi products.

I drove to the southeat corner of the state to drive all of Historic Route 66 that is in Kansas. There was little which was new since 2022 with the exception of Gearhead Curios in Galena, Kansas. Aaron and Kelly Perry have been restoring the 1939 Texaco Station since 2018 and to me it feels like the project is complete.

In the past two years they have completed an amazing rest room with custom made fixtures, turned the service bays into a well stocked Route 66 gift shop and added some figures to the exterior including a Betty Boop on roller skates delivering Havoline oil, "Big Boy" holding automobile tires, and a 16' foot Texaco Man Who Wears the Star. About the only thing I see missing is a classic pop machine modified to sell sodas today.

Heading north from Baxter Springs, I photographed a free standing old stone vault near where Stone City once was, near Scamon. I've found several photos of it online before, but haven't seen a good explanation of what it actually is or its history.

Continuing north to the McCune Osage Township Library & Museum in McCune, Kansas, I entered from the parking lot through a community room and the library, not realizing that the museum has an entrance of its own on the street side of the building.

A small part of the museum was not available because of a recent water leak, though it appears that repairs have already began. The museum was larger than I expected, though largely judt a collection of historic items donated by community members. The exhibit which I think is most likely to interest people without a connection to McCune is the large Roy Rogers and Dale Collection which was donated by Frank D. Dunnick.

Returning to Pittsburg for supper, I had an early meal at Jim's Steak and Chop House and had the dinning room to myself until almost 5:30 PM. The Classic Original Onion Rings, which have survived several changes of ownership, are still very good. Even the small serving is quite large and looked like too much. The onions are thin sliced and lightly battered, so you may eat more of them than you expect.

The Open Face Prime Rib Sandwich was a real treat. 10 ounces of ribeye on thick sliced sourdough, served open faced with sautéed mushroom and onion, Swiss cheese, and smothered in house made brown gravy. I ended up taking two thirds of the sandwich home. The house cut fries were over cooked.

The final stop of the day was a few miles south of Louisburg, to photograph the Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Service in Wea (Bucyrus), Kansas. The imposing building was dedicated in 1906. The building was locked, so I was limited to exterior photos. 

Toast
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sylvia's Reuben
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Bob's Grill
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gearhead Curios
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

McCune Osage Township Library & Museum

Jim's Steak and Chop House

Family joined me for lunch today at The Rub in Olathe, Kansas. I really like this BBQ restaurant, but it has been over two years since I have been back. We arrived a bit before 11:30 AM and had only one party in line to order at the counter ahead of us. But they got busy fast and there were a few people in line all the time that we had our meal.

We had pork ribs, sausage, burnt ends and a hash bowl. All were very good and I would have a hard time picking out a favorite between the three smoked meats, but would probably give the nod to the burnt ends. The were all flavorful and most, so I felt no desire to add sauce.

The onion straws and homemade fries were also good. I did dip some of the fries in sauce and preferred the oriental sauce to the hot sauce.

We had lunch at Sierra Grill in Lenexa, Kansas. I love the food at this restaurant, but have been unhappy with the noise level in the dinning room since they moved to this location almost 2 years ago. We have only been going at lunch, when they are much less busy, but that may not be an issue going forward.

Although it does detract from the appearance of the dining room, we discovered that they have added some curtains to partially separate the areas of the room. We won't know how effect the noise barriers are until we can return at supper time.

Today we had a steak sandwich and steak frites with a side of mushrooms. It was a great meal.

steak sandwich & steak frites