Tuesday, July 20, 2021 - Ours meals got switched......What a ride we had today!

Tuesday, July 20, 2021 - Ours meals got switched......What a ride we had today!

I slept great last night and it felt good.  After Dean got up and we had both enjoyed our coffee, I suggested we go out for breakfast, and of course Dean was ready to go.  I suggested a place in Glen Elder, with very good reviews called HeBrews.  As we were leaving the park I was looking up the directions to the restaurant....only to discover it had closed.  The next closest town with a restaurant was Beloit, which was 12 miles east of Glen Elder.  We made the drive to Beloit and we sure were glad we did. 

We really enjoyed our breakfast at Kettles in downtown Beloit.  Located in a beautiful stone building, it was apparent from the activity here, we had made a good choice.  We both ordered breakfast bowls, which included a choice of sausage or bacon, along with nicely fried and seasoned bite sized potato chunks, scrambled eggs, covered with gravy and cheese.  It was delicious.  While waiting for our food we had a delicious cup of coffee.  I really enjoyed the light roast they serve. What a great experience for our first meal out on this trip!

Beautiful building...we loved all of the rock buildings.

K for Kettles - a nice lounge area, with several table and chair settings throughout the building.

Dean's breakfast bowl.

We spent quite a bit of time driving around in Beloit.  What a beautiful community with some amazing buildings and beautiful homes.  

Mitchell County Courthouse - Beloit, KS

The following pictures were taken at the Catholic Church and Rectory.  

A beautiful home near the downtown area

Before leaving Beloit, we made a stop at Ray's Apple Market for a few groceries.  Dean noticed a farm store called Bomgaars next door and suggested we walk over to take a look before going to the grocery store.  Before we left, he bought two pair of work shorts and some rubber boots. They will be great for when he's working on the lots.  

Next door at Ray's we bought a few things for snacks while we are on the road for the next several days and a few other groceries we needed.  

Before returning to the campground we made a stop in the community of Glen Elder.  We drove along the west end of Waconda Lake, driving along the dyke that surrounds the lake.  It was a beautiful, serene view looking out over this beautiful body of water.  

As we returned to Glen Elder we enjoyed this view of the many colors of green in the fields and those beautiful blue skies full of fluffy white clouds.

It is definitely farm country when you see these large elevators in every small community.

Another beautiful stone building.  I'm not sure if it was a local apartment site or someone's home.  There was a sign that said Castle Lodge but it looked more like a home.

I loved this old stone barn and the name above it - Porter's Porkers.

As we neared the campground, Dean said he wanted to show me this row of RV's within the park.  I would have to really, really, really like my neighbors to share this space with them.

Do you think they could get much closer?

Beautiful sites near the water.  I love the trees.

We returned to Bentley so I could make a few phone calls.  Dean wanted to check out a near by golf course along Lake Waconda (Glen Elder State Park), so he left to do that while I made my calls.  

He returned a short time later.  I made us each a shake, since we weren't that hungry after our breakfast.  Earlier this morning, I had planned a route to check out some sites in the area.  After our shake, we left Glen Elder State Park, heading West on Hwy 24, turning North at Downs, onto Hwy 181 that took us to Lebanon, KS.

We thoroughly enjoyed the ride and the scenery as we made our way north to Lebanon, KS.

Such beautiful countrysides.

Our first stop was at the "Geographic Center of the United States" in Lebanon.

Stone plinth and a US flag at the center of America's 48 states, as marked by US Geological Survey.

Close up of plaque.

In Lebanon, we found a couple of other interesting items:

Nicely renovated gas station currently used as their Visitor Center.

City Jail, est. 1910 
Those beds do not look very comfortable!

From Lebanon, we headed West on Hwy 36 to Smith Center.

Former Bank Building in Smith Center now used by Edward D. Jones Investments

Smith County Courthouse

My favorite picture of the day!  

From Smith Center we drove South on Hwy 281 to Gaylord. 

We were looking for a specific stop here but all we found was the Gaylord water tower. 

No matter how we tried, we could not get the entire name of Gaylord in the picture.  Gaylo on the left

 and Ylord on the right!  Lol!

Leaving Gaylord, we made a stop along Hwy 281. 

Lady Liberty - a project by a Local Boy Scouts Group

View from Lady Liberty site looking south.

Looking across the road from Lady Liberty to the west.  Everything is so green here.

From here we headed further south to Osborne.  

Geodetic Center of North America in Osborne, KS

Osborne County Courthouse - It's beautiful!

Before leaving Osborne, Dean fueled up the truck in preparation for tomorrow's drive to Nebraska.

As we made our way back to Glen Elder, we made two more short stops at Waconda Lake where I snapped this picture about an artesian well which after the lake's construction is under the lake.

Golf Course

Lake in the background to the left, golf course on the right.

One final stop was to take some pictures of these Sunflowers near the golf course Dean visited earlier today.  

Just another pretty picture.  I just love it!

I took this last picture looking toward Waconda Lake.  This is my second favorite picture from today's adventure.  I think it looks more like a painting than it does a photo.

When we returned to the campground, I made a sausage/bacon pizza that Dean cooked on the Blackstone.  It was delicious!  

After dinner and dishes, the rest of my evening was spent posting this blog.  I hope you enjoy following along with us on this day of exploring the mid northern areas of Kansas.  Thanks to each of you who take the time to read it, and especially make comments.  I look forward to hearing from you.