Monument Rocks

We crossed the border and entered Kansas. This was my second visit to the Sunflower State, the first was way back in the 90s during a road trip with my family. On that trip we went out of our way to visit Dodge City, because my mother wanted to see where Marshal Dillon and Miss Kitty lived (she was disappointed to get there and find out that they didn't actually live there because they were fictional characters from the TV show Gunsmoke).

We didn't stop in Dodge City this time, instead we stayed on the freeway as it cut across the state. Now you do see a lot of people complain about this drive being really boring, but I didn't think it was all that bad. The terrain is flat, but it was dotted with numerous silos, windmills and old buildings. Or maybe I've driven through the Arkansas Delta so much that I've gotten immune to flat lands. But that evening we stopped at Oakley, a small town in western Kansas. And after checking into the hotel and getting dinner, Jonah and I got back in the car and headed south towards Monument Rocks.

To get there we drove through what truly did feel like the middle of nowhere. We went through what seemed like a vast expanse of farms and fields, along with an occasional oil derrick or an old wind mill.



The road also passes through rangeland, and there were several places where cows were lazily grazing alongside the road, without any fences to keep them from strolling out in front of a car. After about 45 minutes of driving we finally saw Monument Rocks, sticking up from the landscape like a natural Stonehenge (seen here in the distance with an indifferent cow grazing in the foreground):



Monument Rocks (also known as the Chalk Pyramids) look almost surreal, definitely not what you'd expect to find way out here in the prairie. It looks like someone scooped up part of Death Valley and just dropped it off here amongst the farms and ranches.







The rock formations began to form over 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Back then, this area was all under a vast inland sea that used to stretch across the North American continent. Sediment from that sea became layers of shale and chalk, which were then lifted up through tectonic forces. Over time those rocks were eroded into their current shapes, which includes arches and pillars that are up to 70 feet tall.











A large number of fossils have been found in the area, including giant swimming reptiles called mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. There were also fossils of aquatic birds, fish that were 20 feet-long, and clams that were six feet in diameter.



We didn't see any swimming reptiles or large clams while we were out there. But there were a lot of birds - a bunch of cliff swallows were perched on the chalk spires. The small birds use mud to build nests on the side of rock formations, and they are good hunters of insects. Thanks to their hard work, we weren't bothered by mosquitoes at all while we were there.



The rocks still feel ancient, maybe because the area around it hasn't been developed. There are no bathrooms, no tacky souvenir shops. Nothing except the lonely dirt road and the wind. It doesn't seem like it'd be much too different than what it must have been like here centuries ago. The only difference being just the chalk formations getting slowly eroded over time.







As it got closer to sunset, the chalk formations took on a deeper golden hue. And the full moon slowly rose higher across the sky.









We headed back over to this arch to catch sunset. There were a few other people out there taking pictures, including one car that sped to a stop nearby. A woman ran out and started taking pictures, saying they wanted to get there quicker but some cows were blocking the road.





And another view through the arch, of the moon rising slowly above the rocks. Above the opening, you can see some of the cliff swallow nests.





It was starting to get dark, so we took a few last pictures:



We got into the car to start the drive back to our hotel in Oakley, only for the car to give an unpleasant little chime and warning - low tire pressure. Somewhere on our road trip we managed to pick up a nail, and it was slowly letting air out from one of the tires. I got out and looked at the tire, and it looked like it was ok to still drive on for a bit (I guess, I am not a mechanic). The last thing I wanted to do was have to change a tire along a dirt road in the dark in the middle of nowhere. So I slowly and nervously started driving back, constantly keeping an eye on the tire pressure. And it steadily decreased, dropping a few PSI along the way.

The dirt road back from Monument Rocks seemed even more eerie at night, especially with the looming threat of a flat tire hanging over us. It didn't help that the "quickest" route the GPS decided to guide us back to civilization just happened to go across a bridge that had been washed out and was closed. So we had to double-back, adding more time and mileage on our leaking tire. But thankfully we eventually made it back to Oakley and to a truck stop that was still open, so we could put some air in the tire. We made it back to the hotel all safe and sound, glad to have been able to visit a scenic spot like Monument Rocks. It was worth the drive out there, even with the air slowly leaking out of the tire in the hotel parking lot.

Route 66 - Catoosa and Tulsa

A few weeks ago we took a family road trip out west to Colorado. And coincidentally, we timed it with the 100th anniversary of the founding of one of the most notable road trip routes in the country. Route 66 was officially commissioned in 1926, and we were able to make a few stops along the Mother Road during our travels.

On our first day we left Little Rock in the afternoon and drove into Oklahoma. We arrived in the small town of Catoosa, and paid a visit to the iconic Blue Whale.



The Blue Whale of Catoosa was built in the 1972 by Hugh Davis, and was originally intended to just be a private swimming area for his grandkids. It was designed to look like a whale because his wife loved whales, and it featured water slides and diving platforms. A few years later, the whale was opened up for use by locals and Route 66 travelers.



After Hugh and his wife passed away, the whale fell into disrepair. But a few years back the town of Catoosa bought the property and fixed things up, and even opened a new visitor center this year.



There was a steady stream of people there when we visited. There were lots of kids fishing in the lake, along with a diverse crowd of people stopping by to take pictures (lots of people making Route 66 pilgrimages this summer for the 100th anniversary, I'm guessing). I joined the crowd and took a good number of pictures as well.



We spent the night at a hotel nearby, and the next morning drove through Tulsa and made another stop along Route 66 at Buck Atom's Cosmic Curios.



Located in an old 1950s gas station, the shop is known for the 21 foot-tall statue of the space cowboy Buck Atom (I liked how his cowboy hat sits on top of his space helmet).



And nearby you can also find Stella Atom:



And then we got back in the car and headed north, leaving Route 66 and Oklahoma and driving into the flat lands of Kansas.

Milky Way

Recently I headed back out to the Delta with Deepak to try to get some pictures of the Milky Way. It turned out kinda like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The first place we went to had a good foreground subject, but there was too much light pollution to see the Milky Way. The second place we went to was dark enough to see the Milky Way, but the foreground was too overgrown. But the third place was just right.

We went by a set of silos which were surrounded by cropland. The conditions were great for taking pictures - it wasn't too hot, and there was a nice breeze that seemed to keep some of the mosquitoes away. We didn't even need to do any light painting on the silos, they were illuminated by the distant glow of the city lights from Little Rock. We stayed out there for awhile taking pictures as a loud chorus of bugs and frogs sang out across the darkness.

A Few More Stops

After spending the day driving through the Delta, it was finally time to turn around and start heading back home. But along the way I made a few more stops. Like at this one spot near Clarendon, which had some little silos and water tanks and other assorted farm things lying around.



Off in the distance, a few storm clouds were starting to build over the horizon.



Then I drove by the old Idlewild schoolhouse, which was built in 1921.



And then I drove through the little town of DeVall's Bluff, and had to stop at the old St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church. The church was built in 1912, but was abandoned in 1986 after the church's last parishioner passed away.







I made one last stop - at this old farmhouse that seems to have been abandoned for awhile.



Although it looks like someone is nice enough to be cutting the grass around the house, the building itself has continued to slowly deteriorate and crumble away.







And one last shot, taken before I got back in the car and finally drove home:

Clarendon

There is one easy way to tell how important a town was in the past - just look to see how impressive its courthouse is. And one of the most impressive courthouses in Arkansas is the Monroe County Courthouse in Clarendon. It was built in 1911, back when the Delta was the major economic center of Arkansas.



But times have changed, and the Delta has faced a steady decline. And that, unfortunately, is reflected by the buildings around the old courthouse. Almost all of them are empty and abandoned, and a few of them are crumbling away in the heat and humidity.



Clarendon is an old and historic town. French settlers moved into the area that would become Clarendon in 1799, building cabins near the spot where the Cache River flows into the White. The town grew in the 1820s when the Military Road (which was built to connect Little Rock and Memphis) was built through Clarendon. In 1828 a ferry crossing was established, along with the first post office. The town was officially incorporated in 1859, just in time for it to be an important location during the Civil War. The White River was a significant transportation artery during the war, and there were several fights and skirmishes that took place around the town. The fighting ultimately resulted in most of the town being burned in 1864, destroying most the buildings in the city.

It's an interesting place to drive through, with lots of things to stop and point the camera at. The old rail bridge (built in 1935) is still in use.



And the old train station, which was built in 1912. It hasn't been used in decades, and was covered by overgrown weeds and brush. I got this shot from the back of the station, with an old rusted Goodyear (or Goody?) sign.



Besides the courthouse, one of the most prominent buildings in Clarendon is the old Cumberland Presbyterian Church. It was built in 1869, and was one of the first churches to be rebuilt after the town was burned during the Civil War.



The building was used as a church until the 1920s, when it then became a Masonic Lodge. It was used for meetings and as a community meeting center and as a library.



The old church was nearly torn down in the 1960s, but the building was saved and was donated to the Boy Scouts.



Not sure if the Scouts are still looking after the building. All the histories of the building that I could find ended with that note, which happened many decades ago. Not sure who owns the building now or who is out there keeping an eye on it.