I put 250 miles of back road Kansas Driving on the deuce today!

[91W350]

I had a long, stressful and rough week this week. So this morning, I jumped in the 71 General Products Division and set off to the flint hills. It was great to get away!

Among the places I visited was Pillsbury Crossing, the crossing is a natural low water crossing of Deep Creek. The area is now a State Park, but it used to be significant in area trade. Horse drawn wagons would cross here to avoid the deep waters south of here. It is a strange place in many ways, the water flows north, the deep water just to the south is about five feet deep. How it got to be five feet deep above this natural rock crossing is beyond me. When walking upstream, you can actually step off of a ledge into five or six feet of water, a fairly sharp break. I am not exactly sure how erosion does that.

The county or state has installed concrete approaches, but you still drive across the bedrock and this road is still quite active.

M35A2 at Pillsbury Crossing - YouTube

 

[91W350]

I also stopped at the nearby Chris Barr's Cabin, they actually found his cabin inside another house they were tearing down. It is a free roadside stop, kind of cool in its own way.

 

[91W350]

Deep Creek School

The old Deep Creek School House. I actually found this one originally through Geocaching.com and have been back to visit a few times. I really like the simple, clean, but very respectful Veterans Memorial the community has placed in the old school house entrance.

 

[91W350]

I stopped for a small Geocache in the valley at a T intersection and took a couple of photos, nothing really historic except some old stone barns and houses in the area, lots of beautiful country though!

 

[SMOKEWAGON66]

i need to take a road trip and post pics of my deuce near some cool stuff. Sounds like fun!

 

[91W350]

It is a lot of fun! I think my average speed was 29 mph, it was dark when I left and it was dark when I got home! A great day!

 

[Jeepjake]

That is great! Thanks for sharing. Too often it seems we are bogged with the day to day list of things that "have to" get done. What a great way to unwind! I need to follow your example, and soon! There are so many things to enjoy.

Cheers!
Jeep

 

[91W350]

Jake, make sure you grab photos! We are addicts! You have a load of cool stuff in your part of the world. I like these little known back roads sites.

Regardless of what the signs say, this should have been the Nelson Olson Cemetery! Glen

 

[91W350]

Pottawatomie County State Lake.... There was a large flock of Greater Canadian Geese with one Snow goose in it. I tried to get both on the water and in flight photos, but I needed a lot more zoom I guess!

 

[Cleptomaniac]

Looks like fun!!

 

[jtron79]

Thanks for the great pictures. it's awesome to get out and see the real america, back where i grew up we head out for trips like that and see the territory my grandpa grew up in, herding sheep and taming the country. I had a good weekend, my Wife got her first handgun! We headed up to the mountains for some shooting and got caught in a snow storm. I hope next week is easier on ya.

 

[wsucougarx]

Hmm, that sure looks like a Sig Sauer to me P229?

 

[JAYHAWK 1962]

Agreed sig-sauer thanks for sharing

 

[JAYHAWK 1962]

Please enlighten me. Who exactly is chris barr? I lived in ks for 30 yrs never came across his name. Thanks

 

[CobraCDR]

Sounds like a fun trip & thanks for sharing the pics of it.

I'd break out the grease gun after that many miles on the truck in one day.

 

[91W350]

Please enlighten me. Who exactly is chris barr? I lived in ks for 30 yrs never came across his name. Thanks

Chris Barr apparently owned the property at the time the cabin was discovered. One of the Google results...


The sign says "Barr's Cabin" because it sits on Chris Barr's property, and is located southeast of Manhattan, Kansas. Built in the early 1850's by Oscar and Martha Mechem, it is well known for both tragedy and history. Tragedy: the Mechem's 3-year old son disappeared in 1959 and was apparently taken by a pack of gray wolves and killed. History: this cabin is noted as one of the stop-over houses for the Underground Railroad. This cabin is one of very few log cabins still sitting
on their original sites, and was discovered while razing the home built around the one-room cabin. Refurbished by Zeandale Senior Citizens in 1992, the cabin is open for viewing.

 

[cattlerepairman]

I just showed your post to my wife! I am quite obviously not the only one that uses the Deuce as an after-work stress reliever. I have not managed nearly your mileage in one day, though.

 

[4x4 Forever]

Glad you could get back into one of those trips you make! I always enjoyed looking through the old posts! I know it is nice being able to just meander around seeing what you can see without a schedule or deadline.

 

[91W350]

Among many things I saw yesterday was this oak tree. I suppose the ball makes it a Burr Oak, not sure. I never saw a trunk that small sporting a ball that big before though. I wonder what causes that? We probably have a member who can answer that for me....

 

[MWMULES]

Glen we have Bur oaks in KS it is a type of white oak I used to have a huge one in the back yard of a 100 yr old farm house I rented. It had acorns the size of golf balls. The growth on that tree is called a burl, and is sorta like a tree tumor.