Planes and Trains

Ted and Peggy Wolff visited from Chicago last weekend. We took a break from trainwatching (Ted's passion) on Saturday evening and drove 50 miles south to Beaumont. We gazed in awe at the pasture full of 300 foot tall wind turbines on Pete Ferrell's ranch. Driving down the road to a more secluded part of the ranch, Bill bathed his feet at the foot of a waterfall, while Ted, Peggy and I identified trees on the banks of the rock-bottomed creek. Lovely.

We proceeded from there to the Beaumont Hotel where dinner was buffalo burgers and KC strip, followed by blueberry cobbler and ice cream. But the highlight of the evening was outside on the street, where four or five small planes and two helicopters pulled right up and parked outside the restaurant. As it says in the brochure, "Pilots land on teh Beaumont Hotel's 2600 foot long native grass airstrip, taxi down the paved county road, stop at the stop sign on Main Street and park right next to the hotel."

We went outside after dinner and were treated to quite a show of planes swooping, turning and dipping as the pilot's took advantage of the late-setting sun, taking off for Wichita, and perhaps points beyond, with plenty of light to spare after their stop for dinner in Beaumont.

Ted and Peggy left on Sunday morning and Bill and I retraced our drive south on 177 that afternoon, this time for a "Chili Feed" under a tent at the holiday home of Gerry & Kathleen Brazil near Eureka, KS. We battled the cattle for a parking space in the pasture adjacent to the Brazil's yard, where we enjoyed great conversation and spicy chili at their annual gathering. Jack Casner documented my pregnancy progress for the photo below.