POST 1306; APRIL 30, 2014; PRATT, KANSAS

Best laid plans, etc. etc.

Fully intended to over night in GREENSBURG again.

Instead, iced up the food box; gassed up SPIA-2.  Drove to GREENSBURG outskirts, parked SPIA-2 and fighting srtong wind, put in one more 2-hour walk towards the village of CULLISON, some 20 miles distant.
Took no pics.  The prairie is beautiful, but offers few options for photography.

Then drove to CULLISON; drove the dusty streets (no paving in town), finding only private property, drove back to US 54, parking under the branches of a copse of trees as the Sun fell behind the trees.  

A calm peaceful night !

At 6:30 am local, was walking West toward GREENSBURG, returning to SPIA-2 three hours later.
Served up some RAISIN BRAN with yogurts (2).  Then drove the 8 miles to the City of PRATT, Kansas...a very nice well appointed small city.  Parked SPIA-2; then, walked another 3 hours, returning to SPIA-2 just at 12:00 NOON.

Dropped in at VERIZON, who arranged a new Cell Phone Battery which I will pick up in WICHITA, Kansas on Monday, May 05.

Am again at PIZZA HUT to do today's blog update.  PIZZA HUT has the best WI FI facilities.

SPIA-2, the morning after parking over night in CULLISON, Kansas.

Like this pic for it' depth and contrasts. 

A challenge with only 1/2 view screen in the camera.

Morning started out clear and sunny.  Within 45 minutes, a COLD front moved in with rising winds - estimate at 35 mph.  I nearly froze.  The Sun heated it up enough to break the cloud cover into puffy CUMULUS clouds. 

The wind is continuing to diminish, but blowing out of the North West, is quite cold.

Ever Present Grain Storage Silos...this one belonging to CULLISON, Kansas.

Entering PRATT. Kansas.

PRATT version of a RIVER !

DOT (Department Of Transportation) Highway Maintenance Material Storage Area.

WIND MILL BLADE.  96 feet long, if I recall correctly.  I show the BUTT END, showing the ring of mounting bolts which the blade uses for attaching to the Generator Hub.  Three such blades are installed on each windmill.

SHERIFF JEFF told me the City of GREENSBURG has planned hundreds of these windmills to the West of town, to further their "GREEN" program to create a city of planned "recycle" development.

WIND MILL Blade being transported on US 54.

* * * * * * * * * *

Plan to over night at PRATT WALMART.  In the morning, will walk 4 + hours toward WICHITA, Kansas, some 70 miles distant.

POST 1305; APRIL 29, 2014; GREENSBURG, KANSAS

Todat, I did not walk.

On May 04, 2007, the town og GREENSBURG was wiped from the face of Earth by a tornado.

The damage has been cleared away.  A small fraction has been rebuilt.

The following photographs are a progression from long ago to today, depicting the same general street locations...

1917 Parade on MAIN Street.

MAIN Street immediately before the 2007 Tornado.

April 2014 reconstruction of THE BIG WELL, hand dug to 107 feet deep.  Today 7.5 feet of water lies in the bottom.  Typical water table produced 15 foot of water.

THE BIG WELL

The devastation of 2007.

Prior landmarks.

MAIN Street, April 2014.

About 1/4 has been rebuilt.

SENIOR CITIZEN Reconstructed building.

...where I was treated to Lunch.  Thank You.

* * * * * * * * * *Will tyr to walk tomorrow.  Wind is supposed to slow down to around 20 mph.

POST 1304; APRIL 28, 2014; GREENSBURG, KANSAS

Found a nice big tree to park SPIA-2 behind at the lake last evening.  The sky, sand hiding everything over a city block away, was still blowing a near Hurricane .  Charlie, our fisher man, estimated the wind at 60 miles per hour. (Hurricanes begin at 75 mph)  My cherished Glacier National Park Baseball Cap was snatched from my head by a gust and now rests at the bottom of KIOWA FISHING LAKE.  (KIOWA = KIOWA Indians who called the GREENSBURG area home before the coming of "the White Man."

Dawn broke to a crystal clear cloudless sky.  Wind still blowing about 40 mph.

Foregoing breakfast, took my heart medication and set off West on US 54 towad MINNEOLA, Kansas, some 40 miles distant. 

Near Phoenix, Arizona, a while back, discovered a pair of high quality wrap-around Sun Glasses lying on the highway.
In the high winds of the Rocky Mountains...and now the Kansas Plains, these Sun Glasses have been a God Send.

Another bit of not so good news is that my new PANASONIC Camera fell from the breast pocket of my reflective Vest.  A small rock punched a hole in the back view screen, which has now blanked out 60 percent of the view screen...necessary to align scenes for proper sizing and positioning of each image.  ALL images posted in the past two weeks have been obtained by guess and by golly.  Discoloration has progressed as of this morning to block fully 75% of my view screen..  The penalty for my carelessness is vastly reduced image quality of my photographs. 

At a cost of $250.00, doubtful a new camera is in our immediate future.

Sandstorm in GREENSBURG as I put SPIA-2 to bed last evening.

View from SPIA-2 parking spot at KIOWA LAKE at day break this morning.

Wind direction shifted from South West to North West during the night.  Wind Speed diminished not a whit.

Peaceful looks KIOWA COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.  Illusion; it is blowing at least 40 miles per hour; my eyes protected by the "found" Sun Glasses.

An old Bus, advertising an Antique Shop in GREENSBURG.

My Horse friends seem to be following our walk across Kansas.

Solitary house sitting high on a hill in the very windy Kansas Prairie.

US 54 looking West as I walk "out" from GREENSBURG.

Small hills and water cut ravines dominate the undulating topography.

Looking back East into the morning Sun.

Wind has been rising all morning.  Sand is being lifted into the Western sky, bringing on another Dust Storm heading for GREENSBURG, Kansas.

EYE-SHADOW is not eye-shadow.  My "found" Sun Glasses do a wonderful job keeping wind and sand away from my eyes.  Could not walk in this alien environment without these glasses.

Do I appear to becoming younger ??

Geeze, I am having such a great time !

* * * * * * * * * *

Now 1:30 PM local CDT.  Blog update is nearly complete.  Looking out the window of  the GREEN BEAN COFFEE COMPANY; the only coffee shop in the rebuilding-in-process of GREENSBURG, Kansas, who kindly shared their WI FI facilities to complete this blog update.  Wind may be abating a little.  Plan to walk the town, photographing the reconstruction efforts for inclusion in our next update.

If the wind is truly diminishing, may try another  stroll out on US 54.

If Charlie is lucky, we may get a look at a BIG Catfish.