People in Kansas cling to delusional folklore about who they are and what makes being a midwesterner great. They must think they are still pioneers on the Santa Fe Trail - why else would the wagon wheel motif pervade the decorative landscape? They deride densely-populated cities as traps - How can you breathe sandwiched like that between neighbors? They like to think they love the great outdoors, but as soon as a nature trail on a decommissioned rail road track is announced, everyone was up in arms. Nature, fresh air and walking are socialist! If so, then their festering, toxin-leeching-wall-to-wall-carpeted houses the embodiment of true liberty? When did fear-based privacy obsession create the need for year-round window treatments to blot out the beautiful big blue skies, fantasic sunsets, and the moon and the stars? Or maybe it was the sight of the crumbling streets and the weed-choked sidewalks they couldn't take?
On this trip, I've made a point of walking the portion of the Flint Hills Nature Trail that runs through Osage City every other day or so. You vote with your feet, right? I've been joined on most walks by family members. Everyone loves being out on the trail. However we have all been disappointed with the poor condition of the trail in Osage. It speaks volumes that a town filled with people with a multitude of chainsaws and garden implements can't gather enough civic-minded let's-build-a-barn-muster to clean up a three mile section of a trail. And why do some people use the trail as a toxic dumping ground?
On the trail there are no trash cans, no benches, no wayfinding signage, and worst of all, no people. Nobody. I haven't met a single person on the trail. We've seen a few solitary kids cruising side streets on bikes but no other hikers.
Today we headed out west of town for 2.5 miles. It was a beautiful walk.
