I had to work on Sunday. I never have to work on Sunday, but a ton of assignments built up that day and the extra help was needed. And I’m glad it was.
My single assignment for the day was a “trail ride.” Now, I should admit, I had my preconceived notions about what Kansas was going to be visually. And those preconceived notions turned out to be totally wrong, until Sunday.
As I saw a couple horse trailers turning down the road in front of me, I quickly knew to follow, as they would lead me to the spot the ride was supposed to start. As they came to a stop, I looked around at the visual oasis that was everything I had envisioned when I came to Kansas. The Harry Hendricks Memorial Trail Ride was starting from a dirt road in Haven, KS, lined with foot-high green wheat. The blue sky was dotted with cartoon clouds. If it wasn’t for the horrible 1:00pm light, the scene would have been perfect. Horses, trailers and cowboy hats lined the dirt road, everyone getting their horses saddled for the ride.
I went into the scene like a kid in a candy factory. I tried to embrace the harsh light that cast dark shadows under all the cowboy hats. As the ride began, I snapped away, but they were quickly gone. Chased them down to a spot a few miles ahead, but it wasn’t nearly as gorgeous as where we started. But it was cool to finally see the Kansas that I was beginning to think only existed in my imagination.
