Dad's Life 3D: Thank you, and good night, Wichita! The 2009 cross country road trip continues: Lamar to Wichita

Lonnie and I were DJs WAY
before we produced a TV series.

OK. I don't mean to offend anyone from Wichita KS, but as a kid who grew up in Los Angeles, Wichita was never on my radar. However, I stumbled on this hidden little gem of a city a few years before our cross-country trip. From 2005 to 2007, I produced a TV series with my best friend from Jr. High, Lonnie Peralta, called Grass Roots Racing. The show was a docu-series that traveled around the country interviewing kids who raced anything with a motor, and showcased their sport. Motocross, Jr. Speedaway, Go-karts, Jr. Dragsters, Quarter Midgets, Quads, Etc. If you're into motorsports, you know what I'm talking about... The show was pretty epic. And what's even cooler is that many of the kids we interviewed back then are now

Ponca City MX Nationals in 2006

some of the top pros in their respective disciplines.

One of the episodes of the series took us to a little town in Oklahoma named Ponca City for a big amateur motocross event. You could tell that this was a thriving town at one point, but, in 2007 it was a skeleton of what it once was. Many of the businesses on Main Street Ponca City were shuttered and boarded up. Ponca City was an oil town, but the refinery had downsized, leaving many in this small town without a job. At this time (2006-ish), all of the mom and pop restaurants in town had been

Downtown Ponca City

replaced by corporate restaurants out on the main highway. Sadly, this has happened to a lot of small towns across America. That said, one of the places that was still open in town was an old diner, that even in 2006, asked you if you wanted to sit in the "Smoking or non-smoking section." Both of which were separated by the isle... But the food, and the portions... Massive! So big that it was too much, even for two big boys from the Valley!

Wichita Kansas Old Town Nightlife!

So, how does Wichita tie into this? Well, Wichita was the closest airline hub, so we ended up spending a night in this vibrant place before flying back to Los Angeles the next day! Lonnie and I had such a great time exploring old town Wichita. This place had a heartbeat. Live music, DJs, old town bars and great eats. Totally unexpected!

Flash forward three years... 2009. When Anthony and I knew we weren't going to make it to Kansas City, I said, "Hey, I know a place...!"

And now we continue with the 10-year anniversary of my cross country trip...

June 28, 2009

Lamar to Wichita

There really isn’t much going on in Lamar CO. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road. I really wanted to find a local newspaper with the announcement of Michael Jackson’s death, but there wasn’t one to be found. I was surprised to find NO newspapers available at any of the gas stations/convenience stores in town. I guess this is why much of the country gets their news from local “news talk” radio. Hmmm, now it all makes sense. I did finally find a copy of the Pueblo Chieftain, who covered the story, at a Safeway on our way out of town.

Today was to be a big time driving day. We’re shooting for 500 miles, our biggest one day drive yet.

The landscape has really changed. Cows and farms. Farms and cows. Multi-lane highways are now two lane roads which have speed limits of 65 MPH. But, just when you get up to speed, you get a sign that says “Reduced Speed Ahead.” And, every town is the same. First it goes down to 50 MPH, then 45, 35 and 25. All the signs are spaced evenly until you get into the small town. Blink, and then it’s 35, 45, 50 and 65, back up to full speed until you do it all over again when you hit the next small town.

We hit Dodge City, KS in the late afternoon. Dodge City was an outlaw town in the late 1800’s, full of gun fights and craziness until it was rid of its bad boys by Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson around 1879. Now, it’s a tourist destination with a great museum, Boot Hill Museum, which gives great insight into the way it was in this transient town back in the day.

It’s weird to think that in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that long ago that Dodge City was a lawless town where daily gunfights in the street were commonplace and where men with no money or identity were buried in shallow graves with their boots on in Boot Hill. Also, the struggles of Native Americans are displayed here in ways that I have not seen before in a museum. They tell the truth.

After the museum it was time for some lunch. Today was Anthony’s birthday, so we found a great steak house, Casey’s Cowtown Steakhouse, and enjoyed a nice lunch/dinner before getting back on the road. If you ever go to Dodge City, I recommend getting a steak here. If you are vegetarian, don’t even come to this part of the country because you will starve. Around here they say that Vegetarian is Native American for “bad hunter!”

We literally got the Hell ‘outa Dodge and hit the two land road once again after lunch. We set our sights on Kansas City MO, but came up a little short. We planned to stay with Anthony’s Aunt and Uncle’s farm outside of the city, but by the time we got to Wichita KS, we had had just about enough of the road.

Instead of continuing on, we found a great room at the Hotel at Old Town, which is right in the center of the city’s entertainment district. After all it was Anthony’s birthday, so we did it right and enjoyed the nightlife in with the locals Wichita style!

Day 6 – June 26, 2009
Start: Lamar, CO
Destination: Kansas City, MO
Mileage: 507 miles
Did we make it? No
How far did we get? Wichita, KS (307 miles)