Still more Kansas....day 2.

You wouldn't believe the McDonald's we saw today in Hays, Kansas. Think stone lodge on the outside; and little log cabin on the prairie on the inside. It was incredible! I had my coffee in an easy chair in front of a gas log fireplace, yes, it was burning! What atmosphere! Blue checked vinyl was on the seat backs, a log cabin style quilt was framed on a log siding wall. Prairie artwork on the walls, iron skillets, a blue-speckled enamelware coffee pot, and a kerosene lamp were on the split log mantle. The fireplace was done in layered stone, with a raised hearth. Mission style stained glass were the light fixtures. Besides all that, they had a kid's clubhouse play area that made you want to be 3 feet tall again! Plus....they had a wall of fame for all the happy meal toys throughout the years. That place is a tourist attraction in itself. If you EVER go through Hays, Kansas, place a big X on the map to remind you to s-t-o-p at the McDonald's there. It's a beauty! The manager told Jim that they had to really fight with the company to sell their vision of how they wanted the store to look, but they won.
Along I-70 there's about a 45 mile stretch of road that has post rocks; fence posts cut from stone, they're very old, and they have a scenic byway dedicated to the area. Very cool to see. We saw them on our last trip out too.
In Abilene, we stopped at the Eisenhower Memorial, Library, Home, Visitor's Center. We were very glad we did, it was a nice experience. C-Span happened to be there today, as they are filming a series about Presidential Libraries. This whole complex is built around the original Eisenhower family boyhood home. The house, in its original spot, is where Ike's mother lived until her death in 1946. The house was dedicated by the 6 Eisenhower boys in 1952, for its current use, everything else is built on about 5-6 acres there. The chapel, where Ike and Mamie are buried, was so calming, and peaceful. The architecture, circa 1959, reminded us so of buildings that we grew up going to. Eisenhower was credited with starting the Interstate System, which includes I-70, that we travel throughout Kansas.
In Salina, we suppered at a Cracker Barrel. Jim, anonymously, paid the bill for a soldier and his parents, and told the waitress to tell the soldier, "Thank You for all you do." They didn't have a clue who we were, and we teared up talking about it. Ft. Riley, home of the 1st Calvary, one of which that soldier was, was just down the highway. The central Kansas scenery stretches wide and vast....as far as the eye can see....literally to the ends of the earth. What a sight.

A sign on the side of a barn, somewhere near Alma, Kansas, said:
NO GOD--NO PEACE
KNOW GOD--KNOW PEACE.

We're in Topeka tonight, parked in a Cracker Barrel lot. Lots of soft grass for the corgi kids, and a nice walk tonight for us all. Cheap digs, nice restful spot.