The Blitz East, Part 1: What the heck is up with the trucks in Kansas?!

Ah, Kansas. We hear there's no place like it. We crossed the border and could see for miles. Fields and wind farms were our companions as we made our way along I-70 east, with our elevation decreasing down to below 3000ft for the first time in months. Our first drive day in Kansas wasn't long; believe it or not, we actually had places we wanted to stop and explore in the state. It gets the reputation as a pass-thru state, but there are some gems.

Our first stop in the state was a rest area in the town of Colby. We love to see how different states cater to RVers at their rest areas, if they do at all. We've had the totally unfriendly rest stops in the northeast, the well-meaning approach of Ohio, and everything in between. Based on this one example, Kansas does a decent job. There was no actual large vehicle parking lot, but the rest stop had a place for trucks and RVs to pull off, plus a whole other loop where RVs could dump for free. We found a spot to pull over for a stretch.

You can see in the second picture that there is plenty of room to pull over, and on this particular day, it wasn't very crowded. Now, you see that truck way up front in front of the U-Haul trailer? He was there the whole time we were. A perfectly respectable place to pull over. What wasn't cool was a FedEx driver who came in, towing a double trailer, and deciding to park directly across from that other truck. By that point, the U-Haul dude had left, and there were plenty of other spots for the FedEx guy to fit. We totally understand that it's tough to park such a long vehicle, but when it came time for us to leave, we had mere inches to spare squeezing between these two trucks. If that white and blue semi decided to leave before either of the trucks in front, he wouldn't be able to get through. I needed to get out of the truck and navigate Anthony.

A few minutes later, we stopped at a Cenex to get gas. The gas station was part of a truck stop, so there was plenty of room to maneuver. The trucks had their own entrance that brought them right to the diesel pumps, and then around the back and side where there were places to park. We made our way to an outside gas pump that allowed us an easy exit back onto the road...or so we thought. As we were waiting to pull out and take a left, we had to wait for a few cars to pass, one of which was a giant semi. He approached from our right and started slowing down as though he wanted to turn into the gas station. Initially we thought he'd let us pull out first so he could have all the room. That's like Towing 101: If someone is impeding your ability to take a wide turn, let them get out of the way. But no. This truck driver decided to pull up right in front of us, blocking any ability for us to move. We thought, well alright, he can just keep driving and go in the other entrance - the actual truck one. But did he do that? No. He just sat there looking at us for a minute, almost as though he wanted us to make the first move. Well, we would have, if he stopped to let us out! Now our only option would be to back the trailer up, which was not going to happen. He of all people should know that backing up a trailer is not something that can be done in a snap. Not to mention, we'd end up backing up into where he wanted to go anyway!

Then the unthinkable happened. Instead of changing his mind, this dude decided to try and make the turn, right past where we were. There was nothing we could do at that point but brace ourselves for potential impact. That trailer came about two inches away from the front corner and side mirror of our truck. We were freaking out. I wish I had thought to pull out my phone and record it, if not for the blog then for an insurance claim, but my adrenaline was pumping too hard to think. So instead, we'll just show you a diagram.

We're typically the types that give truckers the right of way because they're working and need to get where they need to go, and in return, we've had many pleasant encounters, but with this guy, we questioned if it's even safe for him to be towing. That was not a turn he should have made.

After that close call, we got back on the road, only to see a different truck pulled over by the cops a minute later. We don't know what happened, but given what we had witnessed with trucks in the past 15 minutes, we're tempted to side with the cops. Then, as we continued on, we witnessed far too many trucks going over the speed limit and attempting to pass us, sometimes staying in the opposite lane for 30 seconds before deciding whether or not to pass. Sure, there aren't many people on these roads, but there are bumps, winds, and flying tumbleweeds to contend with. Just because roads aren't congested doesn't mean you can drive like a maniac. Evidently these truckers hadn't gotten that memo.

Thankfully, we'd have a reprieve for a couple of days. We opted to get off I-70 for a while and head to Lake Scott State Park. After seeing nothing but high plains for hours, Lake Scott was an oasis. A beautiful, peaceful reservoir with a canyon backdrop that rivals what we saw in states like Arizona and Nevada, punctuated by colorful fall foliage. See? Told you Kansas has its gems!

Lake Scott is a man-made, spring-fed reservoir that hosts many recreational activities, especially in the warm weather. The park also contains historic remnants of Native pueblo tribes and European settlers. Clearly lots to explore, but we stopped in the area for something beyond the park.

While still relatively unknown, word is getting around the social media circuits about Monument Rocks. The most common description is, "You'll never believe you're in Kansas!" Boy, is that true. Monument Rocks is one of a few areas in western Kansas where you can find badlands. Rocks eroded to form various buttes, canyons, and arches, and they stick out like sore thumbs in the high plains. Monument Rocks is located on private property, but the owner lets the public visit between sunrise and sunset. You can drive right up to the rocks, but there are signs to please respect the rocks. Unfortunately, we saw children climbing all around, which can ruin these delicate formations. You certainly don't need to get that close to appreciate these beauties. You can walk right up to them and see the shadows they cast in the bright sunlight. We went at high noon and almost felt like the rocks had a solstice stone vibe. We've been a lot of places with a lot of rocks, but Monument Rocks is a standout. You could plop these babies in South Dakota, Nevada, or Utah, and they'd still be worth seeing. The fact that they're in Kansas makes it even better.

That same afternoon, we visited Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, the neighbor park to Lake Scott. We hiked the two hiking trails, Life on the Rocks (2.5mi) and the Overlook Trail (1mi). The badlands were so cute and small compared to the ones we saw in other states. We wished we could go down into them, which apparently used to be permitted, but for preservation purposes the trails now stay above the canyons. Understandable. It was a hot day in the Kansas sun, but it felt nice to get some exercise. Our mountain hikes are done for a while, but finding a hike with features like this is enjoyable in its own right.

The next day, we continued eastward, but not on I-70. We were staying south of the interstate for a while for a couple of good reasons, which you'll read about in the next post. This meant we could drive state routes and county roads, which was pleasant because we didn't see many cars on the road, and even more importantly, we didn't have to deal with the crazy trucks like last time. It was a great day to turn on some music and drive like the wind! Oh, except there was wind. It is the plains, after all. We had sustained winds at 25mph with gusts over 40mph. Certainly doable, but we needed to stay aware and diligent, especially because the winds were hitting us laterally. I had some Texas flashbacks when I went to exit the truck at a gas stop and could barely open my door!

We covered about 275 miles and settled in at Wellington City Park, just southeast of Wichita. The park has campsites dotted around the entire perimeter of the lake, and they're all first-come, first-served. When the office is open, you can register in-person, but on Sundays they're closed, plus we arrived in the evening anyways, so we grabbed a self-pay slip and went to scout out spots. The set-up is pretty cool. The lake has lots of coves, which create little peninsulas all along the shoreline, and this is where the camping spots are. Some of the peninsulas have designated campsites with water and electric, while others are more primitive, dispersed camping.

Whether I'm booking a site online or scouting in-person, I can be my own worst enemy because I am a major optimizer. In other words, I could find an amazing site that I'd be perfectly content parking in, but I still want to keep looking to see if something better comes along. At least online, I can open up several tabs and do comparisons of multiple sites at once. In first-come, first-served situations, comparing sites is quite the time suck. Sometimes it's best when most sites are filled up because then we have a less overwhelming choice. Here at Wellington, this was not the case at all. Out of 200 camping spots, only about 10 were filled. We had less than 2 hours before dark, had already been on the road for 5 hours, but I wouldn't rest until I explored all the options. Don't worry, Anthony knew this about me when he first met me, because my optimization doesn't stop with campsites. You should see me online shopping!

We began towing the circumference of the lake. The roads were all gravel and narrow, and some of the loops had ruts and divots, but we kept driving onward. We passed the first loop with designated sites, and it was fine, but every available site had neighbors. If we're going to camp at a mostly empty park, we'd prefer some privacy, and I'm sure the other campers wouldn't appreciate us squeezing in right next to them anyway.

Next up were some primitive loops. We found one that was beautiful, and we'd likely have the whole peninsula to ourselves. Our first contender! But we couldn't stop there. Around we went. We had a few moments where loops on the map didn't exist anymore, so we needed to make some very tight turnarounds. At this point, as tired as we were, we considered this an adventure! We did make a note, though, that this is another reason (among many) why we should rethink dispersed camping. I would need to scout every possible option before feeling satisfied. And I have done that.

On the other side of the lake, we made a note that we'd get some gorgeous sunsets over the water. That could be really nice. We found a couple more primitive loops, but they were as far away from the park exit as possible, and because we're on a tight timeline with our blitz east, we'd rather save the extra minutes towing out of the park. Plus, if we could find privacy at a site with hookups, we'd prefer that. The price difference was only $3/night.

We drove through three loops with hookups, but we decided that it made the most sense to choose the loop with the dump station so we could easily access it when we leave. The loop only had two other rigs, both on one side of the peninsula, leaving the other side totally up for grabs. On our first drive through the loop, I made a note of which site I'd potentially want to choose. When we returned, I accidentally navigated Anthony to a dead end instead of bringing him around the loop towards that site. So he needed to back into an empty site to turn around. I got out to spot him, and once outside, I marveled at the row of sites. I told Anthony that I might like these sites even better than the one I chose earlier! With Anthony half turned around, I had him stop so I could walk down the row. The last site in the row caught my eye. We'd still have a lake view out the back, and if someone did happen to show up and park near us, being at the end of the row ensured that our pleasure side would still have some privacy. This site also looked more level than our first choice. That first site was nice; it would have water on two sides. But levelness is important, and by parking in this row, we'd have direct access to the dump station on our way out. That wouldn't be the case with the other site.

So I made the decision. We were taking the last site in this little dead-end row. Only, there was hardly any room to back our trailer into it. We're 56ft of combined length, and so we need a lot of space to maneuver. But I was determined to make it work. We had a few options. Anthony could back down the entire row and into the site from the driver's side. He could drive down the row, utilize the little space we had, and do a multi-point turn to back in passenger side. We chose option 3, which was a modified version of option 2. We started to turn him around and use the site next to us as a pivot point, but ultimately decided that multiple maneuvers forward and backward, shimmying into the site would do the trick. I spent the entire time on the walkie-talkie saying the same sentences over and over: "Keep going forward, but just don't hit that tree." "Keep coming backward, but don't hit those branches." And, "Yeah alright, just keep going and we'll see what happens."

Maneuvering into tricky sites is super stressful, especially at the end of a long drive day. Plus, thanks to our optimization journey, the sun was setting. We could have easily freaked out, but instead we were laughing and patting ourselves on the back for taking risks and being weirdos. We got ourselves into this situation voluntarily, and it was actually kind of fun! Once upon a time, we were terrible at maneuvering our rig. Anthony and Nicole from two years ago should look at us now!

Once we got into our spot, we didn't need to level much, as we expected. Then Anthony had the idea to immediately put down our ramp door so we could watch the sunset from our patio. We never take the time to set up our patio right away, especially so late in the day, but clearly we were feeling wacky. We quickly unhitched and ran to the back to get our ramp door down. I typically man the inside while Anthony unlocks the ramp from the outside. After our crazy drive day and all the ruts and bumps we went through, our stuff had taken the brunt. I needed to clear a path to even reach the ramp door! Anthony was still securing the railings as the sun set, but technically we did get to watch the sunset from the patio, and it was gorgeous.

After all our shenanigans, we finally settled back into our rig after a 7-hour drive day, with 2 of those hours being around the city park itself. Now we could enjoy our beautiful, rustic lakeview site, in the quiet of the off-season. This is the kind of camping we love.