October 10, 2026- Hana’s walking effort got a boost today, in the form of a support harness. This will do two things. It’ll give her more arm and back support. It will also give her adult helper more back support. She walked about seventeen feet, with her father tending the harness. With my Red Cross Blood Donor Ambassador session today, her parents took her for a walk in the stroller. The three of them also went to H Mart, and to a car wash, which Hana thought was rather exciting.
Hana had plenty to say, at mealtime. She warmed up to the ground beef that her mother prepared for her, but didn’t take so much to the white cabbage, which is rather bland. All in all, though, my granddaughter is more inclined towards a vegetarian diet. We will see how that shakes out.
HANA’S NOTE- I was so glad to have both Mommy and Daddy on the walk this morning!
EXPANDING CIRCLES: Kansas-The Sunflower State is often the Poster Child for “flyover country”, which to me is an epithet. I have driven across much of Kansas about a dozen times. My first visit was in 1972, partly on a Greyhound bus and the rest of the way in a van that got me as far as Kansas City, MO. There were a few other van rides in the ’70s. We camped at Wa Keeney, in 1997. I explored parts of the state’s southern tier, on three different visits, finding much more variety and scenic beauty than is commonly recognized.
The Turf- Kansas is largely flat, but not as treeless as is commonly thought. The western Great Plains region is largely treeless, but has several small arroyos and canyons. The Flint Hills and Smoky Hills dominate the central part of the state, while eastern Kansas is home to many rugged hills, which are more forested. Kansas is drained by the Missouri, Kansas,Arkansas, Republican, Solomon, Neosho and Cimarron Rivers, along with their tributaries.
First Nations-Kansas is the ancestral home of the Kiowa, Comanche (Numunuu),Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kanza, Pawnee, Wichita, Otoe, Osage and Missouri peoples. Prior to Kansas’ statehood, clashes between Native peoples and the U.S. military took place at Solomon Fork (1857) and at Crooked Creek (1859). In 1867, Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attacked a unit of the U.S. Cavalry at Beaver Creek, killing 12 men. Numerous clashes continued until 1878, when the Cheyenne returned to their home in the Black hills of South Dakota. Today, the Kickapoo, Iowa, Potawatomi and Sac & Fox nations have reservations in Kansas.
Where I most feel at home- Dodge City, Hays, Sedan, Emporia, Wellington
Where I most feel at peace-The Hollow, at Sedan; Flint Hills
NEXT: We leave the Great Plains and look to the states that are drained by the mighty Mississippi-starting with Minnesota, where the Father of Waters begins.
