Westward Ho trip; Ogalla, Kansas

My next planned stop of my "Westward Ho" trip was the Cedar Bluff Conservation Area near Ogalla, Kansas.

I knew this dispersed campground would be hard to find. It was down several back roads and none of them were identified on my map, or the map I downloaded on line. 

Why do some maps give the number of the road, but when you get there, all the street signs give a name? 

With my amazing sense of direction, one or two wrong turns, and pure blind luck, I managed to find it, along with a couple of abandoned houses and a cool old church. 

Somehow, I didn't notice that is an old railroad stock car being used as a shed until I was editing the photos!

I finally find the campground and it was a nice wide area overlooking a lake.

Too bad the yahoos that were here last left such a mess. Trash is strewn all over the place. 

I didn't think to take a photo until after I had picked up most of it.

It’s too nice a site to just leave, so I pick up about 20 mountain dew cans, various paper trash, and a bunch of firewood logs strewn about the place. All the trash that was burnable went into the fire pit that was still smoldering and hot enough to catch fire within seconds of dropping trash into it. Smoky the Bear would not be happy.

As I am picking all this up, I also notice half cooked hot dogs all over the place. Must have been one big food fight. It’s not until just before I settle in that I start to see several places where someone lost their cookies. And I don’t mean the kind that come in a box.

Fortunately none of those spots are too close to where I had parked.

I munch some snacks while sitting on the tailgate and watched a glorious sunset over a lake with ominous dead trees rising up from the surface.  

Next Blog; Heading for Colorado.

Travels with Sierra; Hit the Road Jack

Hit the road, Jack 

(yes, it's a Ray Charles reference)

I throw the last minute items into the truck. Everything is packed...I hope. 

It's the first day of my "Westward Ho "trip. I head out of Ohio on Interstate 70. I run into slow moving traffic before I even hit the state line. I have gone a grand total of about 30 miles.

Two lines of traffic are driving at almost 63 when the limit is 70. If it were just a few cars poking along, I would weave my way through traffic until I passed the morons that are holding everyone up. But I can’t even see the front of the line. 

After a few miles of this, with nobody passing anyone, it starts to rain. So, naturally, everyone slows down to under 60 mph. Oh, Look! A Cracker Barrel! I whip off the poky puppy highway and head for the parking lot. I get out of my car and head for the door in a steady rain.

Before you can say half-blind granny drivers slow poking in the rain, I have my breakfast. Mommas' Pancake breakfast to be exact. I don’t know what it is about Cracker Barrel, but they have the best orange juice. The pancakes always have a slight crunchy edge that is very tasty.

When I am done, I head back out to the truck.  

The rain has stopped and the sun is shining. Traffic is back to moving at its normal highway speeds and the slow poke parade is nowhere in sight.

Back on the road again! (In case you missed this musical reference; Canned Heat about 1968)

I drive to Whetstone creek conservation area near Williamsburg, Missouri. 

This is to be my first boondock campsite for the trip.

As I pull into this area I can hear giant horse flies attacking the truck.Thwap. Thwap. Thwap.

Not a good sign for camping!

The area is quite lovely. 

A very well maintained gravel road leads into the park. There are several lakes and ponds. They all look like good fishing sites. I suddenly wish I had figured out how to fit a Kayak in the truck.

While the campground is not much more than a parking lot with some picnic tables and fire rings, It will do. The fact that it is free makes it that much better. 

I check out the pit toilets and decide that is not a place I would want to sit for even the shortest amount of time. It is dirty and I can see about 10,000 mosquitoes clinging to the side of the chute. I am not gonna be sitting, or shitting, down that chute. 

I drive around taking photos of the setting sun and then settle in for the night. 

It takes a while for the truck to cool down. But when it does I get a fairly good nights sleep and don’t hear the bugs anymore. 

The morning is very chilly so I get up early and hit the road…avoiding the pit toilets.

Next blog; Booneville and Ogalla.