Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Niobrara Chalk

Oh, yeah, there's no mention of this Chalk anywhere. Not on google. Not on wiki. Not in the Elks Club handbook. But it is in the tour guide I left behind in CT. Sarah called my Mom. She passed it to John, my step-dad. The only information he could tell us was that it is 18 miles north of Scott City. Now Scott City must be the sister city of Brigadoon because it's either invisible or it vanished. And this half of Kansas must look like a continent-sized Mondrian painting from above. We looked through the fields of wheat. No Chalk.

We did find cows.

And trees.

We were lost. No signs. And then there she was. The most inexplicable thing.

It wasn't clear why anyone would yield to anybody in this prairie. We guessed a turn to the left and we were wrong. So then to the right. And at last, 7 miles later, yielding to no one, we found it.



Some day, someone is going to have to explain to me why there's a formation of chalk deposits in the middle of a wheat field in Kansas.

3 comments:

Stargazer said...

I love your humor. Your narrative and your pictures are pure entertainment. Thanks for the memories. It's so great to start the day reading your postings, smiling, chuckling. I have a tickle in my heart thinking about you two. Isn't life just wonderful?

Anonymous said...

Wow, to think that zillions of little coral creatures created the seabed that now adorns a Kansas wheat field is mind boggling. And more importantly, the joy I get from your pics and posts is worth all their little chalky bodies piling up in Kansas.
Keep it coming.
Are you going to do more as you get closer to LA?

Anonymous said...

There is asbestos in the chalk. Don't touch it - oh wait you already did. NAH I'm kidding - but that is weird. Compared to the guy who found the diamonds in Kimberly, finding chalk on your land isn't as great, huh?