Farm News 08-27-06
Sunday morning, after chores, 73°, raining
Pink Highways, Stone Presidents
Sioux quartzite is a common rock in this part of Kansas. It is red, hard, and is found here only as scattered rocks and boulders. Sioux quartzite is a gift from South Dakota, delivered by the last glacier. Sioux quartzite is to South Dakota as limestone is to Kansas.
When Sioux quartzite is crushed and mixed with cement it creates pink concrete. When it is mixed with asphalt it creates a darker pink material. So, South Dakota has pink highways, at least in the eastern part of the state. Western Iowa also has pink highways, and the rest areas along the interstate have wireless internet access. That is a pretty hard combination to beat.
Grandson Liam and I started from Oskaloosa, driving north on US-59 to St. Joseph, Missouri, where we turned onto north-bound I-29. Staying on I-29 we left northern Missouri and entered Iowa. At Sioux City we crossed over into Nebraska to go to the Lewis and Clark center, then back to Iowa and on north into South Dakota on I-29.
It amazes me that Iowa and Illinois both have neat, tidy, well maintained roadsides while Missouri, which is bordered by both states, looks like a dump. How can crossing an invisible political boundary result in such a change in appearance? Comparing high school graduation rates for 1998 shows Iowa has the highest rate, Illinois is 15th, Kansas is 17th, and Missouri 23rd. The rule that graduation rates improve the closer the school is to Canada doesn't seem to hold because Kansas is no closer to Canada than is Missouri. Nor does graduation rate seem to correlate with roadside tidiness, because Illinois is even tidier than Iowa. Nebraska, 4th in graduation rate, and South Dakota, 12th in graduation rate, are like Kansas, reasonably tidy. In South Dakota the roadsides tidiness is overshadowed by endless rows of billboards. Why would they hide such a nice state behind billboards?
Oh, well, it is a pleasant drive from the south eastern corner, to Sioux Falls, where one meets I-90, which stretches across the lower third of the state. Sioux Falls has a very nice park where the Sioux River falls over ledges of Sioux quartzite. A large army of Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels, Citellus tridecemlineatus, scamper over the grounds cleaning up all dropped crumbs and tidbits. They work hard and are citizens, not illegal immigrants.
South Dakota apparently saves money by not posting speed limits. Several times we drove more than 50 miles without seeing a speed limit sign, even on the interstates. As the limits were varying from 55 mph to 75 mph, and I tend to drive at the speed limit, this was sometimes a nuisance.
We went west on I-90 to Mitchell, home of the famous Corn Palace. To be blunt, I thought it was without any artistic merit. Back on I-90, we continued west to Murdo where, after 159 miles in South Dakota and 652 miles of driving for the day, we stopped and spent the night at a Super 8, which, at $68.90, was too expensive. Still, we slept well. A beautiful old Packard Clipper Constellation was parked in front of the motel and more antique cars were parked in front of other businesses. I could see why the residents of Murdo liked their city, it was full of nice people. We looked at the old cars and then headed west again on I-90 in the fifteen year old Honda.
At Cactus Flat we turned south to loop through part of the Badlands National Park, which also had a large population of Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrels doing cleanup work. It appears to be all eroded gypsum, but not even the park rangers could confirm what kind of rock it was. I should have asked the Ground Squirrels, I suppose. We didn't spend a lot of time in the Badlands, but Castle Rock in Kansas is the same type of formations, with the same kind of rocks, I think. The Kansas display is much smaller but there aren't as many people, either. In fact, I've never been to Castle Rock when anyone else was there.
From the Badlands we rejoined I-90 in Wall, home of Wall Drug, which, like Paris Hilton, is famous only for being famous. From Wall we continued west and north through Rapid City to Sturgis, where we turned off onto SD-14A for Deadwood. Deadwood is a typical western tourist town with lots of gun-toting re-enactors walking around but few painted floozies. I went to the library and introduced my self as the Chief Fool of Oskaloosa and husband of the librarian. The librarian there was pleasant but not overly impressed with my credentials. However, I was able to send an email to my favorite librarian, so it was a worthwhile visit.
From Deadwood we went generally south on various unpaved mountain roads, giving Liam an opportunity to do some driving. The Honda has a stick shift, which, combined with the roads, gave him an opportunity for lots of experience in shifting up and down through the gears. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore, an interesting site but one which, having now been there once, I would just as soon visit in the future by looking at pictures.
After Mt. Rushmore we made the best part of the trip, the wildlife loop through Custer State Park. Ground squirrels, Prairie dogs, Raccoons, Pronghorn antelope, wild Donkeys, Mule deer, Elk , and Bison all came out to be seen. This is a mammalian adventure site, not avian. The wildlife loop increased my lifetime sightings of Pronghorns and Mule deer by at least 500%. I expected the wild Donkeys to be sort of scruffy and ill-bred, but was pleasantly surprised. There were lots of nice looking animals in the herds, well configured and healthy. If you want to see wild mammals, Custer State Park must be one of the best sites in the United States. I recommend it highly.
We finally left the Black Hills, traveling south on SD-71. The road started out paved, then changed to gravel. At the Nebraska border it changed to N-71, regaining paving, and we continued south to the Toadstool Geologic Area. We slept for a few hours at Toadstool and then continued our trip south. Before we reached I-80 in the south part of the Nebraska panhandle N-71 changed to four lanes with a wide median strip.
We took I-80 east to Sydney and then went south to Sterling, Colorado. From Sterling we went east to Holyoke, where we turned south to find our next destination: the Beecher Island Battle site on the Arikaree River. Alas, although there were signs taking us the the general location, we were unable to find a way to the actual site. I have been reading The Stalkers by Terry C. Johnston and, using his description, I think I was able to identify a few of the key locations, including the spot where the Indians prepared for their massed charges.
From the Arikaree we continued south to US-36, where we turned east and returned to Kansas. We continued east on US-36 to Wheeler, then turned south to Goodland and I-70. We went east on I-70 to Quinter, where we turned south on Castle Rock Road. About 15 miles south of Quinter is a clearly legible sign pointing east to Castle Rock. The drive up to Castle Rock is several miles east of Castle Rock Road and is clearly marked.
Castle Rock is out in a large pasture. Whoever owns the land is the kind of good citizen who makes an interesting natural feature available to the public. When the track through the pasture becomes becomes too deeply rutted, the cars simply move over and create a new track. This destroys pasture land, so allowing public access is not without cost to the owner. I don't know who it is, but, “Thank you.”
Castle Rock is a smaller version of the South Dakota Badlands. It is the same type of rock carved into the same kind of shapes. Castle Rock, though, is generally deserted. I have never seen anyone else there. It's wonderful to be all alone in such a landscape.
Liam had been wanting to see a rattlesnake on the entire trip, but we never found one. Castle Rock looks like a rattlesnake paradise, but not a one stuck its head out.
After Castle Rock we headed for home. We drove just under 2,000 miles on the trip, used 58.67 gallons of gasoline, for 33.9 miles per gallon, which cost $138.64 total for fuel. Not too bad, and it sure was fun.
How Dare They
The International Astronomical Union has arbitrarily removed Pluto's status as a planet. Kansans should be enraged by this. Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, was raised in Pawnee County, Kansas. There are five towns in Pawnee County, Larned being the only one of any size. In most of the county one can stand outside at night, look up, and see a lot of stars. There is no bright glow from city lights obscuring the view, and the view is huge.
How can we show our displeasure? When we were unhappy with France we called french fries 'freedom fries', but there are no astronomical fries to rename. Perhaps we could begin a misinformation campaign, that being a very popular method of attack nowadays, claiming that the International Astronomical Union has Astrological tendencies. They removed Pluto from the list of planets as part of a liberal social engineering agenda, thinking that by eliminating Pluto as a planet they could increase the number of same-sex marriages.
Please write to your Senators urging them to condemn this world government plot to take away Pluto's rightful place in the list of planets.
Bucky is Sick
When I returned home Paula told me the buck goat was sick. I thought maybe something was wrong when I left. He looks fine, but he isn't eating and he isn't chasing Lucy, who is in heat. I started him on 2 ml. injections of antibiotic each morning and he seems to be picking up.
Gestation for a goat is five months, so if Lucy became pregnant this month she would have January babies, too early for comfort. Bucky's illness was well timed.
Pink Highways, Stone Presidents
Sioux quartzite is a common rock in this part of Kansas. It is red, hard, and is found here only as scattered rocks and boulders. Sioux quartzite is a gift from South Dakota, delivered by the last glacier. Sioux quartzite is to South Dakota as limestone is to Kansas.
When Sioux quartzite is crushed and mixed with cement it creates pink concrete. When it is mixed with asphalt it creates a darker pink material. So, South Dakota has pink highways, at least in the eastern part of the state. Western Iowa also has pink highways, and the rest areas along the interstate have wireless internet access. That is a pretty hard combination to beat.
Grandson Liam and I started from Oskaloosa, driving north on US-59 to St. Joseph, Missouri, where we turned onto north-bound I-29. Staying on I-29 we left northern Missouri and entered Iowa. At Sioux City we crossed over into Nebraska to go to the Lewis and Clark center, then back to Iowa and on north into South Dakota on I-29.
It amazes me that Iowa and Illinois both have neat, tidy, well maintained roadsides while Missouri, which is bordered by both states, looks like a dump. How can crossing an invisible political boundary result in such a change in appearance? Comparing high school graduation rates for 1998 shows Iowa has the highest rate, Illinois is 15th, Kansas is 17th, and Missouri 23rd. The rule that graduation rates improve the closer the school is to Canada doesn't seem to hold because Kansas is no closer to Canada than is Missouri. Nor does graduation rate seem to correlate with roadside tidiness, because Illinois is even tidier than Iowa. Nebraska, 4th in graduation rate, and South Dakota, 12th in graduation rate, are like Kansas, reasonably tidy. In South Dakota the roadsides tidiness is overshadowed by endless rows of billboards. Why would they hide such a nice state behind billboards?
Oh, well, it is a pleasant drive from the south eastern corner, to Sioux Falls, where one meets I-90, which stretches across the lower third of the state. Sioux Falls has a very nice park where the Sioux River falls over ledges of Sioux quartzite. A large army of Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels, Citellus tridecemlineatus, scamper over the grounds cleaning up all dropped crumbs and tidbits. They work hard and are citizens, not illegal immigrants.
South Dakota apparently saves money by not posting speed limits. Several times we drove more than 50 miles without seeing a speed limit sign, even on the interstates. As the limits were varying from 55 mph to 75 mph, and I tend to drive at the speed limit, this was sometimes a nuisance.
We went west on I-90 to Mitchell, home of the famous Corn Palace. To be blunt, I thought it was without any artistic merit. Back on I-90, we continued west to Murdo where, after 159 miles in South Dakota and 652 miles of driving for the day, we stopped and spent the night at a Super 8, which, at $68.90, was too expensive. Still, we slept well. A beautiful old Packard Clipper Constellation was parked in front of the motel and more antique cars were parked in front of other businesses. I could see why the residents of Murdo liked their city, it was full of nice people. We looked at the old cars and then headed west again on I-90 in the fifteen year old Honda.
At Cactus Flat we turned south to loop through part of the Badlands National Park, which also had a large population of Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrels doing cleanup work. It appears to be all eroded gypsum, but not even the park rangers could confirm what kind of rock it was. I should have asked the Ground Squirrels, I suppose. We didn't spend a lot of time in the Badlands, but Castle Rock in Kansas is the same type of formations, with the same kind of rocks, I think. The Kansas display is much smaller but there aren't as many people, either. In fact, I've never been to Castle Rock when anyone else was there.
From the Badlands we rejoined I-90 in Wall, home of Wall Drug, which, like Paris Hilton, is famous only for being famous. From Wall we continued west and north through Rapid City to Sturgis, where we turned off onto SD-14A for Deadwood. Deadwood is a typical western tourist town with lots of gun-toting re-enactors walking around but few painted floozies. I went to the library and introduced my self as the Chief Fool of Oskaloosa and husband of the librarian. The librarian there was pleasant but not overly impressed with my credentials. However, I was able to send an email to my favorite librarian, so it was a worthwhile visit.
From Deadwood we went generally south on various unpaved mountain roads, giving Liam an opportunity to do some driving. The Honda has a stick shift, which, combined with the roads, gave him an opportunity for lots of experience in shifting up and down through the gears. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore, an interesting site but one which, having now been there once, I would just as soon visit in the future by looking at pictures.
After Mt. Rushmore we made the best part of the trip, the wildlife loop through Custer State Park. Ground squirrels, Prairie dogs, Raccoons, Pronghorn antelope, wild Donkeys, Mule deer, Elk , and Bison all came out to be seen. This is a mammalian adventure site, not avian. The wildlife loop increased my lifetime sightings of Pronghorns and Mule deer by at least 500%. I expected the wild Donkeys to be sort of scruffy and ill-bred, but was pleasantly surprised. There were lots of nice looking animals in the herds, well configured and healthy. If you want to see wild mammals, Custer State Park must be one of the best sites in the United States. I recommend it highly.
We finally left the Black Hills, traveling south on SD-71. The road started out paved, then changed to gravel. At the Nebraska border it changed to N-71, regaining paving, and we continued south to the Toadstool Geologic Area. We slept for a few hours at Toadstool and then continued our trip south. Before we reached I-80 in the south part of the Nebraska panhandle N-71 changed to four lanes with a wide median strip.
We took I-80 east to Sydney and then went south to Sterling, Colorado. From Sterling we went east to Holyoke, where we turned south to find our next destination: the Beecher Island Battle site on the Arikaree River. Alas, although there were signs taking us the the general location, we were unable to find a way to the actual site. I have been reading The Stalkers by Terry C. Johnston and, using his description, I think I was able to identify a few of the key locations, including the spot where the Indians prepared for their massed charges.
From the Arikaree we continued south to US-36, where we turned east and returned to Kansas. We continued east on US-36 to Wheeler, then turned south to Goodland and I-70. We went east on I-70 to Quinter, where we turned south on Castle Rock Road. About 15 miles south of Quinter is a clearly legible sign pointing east to Castle Rock. The drive up to Castle Rock is several miles east of Castle Rock Road and is clearly marked.
Castle Rock is out in a large pasture. Whoever owns the land is the kind of good citizen who makes an interesting natural feature available to the public. When the track through the pasture becomes becomes too deeply rutted, the cars simply move over and create a new track. This destroys pasture land, so allowing public access is not without cost to the owner. I don't know who it is, but, “Thank you.”
Castle Rock is a smaller version of the South Dakota Badlands. It is the same type of rock carved into the same kind of shapes. Castle Rock, though, is generally deserted. I have never seen anyone else there. It's wonderful to be all alone in such a landscape.
Liam had been wanting to see a rattlesnake on the entire trip, but we never found one. Castle Rock looks like a rattlesnake paradise, but not a one stuck its head out.
After Castle Rock we headed for home. We drove just under 2,000 miles on the trip, used 58.67 gallons of gasoline, for 33.9 miles per gallon, which cost $138.64 total for fuel. Not too bad, and it sure was fun.
How Dare They
The International Astronomical Union has arbitrarily removed Pluto's status as a planet. Kansans should be enraged by this. Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, was raised in Pawnee County, Kansas. There are five towns in Pawnee County, Larned being the only one of any size. In most of the county one can stand outside at night, look up, and see a lot of stars. There is no bright glow from city lights obscuring the view, and the view is huge.
How can we show our displeasure? When we were unhappy with France we called french fries 'freedom fries', but there are no astronomical fries to rename. Perhaps we could begin a misinformation campaign, that being a very popular method of attack nowadays, claiming that the International Astronomical Union has Astrological tendencies. They removed Pluto from the list of planets as part of a liberal social engineering agenda, thinking that by eliminating Pluto as a planet they could increase the number of same-sex marriages.
Please write to your Senators urging them to condemn this world government plot to take away Pluto's rightful place in the list of planets.
Bucky is Sick
When I returned home Paula told me the buck goat was sick. I thought maybe something was wrong when I left. He looks fine, but he isn't eating and he isn't chasing Lucy, who is in heat. I started him on 2 ml. injections of antibiotic each morning and he seems to be picking up.
Gestation for a goat is five months, so if Lucy became pregnant this month she would have January babies, too early for comfort. Bucky's illness was well timed.
posted by The Geezer at 8:20 AM
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