We left the Town & Country Restaurant for an uneventful
trip to El Dorado; then on to the Kansas Turnpike and up to the Cassidy
exit. Another 8 or so miles to the north
and we were at the thriving town of Matfield Green.
With a present population of about 45 hardy souls, Highway
177 and the BNSF Railroad main line passing through it, Matfield Green is
nestled in the Little Cedar Creek valley.
The Little Cedar Creek begins farther east and south of Matfield Green
in the Flint Hills, and flows (contrary to the norm in Kansas), northwest…then
on north to the Cottonwood River.
Matfield Green itself is a tired-looking small community of run-down
buildings and various kinds of “stuff” stored on several of the lots in town.
We easily found the road out of the town to the east into
the Flint Hills, and began following it.
As we were leaving town, we passed a vehicle coming from the opposite
direction. The driver waved at us. I almost forgot rural etiquette, but managed
to wave back…then remarked to my wife that I needed to remember to do that when
we passed by anyone else.
The road was somewhat familiar to us as we have traveled it
two or three times in the past. It has
always been, however, in the spring that we made the trip. This time it was fall, and it hadn’t rained
in about a month or a little more, so things were getting dry and the trees
were looking rather worn and a little haggard.
The colors of the grasses, weeds, and other flora, however, were varied
and delightful as we drove along under cloudy skies.
Not much changes in places like this from year to year. Real estate is passed down from generation to
generation. Farming and ranching
practices remain fairly constant. The cycle
of life and the seasons dictates that some things just remain as they have
always been because that’s the best way.
We saw a lot of cattle yet in the pastures. I was thinking that they may be mostly gone
by now, but there were several herds of good size. We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife
except for birds, of course, and a lone coyote that was walking across the road
in front of us until he saw us…then he made a dash for the left hand
ditch. I told the wife that we’d never
see him again, and we never did.
Some of the land and some of the road got rather primitive
for a couple from the big city. There
are several cattle guards that divide pastures and also divide the open range
from the fenced-in area.Constructed of
iron of some kind…usually 2 to 3 inch pipe or sometimes rail, and built into
the ground in the roadway…they keep cattle on one side, but allow vehicles to
cross.
 |
| Cattle Guard |
When in the open range, one must be careful of where the
livestock are so as to not run into any or cause any issue with them. We didn’t have any that were really close
enough to cause us issue; nevertheless, we maintained a good eye out for them.
We stopped regularly for photo opportunities. I wanted to get some good shots, and think I
managed to do so. The overcast skies
didn’t help with the lighting, but kept the day cool and pleasant for us.
There are several ways one can go toward the east end of the
trip through the hills. We chose the way
that appeared to be the most traveled and ended up right on the west side of
Olpe, Kansas.
More later.
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