what about the plastic animals?: Vitame Vas!

Okay, let's review! I woke up and spent too much time in Hastings. Driving toward Kansas I stopped to take pictures of a dirt road. Then an intended quick stop in Red Cloud to visit Willa Cather turned into a longer stay waiting for a mediocre patty melt. I bought a cook book. Things picked up when I visited the center of the country. There were also a lot of cowboy stencils in town. I stopped in Cawker City, which lots and lots of string but nowhere open to buy souvenir trinkets. The Garden of Eden was closed but visible. It's hot, I'm tired, and I'm upset with myself for wasting so much time earlier in the day.

My plan is to drive south to I-70 then go west to Russell, to see if Bob Dole's hometown has a statue of him, then head Great Bend for the night. The drive from Lucas to I-70 is very pretty. Lots of hills and limestone outcroppings. Wilson Lake State Park looks like it would be fun on a hot summer's day. Just before the interstate there is a Kansas Originals store, which features goods made in Kansas. It's mostly purple pottery, painted gourds and lots of things with a sunflower theme. There's some good stuff, too, including painted post rocks and other pieces of carved limestone. I picked up a mini-grain elevator.

While browsing I lost all desire to drive around Russell looking for Bob Dole memorabilia, so I asked how long it takes to drive to Great Bend. "Go through Wilson and then it's about 45 minutes." I hadn't even noticed that Wilson was there, just on the other side of the interstate.

I drive into Wilson and my upsettedness quickly disappears when I see this sign:

Wilson_vitame_vas_1

Wilson is the Czech Capital of Kansas. That's worth stopping and looking around. There's a hardware store:

Wilson_somer

and the old Wilson Jail:

Wilson_jail

Can you top that?

Wilson_top_that

Update: I forgot to do my homework last night. Here are two bits of Wilson history:

The top story of the jail was a water tank. Prisoners were held on the ground floor until they could be transported to the county jail.
Parts of the movie Paper Moon were filmed in Wilson.

Next up: More than you ever wanted to know about limestone.