Our Thanksgiving with the family in Kansas was good. Nothing like sitting around in flat country with not a lot to do. I did manage to avoid posting while I was there, but I couldn’t completely avoid the computer. I had to checka the e-mail, and couldn’t help but read the news (when the local paper doesn’t even mention Bush’s gutsy Thanksgiving Day visit to Iraq, you kind of need to plug in). But that’s about it. It was kind of nice to disconnect from everything for a while.

I even managed to take some pictures in Raymond. For once I managed to get some pretty decent light. A couple of these shots really illustrate the flatness of Kansas. Some places are really as flat as a tabletop, and it’s more bizarre than you’d think.

The old railroad sign below is about all that’s left of what was once a booming stop on the Santa Fe line. There used to be a train depot there, built in 1905, but it was torn down in 1961 for lumber. For some reason the history of Raymond really interests me. I spent summers there as a kid with my grandpa and step-grandma, and it’s where my parents grew up. I think the town amazes me in its near-abandonment. The more history I learn about the town, the more I realize that my dad grew up watching most of the town be disassembled. I wonder what that does to your pscyhe. It’s no wonder my dad and his two siblings left for extreme ends of the country (Michigan, Arizona and California).