I-70 in Western Kansas

After leaving Independence, we journeyed across Kansas on I-70, which is pretty much a direct shot to Colorado. My plan was to not spend too much time and take a couple of days traversing the 424 miles across the state.  Last year we spent considerable time in the southern part of Kansas following the Sante Fe Trail.  And I’ve traversed the state a couple of times on prior trips.

But, the high plains prairie of western Kansas appeals to me.  Its got a big sky horizon with views for miles in all directions.  Its dotted with nice small towns marked by either a grain elevator or water tower that you can see from the distance.  And there seems like more cattle than people.

In prior years, I’ve done a number of stops along this route.  There are two fine museums (US Cavalry Museum and the First Infantry Division Museum) at Fort Riley that are opened to the public.  The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is in Abilene is quite impressive. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is south of I-70.  The Fort Hays State Historic Site is in Hays.  Fort Larned National Historic Site is one of the best preserved western forts. All are worth visiting.

A favorite stop for me is getting a rib dinner at the Hickory Hut BBQ in Salina.  It’s not a fancy place with your food served on a plastic plate.  But some dry rubbed pork ribs served with a side of beans, slaw, and a slice of Texas toast washed down with some sweet tea is a great meal. Yum!  I love good barbecue and it doesn’t get any better that what the Hickory Hut serves.  Here’s my son enjoying his lunch.

Cav at the Hickory Hut BBQ

While passing through, I decided to skip the truck stop boondock and try a new place to stop for the night.  Wilson State Park is a huge state park on the shore of man-made Lake Wilson.  It’s just 6 miles north of I-70 about 50 miles west of Salina.  It’s a beautiful drive into the lake and the state park has several camping areas on the lake.

The state park is a popular spot for campers, boaters, and fisherman.  We were told that it’s a very busy place on weekends but mid-week we had not problem getting a site with no reservation. We chose the Big Bluestem area and got a lovely water front site overlooking the lake.  The sites are all paved with water and electricity.  Each camping area has a dump station and a bath house with showers.

We spent a relaxing late afternoon by the water enjoying the views and a nice sunset.  And we had leftovers from our BBQ lunch for dinner.  It was $29 for the night ($5 vehicle entry fee) and SO much better than listening the highway traffic and diesels idling all night.  I would highly recommend this state park.  Here are some pictures of Lake Wilson State Park.

After leaving Wilson State Park, we continued west on I-70.  For me, it’s a lovely drive having the endless prairie in my windshield.  It makes me wonder what the early settlers  felt seeing the broad prairie for the first time as they came out to Kansas and Colorado to claim their 160 free acres via the Homestead acre.  It must have been like seeing a new paradise compared to what they had left back east or in Europe.

Here’s a short dash cam video of what it’s like driving on I-70 west of Salina.

The only other stop we made was in Goodland to visit the High Plains Museum.  This is a small museum that has some interesting artifacts from the settling of the local area. Much of western Kansas is dedicated to farming and ranching and the museum showcases that heritage.  Goodland is a nice town with a broad main street lined with shops. Many of the small towns in western Kansas, like Goodland, are small islands of civilization dotting the vast prairie.  It would have been nice to linger for a few hours.  Perhaps next time.

After 5 days and almost 2,000 miles we made it to Colorado!