Marysville....

….a common place name,
Honors this town of some fame;
the first stop west of St. Joseph, Missouri
on the pony express, and in a hurry,
riders were give two minutes to change…
..horses, and were back on the range.
Other attractions of some curiosity,
grace this wonderful little city,
home of the Black Squirrel is here,
coal black they are, and elsewhere rare.
There is a replica of an old rope ferry
used to cross rivers, and not in a hurry,
travelers going west to mine gold,
many passed through here, we are told.
There were men who came from South Carolina,
wanting to make Kansas a slave state which they thought was finer,
chased out of town, with no time to spare,
the town that they founded, is now under Marysville care.

Photos: Left-Black Squirrel Right-Pony Express Station

Tomorrow…Nebraska

Here we are...

...in Junction City, first capitol of the state,
there are so many things here, it's just great.
There is the house, that had as it's host;
George Armstrong Custer - who is now a ghost.

There is the museum of the First Infantry,
proudly standing there, for all to see,
it's at Fort Riley, such a massive base,
these are the soldiers our enemies must face.

There are some lakes nearby for fishing,
probably you could find a well, and do some wishing,
it's important that we see, this part of this great...
country called the USA, this is just one state.

to the north...

The....

...sunflower state of Kansas can be proud,
that five settlers picked Marion from the crowd;
it has become a fine small town, proud of it's past,
the founding is celebrated every year, first to last.

Those five families came in covered wagons too,
directed by surveyors from the railroad crew,
it was just before the Civil War that they came,
they are the ones who lent Marion the name.

The first homestead was filed by Frank Griffith,
in August of 1860, the day he picked was the eighth.
He built a shanty where the Santa Fe passed through,
and from that this fine town grew.

Next: on the road

The...

...state song of Kansas is Home on the Range,
it fits right in here, it does not seem strange;
here in El Dorado, oilmen share the pot;
it's a big refinery, and it makes a lot.

Biggest in the mountain west, here on the edge,
of the famous Flint Hills, but I don't see no ledge;
and I did see a buffalo and an antelope,
try as I could, could not get it in my scope.

This is a small town, with a big city attitude,
all the folks are really nice, no one is rude.
Lot's of food and company, and a place to stay,
got it made in Kansas, but I'll be on my way.

US 77 North

No chicken...

...for you! Should read the sign,
for Douglass Kansas, and it won't be benign,
because the founder Joe Douglass died;
shot by a chicken thief who never cried.

I think Jeff finally met a fellow ghost,
in Joe Douglass, who may be a new host;
I don't think it would be too much trouble,
if Jeff went to stay in the Joe Douglass bubble.

The City was founded in 1868, and still survives,
on a trail out of Texas for the cattle drives;
'course there ain't no cows bein' driven no more,
which kind of make Joe Douglass sore!

Route 77 keep on goin'

Today...

...we arrive in a new State and city,
Arkansas City Kansas sits pretty,
as the gem of south central part,
of Kansas, it was the start..

Let's talk about how the name is said,
it's not like "that other state",
say are-kansas, yes that's the way,
it is said with the last "s", so it's easy to say.

Now to Ol' Larrys drinking in 1959,
he had his first "blackout", and I had mine,
he met the local guys at the bar,
and then proceeded to go too far.

There were other things about this place,
while Ol' Larry fell from grace;
he first heard the music that gives you chills,
the wonderful sounds of Bob Wills.

This city has good jobs, at the flour mill,
Gold Seal flour, made for you to grill,
or how about some Crayola stuff,
in that plants there quite enough;

and there's parts for airplanes too,
and parts for mobile homes for you,
there's quite enough to go around,
on this famous and good ground.

Liz Taylors parents are but two,
who came from this town to do,
things that made them better known,
then those of us, who are alone.

So even if there's sadness, there are no regrets,
it was so long ago, but nobody really forgets,
this place of mixed emotions, in this current visit,
not so much as to ask, it's not too bad, is it?