On the road to Denver, CO.

On the road to Denver, CO - the delights of Kansas.


I left Kansas City, MO. around 5:00 am., in order to get a head start on the nine hour drive to Denver, CO. I was warned that the drive would be boring, but I actually found it to be very interesting. So I clicked my heels three times and headed out into a cloudy and showery day, which made the driving nice and cool.

I left too early to visit the Truman Library in Independence, MO. (http://www.trumanlibrary.org/ ), but they say it is very interesting. Truman's presidency was marked throughout by important foreign policy initiatives. Central to almost everything Truman undertook in his foreign policy was the desire to prevent the expansion of the influence of the Soviet Union. The Truman Doctrine was an enunciation of American willingness to provide military aid to countries resisting communist insurgencies; the Marshall Plan sought to revive the economies of the nations of Europe in the hope that communism would not thrive in the midst of prosperity; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization built a military barrier confronting the Soviet-dominated part of Europe. Truman's recognition of Israel in May 1948 demonstrated his support for democracy and his commitment to a homeland for the Jewish people. The one time during his presidency when a communist nation invaded a non-communist one -- when North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950 -- Truman responded by waging undeclared war.

I was really delighted when I passed The Oz Museum in Wamego, KS (http://www.ozmuseum.com/ ). And you thought it was only a dream!

The Jesuits in Kansas City told me not to miss the Cathedral in Salinas, KS - Sacred Heart Cathedral (http://www.shcathedral.com/Architecture.htm ). You could see it from the highway!

“The classic architecture of ancient Greece and the functional forms of the Kansas Grain elevator and silo are combined in the modern eclectic style church and rectory of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina Kansas which was erected in 1951-53. It was designed by Mr. Edward Schulte of Cincinnati, Ohio, under the inspiration and guidance of Bishop Frank A. Thill.

The life of all the people in this rural section of Northwestern Kansas centers in the planting and harvesting of wheat. On every horizon there may be seen the towering concrete tubes of Kansas grain elevators, symbolic of our way of life and proclaiming the fruitfulness of our soil.

Therefore, here in rural Kansas the Holy Bread of the Eucharist and the spiritual bread of God’s holy word is fittingly shared in a Cathedral that belongs to the contemporary Kansas landscape. In a sense the church is God’s granary from which His people are fed for the nourishment of their minds and hearts.”

I would have thought it was just another grain elevator, which dot the landscape throughout Kansas. There are lots and lots of wheat fields as you drive along, and it is progressively very flat.

Later on the drive, I passed the Cathedral of the Plains, in Victoria, KS., (http://www.kansastravel.org/cathedralofheplains.htm ) which has two impressive spires, and can also be seen from the highway. The "Cathedral of the Plains" is Saint Fidelis Catholic Church in Victoria, Kansas. It has seating for 1,100 people, which, at the time of it's dedication, made it the largest church west of the Mississippi River.

Then I came upon signs for the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, KS. (http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/ ) I like Ike, but I needed to keep on driving if I was going to make it to Denver.

There were also lots of road signs promising views of the largest Prairie Dog in the world, 6,000 lbs, and other animal freaks in Prairie Dog Town, Oakley, KS. (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11444 ) You can’t make this stuff up. The Jebs told me to skip it because the prairie dog is made of cement!

Oh what joy, what rapture when I passed Russell, KS. You all should know that this is the boyhood home of Senators Robert Dole (of the clasped pen fame) and Arlen Specter. (http://www.visitrussellcoks.com/CVB/Resources/BobDole/tabid/3150/Default.aspx ).

Once I crossed into Colorado the weather brightened and the landscape remained remarkably flat until reaching the area near Pikes Peak. Check out some of these nice shots: (http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4SKPB_enUS281US291&q=pikes+peak&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=mw5rTLSFLsP48AaXo9SRAg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEIQsAQwBA )

Pikes Peak (originally Pike's Peak,) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles (16 km) west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. It is named for Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. At 14,115 feet (4,302 m)[1], it is one of Colorado's 54 fourteeners. Drivers race up the mountain in a famous annual race called the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The peak is also the annual site of the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent foot races on the Barr Trail. An upper portion of Pikes Peak is a federally designated National Historic Landmark.

I could see clouds in the distance which was the initial sign that I was indeed approaching the Rocky Mountains and the “mile high city” of Denver, CO. After all of the delights of Kansas, I needed a nap! Needless to say, I arrived safely and was warmly greeted by my old rector-friend, Jim Gruyer, SJ.