Legend-ary Cross Country Trip - Day 18 Ice Cream, Big Well and Construction




Odometer Reading: 3716 - 3945

Departed: Ingalls, Kansas 10 a.m.

Arrived: El Dorado, Kansas 4:50 p.m.

Overnight: El Dorado State Park Walnut River Campground


Along the Way 

On this day, my fatigue was lifting a bit. We were traveling through a familiar area. Two years prior, we took a road trip with our friends across Route 66 beginning in Boot Hill, Kansas. Bruce and I decided we wanted to drive past the very sketchy hotel that we had stayed the first night and then we went on to Greensburg, Kansas. Greensburg Kansas had an old fashioned soda shop that we enjoyed on our first trip and we wanted to go back.  Bruce again got his ice cream flight. Across the street was the Big Well museum. It was closed when we stopped 2 years ago. I'll admit I gave the museum a really hard time. Who wants to go to see a hand dug well? We had decided that if Kenobi was allowed inside the museum, we would go and if not we would just get back in the trailer and head back on our way. Surprisingly, they did allow Kenobi inside the museum and I'm glad they did because I really enjoyed the museum. Yes there was a lot about the hand dug well. It is actually one of the eight Wonders of Kansas because it was an engineering marvel of its day. It is the largest hand dug well in the world. It iis actually pretty amazing when you take the spiral staircase down into the well to think that it was all done by hand.  The other section of the museum that caught my attention was the recounting of the tornado in 2007 that destroyed the town. It was beyond amazing for me to see not only the devastation from the tornado but the comeback that this town has made and strides in sustainability in the re-creation of their town from the ground up. Hey there was a bonus there was a huge meteorite also in the museum that I got to see. Another hidden gem of the trip. My apologies for mocking it two years prior.













After a stop for gas in Wichita, we headed to our overnight stay in El Dorado Kansas. We didn't even have to unhook the trailer we had to pull-through site. It took us 10 minutes to set up and we were on the roads giving Kenobi a nice long walk after several long days in the car.


Wildlife: none


Trailer: no issues


A Story: Unbeknownst to us, construction would thwart our way and cause great confusion trying to find the state park. After a detour or two we ended up at the State Park headquarters which was closed. We were able to locate our campground on maps that they had outside the building, but it was very confusing. Thankfully a worker had been driving past and even though the hours were closed she explained to us how we could get to the campground. She also explained that they were unaware of the road closures leading to the campground. They knew the construction would be happening, but we're never given the dates. That's why they did not have enough time to reach out and give the campers at the Walnut River Campground alternate directions.  With her help we found it.



Reflection:  In life, I can get so focused on what I don’t want to do or place my own perceptions on things without giving it a chance.  Reflecting back, I really enjoyed the Big Well Museum.  I had not expected too. We almost didn’t even go inside. The Big Well Museum was an “Ah Ha” reminder to me not to judge.  It only limits myself.

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