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 somone who was leaving invited me to come in and photograph the inside. It is simple, but atractive and has nice stained glass windows.

John Steuart Curry was an artist whose best known work is "Tragic Prelude," a murual in the Kansas Statehouse. His grave stone is flat and would be easy to miss in a short row with other family members, but there is an upridge stone with the family name and isting 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 Mississippi. 

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 gator 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 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 7 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 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway steam engine from about 1902. There is also a 12" 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 the 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.

The church has particularly beautiful stained glass windows and I was thrilled to learn that 3 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, which is a 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.

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

I will be back.

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

Finally I heard back 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.

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 large 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.

More to come...
   
  

AT&SF Engine #811

gargoyle down spout
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

baptismal font
 
 
 
 
 

apple dumpling
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

St. Scholastica Chapel