Recently S and I had occasion to take a road trip to Colorado in a lovely Dodge Caravan secured by S's friend Z, who is our hook-up at Enterprise. It turns out it's extremely difficult to rent a minivan in the summer and our other option was a small U-Haul, so Z really came through for us.
We left on a Thursday afternoon and stopped at Char Bar in Kansas City for dinner. The interior was mind-numbingly noisy, so despite the gnats and 90-degree temps, we sat outside. At least they had seats in the shade.
The food was good. We had the Trifecta platter with potato salad and an extra side of mac 'n cheese. My favorite of the meats were the burnt ends, but they were all good. The potato salad was made with very small pieces of potato, which is unusual but was a nice touch. Mac 'n cheese can't be bad. We had an energetic waiter who gets extra bonus points for bringing us a free beer.
We hit the road after dinner and stopped for the night at the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson, Kansas.
It was built in 1899 and was a frequent stop for railroad travelers, but the interior was destroyed by a fire in 1902. It was renovated and reopened, and operated more or less continuously (including during the Great Depression), until it closed in 1978. The 1973 movie Paper Moon, starring Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, was filmed there. (P gave me Paper Moon several years ago for Christmas, and I highly recommend it.) In 1997, the Wilson Foundation bought the building for $35,000 and then spent $3.2 million renovating it. It's now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Our hotel room was small but we'll appointed. There was a nice comforter on the bed and good-smelling shampoo, but I had a problem that I don't often have when I went to take a shower: I couldn't get the water cold enough! Yes I know, that seems impossible. But true. I guess that's what happens when you're in the middle of Kansas in the middle of the summer.
The beautiful main staircase in the hotel.
Though it is a small town, Midland has an Opera House (under renovation) and a museum.
The hotel had continental breakfast, which we helped ourselves to before hitting the road again. The remainder of the trip across Kansas and into Colorado was uneventful, though the scenery improved drastically as we neared and then entered the mountains.
Upon arrival, we traded our minivan for a camper and headed to points north. More on that to follow...
I frequently have the difficulty of not getting water cold enough in Florida. It probably has to do with the fact that the pipes bringing it aren't buried very deep just because we live on a floating island!
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