I left site #90 at the Ray Behrens Recreation Area campground at almost 11AM; that's the latest I've ever left a campsite. This was intentional as check-in time at the next campsite wasn't till 6PM. I needn't have worried about that as you'll see.
It was county roads for quite a bit but finally got to the interstates headed towards Kansas City. Google Maps had me take the I-435 beltway south of Kansas City, and I can only imagine what a mess traffic must be inside the beltway. For it was quite hectic on the beltway, and this is a road that has 8-10 lanes!
I was glad to finally turn onto Kansas Highway 10 and away from the big city traffic!
No issues encountered though, even got a short rain storm to welcome me to the Clinton Lake area which is southwest of Lawrence, KS. I'm staying for two nights at the Hickory Campground in East Bloomington. It's another Army COE site so there's electrical power for the A.C. There's a lake nearby of course with the dam put in by the COE and boat ramps and a swim beach.
The guy in the boat, I could see, was going to startle the flock of white-headed gulls for sure. So I set up my camera to video it:
As I pootled along later, I spotted this set of rings, obviously some kind of an art display:
Apparently the Underground Railroad, used by escaped slaves to flee the southern states prior to/during the American Civil War, was quite active in this area.
Returning to camp, I spotted some weird "things" clinging to the bark of the tree that the VRRV was parked next to:
I'll be happy if the above is all I end up encountering, don't really want to see the live ones....not only are they quite big but also quite nasty looking. They're supposedly not harmful to humans or animals but I'd just as well not have contact at all.
6 comments:
Never heard of anyone being bite by a cicada, yeah the discarded shell is not a lovely sight.
Growing up in the midwest, we didn't have the soft wind in the white oak tree at night, only the soft singing of the cicadas all night long. If they went quiet all of a sudden, you frantically looked for what might be lurking in the dark.
CCjon, I use the sounds made by crickets as the sign of something being out there in the dark when the sounds stopped. I'll have to check tonight to see if Cicadas are that way as well.
Another beautiful campground at a reservoir just west of you at Council Grove. I stayed there while exploring the Flint Hills on MY TW200....beautiful tall grass prairie country!
In Texas we always called them critter locust. Growing up on a farm we would catch them, tie a string around them and then let them fly around. We could pull them back in when we wanted to. The shells look a lot worse than the critter is.
Oz... You're using them as flying toys reminds me of the locust infestations we used to have down in Honduras where I was growing up. We take those large grasshoppers or locusts I guess, hold one in each hand and have them fight each other.... The cruelty of kids is amazing.
Thanks Coop for the tip though I have already lined up the next campground which will be the last one before I head for home.
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