to St. Benedict, Kansas [mostly photographs]

[Daniel Kalal]

While this was basically a Sunday ride, I started Saturday evening.  I didn't pack anything.  This "prepositioning" makes it easier to cover more ground.


Dinner in Salina.  It's not uncommon for the food in Mexican restaurants in smaller towns to be remarkably mild--catering to what their customers want, I suppose.


Wamego, Kansas.




Pottawatomie County.




Frankfort, Kansas.


The Frankfort grade school.  I believe the building dates from 1902, and has evidently been long out of use.


Approaching St. Benedict.  It's pretty clear that beyond the church, there's not much else in the town.








Seneca, Kansas.


Nemaha, County.




I don't plan to do it, but I always seem to end up on this kind of road.


Pottawatomie, County.




The Kansas River.




Stone fences in Wabaunsee County.


Riding through the Flint  Hills.

[miles]

Daniel, your photos never cease to amaze.  Keep them coming, please.

[Jason F.]

Very nice. Looks like home. Sadly I have not been back in a few years.

[JimWilliamson]

Small town breadbasket U.S.A. churches - still open and unlocked during the week.  

[Justin]

Very nice. Looks like home. Sadly I have not been back in a few years.

If my home was that flat I'd be glad to not go back for a few years

Seriously though, only though Daniel's eyes does Kansas look so good!

[Jason F.]

If my home was that flat I'd be glad to not go back for a few years

Seriously though, only though Daniel's eyes does Kansas look so good!

Says the man with a Busa and a Blackbird. :-/


Just kidding. Kansas has it beauty, you just have to have to look for it a little differently than you do when you are in the Smokies, the Rockies, or the coast.

[County Tar]

Curious, when you do a photo thread do you generally post it on WG and ST-N?  Any other sites?

Nice pics as usual.  

[Daniel Kalal]

Curious, when you do a photo thread do you generally post it on WG and ST-N?  Any other sites?

Nice pics as usual.  

Generally I post only a few pictures on WG--not the whole report--and at an Italian site I've been on for several years (ever since I started riding over there).

[Justin]

Says the man with a Busa and a Blackbird. :-/


Just kidding. Kansas has it beauty, you just have to have to look for it a little differently than you do when you are in the Smokies, the Rockies, or the coast.

Oh I agree, there are some cool and beautiful things in KS - it's just the miles and miles of straight roads in between

[Yankee Dog]

Oh I agree, there are some cool and beautiful things in KS - it's just the miles and miles of straight roads in between

but those straight backroads somehow have a sort of zen quality about them. i come away relaxed and happy.

Nothing like the mind numbing feeling of exhaustion I get after a day on the Xway. Both are staight roads, and I travel at about the same speed on both.  

yankee Dog

[DNA]

Daniel, great pics as always.

My family homesteaded in Kit Carson and I saw that thread a wile back - thank for the reminder.

Any chance you are keeping a map you could post up with push pins of towns done and the new ones in the thread?  For some reason maps maps help me connect with far away places in desolate locations.

[Justin]

but those straight backroads somehow have a sort of zen quality about them. i come away relaxed and happy.

Nothing like the mind numbing feeling of exhaustion I get after a day on the Xway. Both are staight roads, and I travel at about the same speed on both.  

yankee Dog

definitely, just did the same thing in NM over the weekend. You can rocket along on those back roads until you see a car approaching in the distance.

[County Tar]

I was going to ask if Pottawatomie County was the site of the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre (John Brown) but apparently not:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottawatomie_Massacre

Anyhow, the photo of the inside of the church in St. Benedict is my new desktop background - provided I can get permission from the author.  Is this OK?

[Daniel Kalal]

I was going to ask if Pottawatomie County was the site of the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre (John Brown) but apparently not:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottawatomie_Massacre

Anyhow, the photo of the inside of the church in St. Benedict is my new desktop background - provided I can get permission from the author.  Is this OK?

It's somewhat related (the name from the same source).  This part of Kansas was very involved in the "Burning-Kansas" era.  A particularly nasty time.

Here's a much larger version of that photograph if you want it:
http://www.dankalal.net/2010trip17/Benedict.JPG

[olderigetfasteriam]

A post or two got me thinking. In our zeal to find the perfect road, curves, rises and falls etc.. Are we missing out on some nice straight roads? Clear the mind, look at the scenery, relax. I think we are and Daniel has answered that question.

Thanks again.

[Daniel Kalal]

A post or two got me thinking. In our zeal to find the perfect road, curves, rises and falls etc.. Are we missing out on some nice straight roads? Clear the mind, look at the scenery, relax. I think we are and Daniel has answered that question.

Thanks again.

There are exceptions, certainly, but after many years of riding I've noticed that people who ride only for the thrill--the curves, the power, the exhilaration--eventually ride less and less, until they ride no more.  The road isn't (or shouldn't be) why you ride; it's where the road takes you that really matters.  

---that, and a Guzzi.

[olderigetfasteriam]

There are exceptions, certainly, but after many years of riding I've noticed that people who ride only for the thrill--the curves, the power, the exhilaration--eventually ride less and less, until they ride no more.  The road isn't (or shouldn't be) why you ride; it's where the road takes you that really matters.  

---that, and a Guzzi.

  Agreed. I find myself enjoying the straight roads more as I age. Smell the flowers and all.

[Justin]

There are exceptions, certainly, but after many years of riding I've noticed that people who ride only for the thrill--the curves, the power, the exhilaration--eventually ride less and less, until they ride no more.  The road isn't (or shouldn't be) why you ride; it's where the road takes you that really matters.  

---that, and a Guzzi.

My destination is often a place with twisty roads, but I don't mind the long straight ones getting there either.  As far as where I would choose to live, I'd definitely prefer to live in a place with lots of winding roads. I love the thrill, power and exhilaration, and do not find myself tiring of riding at all.

[County Tar]

It's somewhat related (the name from the same source).  This part of Kansas was very involved in the "Burning-Kansas" era.  A particularly nasty time.

Here's a much larger version of that photograph if you want it:
http://www.dankalal.net/2010trip17/Benedict.JPG

Thanks.  It is very similar to the interiors of the German churches in my area (southern Minnesota).  I am guessing that this was a German parish, possibly even Benedictine at one time?  

[Jason F.]

Thanks.  It is very similar to the interiors of the German churches in my area (southern Minnesota).  I am guessing that this was a German parish, possibly even Benedictine at one time?  

Yes you got it.

http://www.stmarystbenedict.org/about/history.shtml

Fair bit of history behind the church and the community that built it.

[schoon]

Thank you, your reports are always worth the read!

[Jason F.]

If I can remember to ask my Mother next time I call her I will get the name of the German town were several of the families immigrated from. Many were from the same region. I can not remember the name of the small farming town but the closest major city would have been Bremen or Hamburg.

A couple of my Mothers Cousins and Aunts went back to Germany  a decade or so ago and tried to find the town their family was from. They were running into some difficulty with the signs and the language so they ended up in a pub or cafe of some sort. When trying to converse with the patrons their they drug out a photocopy of the page from Ellis Island with the names of their ancestors. To their surprise two of the patrons were actually distant Cousins and despite the language barrier took them to the original family farm which still had some of the buildings standing. It was a pretty amazing thing for them.

Oh and the Church there in St. Benedict got some nice recognition recently. http://www.stmarystbenedict.org/news/newsdisplay.asp?key=13

 

[pearsonm]

In our zeal to find the perfect road, curves, rises and falls etc.. Are we missing out on some nice straight roads? Clear the mind, look at the scenery, relax. I think we are and Daniel has answered that question.

It’s funny that as many tens of thousands of miles I rode chasing twisty roads and the thousands of dollars I’ve blown at track days one of my favorite memories is topping a hill coming out of Dexter, KS and into a golden sunset. It was a surreal moment that made me feel like I was flying. I haven’t felt it since.

[Daniel Kalal]

...one of my favorite memories is topping a hill coming out of Dexter, KS and into a golden sunset. It was a surreal moment that made me feel like I was flying. I haven’t felt it since.

Here  you go: Grouse Creek road, south of Dexter, Kansas

[pearsonm]

I bet you know the spot I'm talking about. CR 20 south out of town. You go over the bridge, through the right/left up the hill then plunge down. I crested that one time into a brilliant sunset. I had to squint my eyes a little which made the prairie look like the top of a cloud bank.

I picked me up a '78 CB750F last month. It would be perfect for that area. I need to haul it out.

[Orson]

There are exceptions, certainly, but after many years of riding I've noticed that people who ride only for the thrill--the curves, the power, the exhilaration--eventually ride less and less, until they ride no more.  The road isn't (or shouldn't be) why you ride; it's where the road takes you that really matters.  

---that, and a Guzzi.

Aye  

there's sumthin about a Guzzi that takes you back to your first years of motorcycling, when the mechanical workings of a motorcycle were still fresh and everything was a new experience.

A Guzzi seems to reawaken those feelings

While I'm guilty of riding for the thrill of the curves, I also have a strong sense of wanderlust  

[County Tar]

Don't forget another reason:  exploring.  Where does this road go?  What is at the end of it?  I don't need a destination when I start out, just a road to ride.  

[djgarrett21]

There are curved roads in Kansas if you search hard enough. I think the flint hills area is one of my favorites. If you are ever in the Wichita area make sure you hit up Thunder Road. Hope you don't mind me adding a few pictures I took today.