This should really have been my first post of 2019 but I’ll fudge that fact.  Anyway, We flew back to Wichita on December 29th, 2018. The first 3 pictures in the first gallery are Dallas, Oklahoma City and Wichita respectively from the plane as we returned.  When we were last in Kansas the cotton was still on the bush but now it has been harvested and was in bales awaiting loading and sale.  In the first of the next two pictures of/from Gary’s back porch you may notice a bunch of sticks midway up the tree.  That’s not a bird’s nest but the nest of a squirrel.  Bloody things are everywhere!  Despite the lovely sunset the next morning our car was covered in ice.  Winter is coming!

We are determined not to be intimidated by the cold and so we headed out one night to the cinema followed by a nice meal at that Irish Mexican fellow, Carlos O’Kelly.  This was followed a few days later by the first of 4 college basketball games featuring the Wichita State University “Shockers”.  Shane and I are not big basketball fans but in their home of “Koch Stadium” which seats around 10,000 it is difficult not to get caught up in the hype and have a thoroughly great time.  We (Shockers) only won 1 of 4 games though even the commentators diplomatically agreed they were robbed of the last game by some poor adjudication.

It was around this time we made the firm decision about buying a larger ‘van and so after a few days of searching we decided to go (2.5hrs) north to Beloit to look at a Keystone Hideout 262RES.  On the way to the trader we saw a few interesting items like the Chev 3500 with just a tool box on the chassis of his dual wheel rear axle. We also overtook the first of many wind turbine blades being transported to its’ installation in the Flint Hills (just look at the size of the semi hauling it to get a scale of its’ size).  Scarily for Shane and I we also saw evidence of being further north in the way of snow. (Little did we know of what was to come later.)  Finally after stopping for a peek at the “Little Red Schoolhouse”, we had bought ourselves a new 5th Wheel and were on our way back.  We only had a week to wait while they prepped it and got it ready for us to pick up.

Before getting back to Wichita we stopped for a break at Lindsborg, a town settled over a century ago by a group of Swedish immigrants, which has now become home for many Nordic people who have made this a tourist stop on the Main North/South Kansas Highway. Later that week it snowed.  It does make for some beautiful scenes but OMG I hate the cold.  It is easy to see why the car I photographed here is called a Toyota “Tundra”.  It is at home in the snow.  Check out the temperature inside our old caravan as we were cleaning it up for the new owner.

Just prior to the snow coming down Shane and I took a trip to see the Aviation Museum which is on the other side of MacConnell USAF Base from Gary and Sharyl’s house.  Most people would not be aware that earlier in history Wichita was the centre of the aviation industry.  It is the home of some great names like Lear, Boeing, Bombadier, Cessna, Beech and many more.  “MacConnell” is the home of the KC135 tanker aircraft and USAF planes flying operations over the middle East are refuelled in the air by these behemoths that fly fuel direct from Kansas before coming back home.  (Our RAAF also use KC-135’s.) There’s a number of pictures here from that day at the museum which ends with a selfie of Shane and I in front of a B52D Stratofortress.

Keeping with the ‘flight’ theme, when we headed back to Beloit to get our new 5th Wheel van we were greeted by a huge flock of birds that were reminiscent of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” or a scene from a David Attenborough doco on mass bird migrations.  Their synchronised flight was fantastic to see. Pity we couldn’t get some video of the incredible action. As we progressed northward the evidence of the previous day’s snow was building. Even the “Little Red Schoolhouse” was shivering in the snow.

In Beloit the RV Trader loaned us a car (well, a Nissan Murano – almost a real car).  While they fitted the 5th wheel hitch to our RAM we went sightseeing out past Waconda Lake to Cawker City (and I use the word ‘city’ loosely) where not only can you see a palm tree standing proud in the snow but you can visit the world’s largest ball of sisal twine at over 8 million feet in length (2400 Kms) and weighing 20,000 lbs (9000 kgs).  We stayed in Beloit overnight and left early the net morning for Wichita with a new 5th wheel in tow.  For some time we followed a truck that was salting the roads to limit the roads from icing up. We also snapped a few of the oil wells that are often seen in the paddocks of Kansas. I’ll finish this post with a few snaps of Gary & Sharyl’s house and a photo of our new rig (snow inclusive).  I have also included a link to the webpage where we bought our new van so you can see better shots of our new home.  (Click here)

We’ll be leaving Wichita soon now that we have set up the new movable home.  There is no way we can thank Gary & Sharyl for all the have done for us.  From feeding us and showing us about to the advice and just plain friendly hospitality, we are greatly in their debt. We have had a terrific time here and have become loyal WSU Shockers fans.

That’s about it for now but watch for the next post.  From here we’re heading south (towards the warmth) to Oklahoma City then Dallas followed by either Houston or Austin, Texas.  Our aim for this trip is to investigate the SW of the United States ending in May in Denver before coming back to Australia for 6 weeks and then starting again.

Cheers for now.

Garry and Shane.

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2 thought on “What a shocker!”
  1. Keep up the air museum visits, luv em……….. Golly, that 5th wheeler is a biggie, price is nice but at 3.6t would need an upgrade on the Colorado for sure……seeing you both dressed up like Bears while I sit here in shorts, wooly undies for sure, have fun………………

    1. Actually, at 30′ 11″ it is the same length as out 23′ caravan (Travel Trailer). Taht extra 7′ hangs over the ute tray but gives us so much extra room inside. Having the ‘pivot point’ over the car’s rear axle means it tows differently too. I would often forget I had the TT on the back (had it up to 80+MPH once without realising) but you can feel the 5’er (as they call them here). Reversing is more responsive and turning is tighter. About to finally leave Gary’s at Wichita for Oklahoma City today. “Watch for more exciting episodes of the greatest crime fighter the world has ever known – Chicken Mannnnnnn! He’s everywhere, he’s everywhere.”

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