2023 CANYONLANDS ADVENTURE - CATHEDRAL ON THE PLAINS

 

DAY #13 – THURSDAY – JULY 14, 2023

DENVER, CO – TOPEKA, KA

527 – MILES / 4,070 – TOTAL MILES

The Doubletree Hotel here in Denver was nice enough. The room was clean and comfortable, and breakfast was very good. The only downside was most of the front desk employees, while professional, were somewhat aloof and unfriendly. The restaurant staff on the other hand were very friendly and accommodating.

Our tour guide Michelle changed things up on us this morning. We still had to have our bags out by 6:30 but we had to be on the bus ready to depart at 7:30 a.m. This was going to be a mileage day as our destination for the night would be Topeka, Kansas, which is over 500-miles to the east.

Surprisingly, everyone was on the bus ahead of schedule and we actually pulled out a minute or two early. As we pulled onto Interstate 70, we got one final look at the snow-capped peaks of the front range of the Rockies. 

Soon after leaving downtown Denver, we got a brief look at the unique terminal of the Denver International Airport off in the distance to our north. It’s not a very user-friendly airport. I have flown in and out of it a couple of times and it’s a long Uber/Lyft ride to anywhere. Definitely not my favorite airport. Thank goodness I don’t fly anymore.

It was an uneventful ride across Eastern Colorado and about two and a half hours after leaving the Hotel we made our morning rest stop at Love’s in Burlington, Colorado. It was windy and warm, with temperatures in the high 80’s. I used the opportunity to grab a couple of snacks and a large cup of coffee. By and large, I have found that Love’s has the best truck stop coffee.

After a the 30-minute break we continued our trek east. Just a couple of miles after leaving Burlington, Colorado, we crossed the state line and entered the State of Kansas. Eastern Colorado, and all of Kansas is mostly flat with miles and miles of corn and wheat fields. Every small town along the way had huge grain silos that were often the tallest structures in town.

The miles clicked off and by the time we Reached Ellis, Kansas it was time for Lunch. We stopped at another Love’s that had an attached Dairy Queen which was our only choice for lunch.  Everybody on the bus descended on the Dairy Queen all at once. There were only three people working, two up front and one in the back cooking.

Needless to say, they were not prepared to handle such a large influx of customers. They did the best that they could, but it was slow, and the usual complainers did more than their share of complaining.

I decided to grab a couple of Hot Dogs from the rollers in Loves along with a large fountain drink and a cup of coffee.  It seems that I spoke too soon about Love’s Coffee. This was one of the older Love’s and the coffee was still being served in the round glass pots. The coffee in these pots gets strong quick and this coffee was horrible. I ended up throwing it in the trash.

The Hot Dogs were about what you would expect from a Gas Station hot dog. Nothing to write home about but they beat nothing.

It took a full hour for everyone to get lunch and get back on the bus. From The Love’s it was just a short 30-minute ride to our only tour stop of the day. The Cathedral on the Plains in Victoria Kansas.

In 1990, My mom and Stepdad left a little MG Convertible in California when they moved back to the east. I flew out to San Jose and spent over three weeks driving it back across country. It was a great trip. During that trip I traveled this same route from Denver across Kansas. Back in 1990, I made a quick stop at the Cathedral on the Plains.

During that trip it was not open for tours, and I was only able to walk around outside.  Today we were going to get a guided tour.

The Cathedral of the Plains is officially known as Saint Fidelis Catholic Church. It was dedicated in 1911 and the main sanctuary will seat about 1,100 people. The church is 220 feet long and 110 feet wide with twin towers that are 141 feet tall. At the time it was the largest church west of the Mississippi River.

The Church was built between 1908 and 1911. According to the church history, each member of the church who was 12 or older was asked to give $45, and haul six wagon loads of Fencepost Limestone and four loads of sand each year until the church was completed. Some families brought as many as 70 to 80 wagonloads of stone. The nickname The Cathedral of the Plains was bestowed upon the structure by former presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan after he visited the town in 1912. Its 48 historic stained-glass windows were installed in 1916, by Munich Studios in Chicago, at a cost of $3,700, and are now valued at more than $1 million. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Our guided tour of the Cathedral of the Plains Lasted a little more than an hour. It was conducted by an officer and church member who did an excellent job. It was an interesting tour to say the least. After the tour we had a few minutes to walk around the and explore the grounds of the church.

After completing our visit to the Cathedral of the Plains, it was back to Interstate 70 and the longest segment of today’s journey. We pulled back onto Interstate 70 right at 4 p.m. and according to the GPS on my phone we were still almost 200-miles away from our Hotel in Topeka.

It took us almost 3 and a half hours to make the 200-mile drive to the Country Inn & Suites in Topeka, Kansas. Michelle got our Keys and unlike most night, I was one of the first names called and was on the way to my room.

Once settled in my room, I walked about a quarter of a mile down the street to the Culvers Restaurant. It’s your typical fast-food restaurant and again was nothing to write home about. On the way back to the room I stopped at a convenience store and got a few snacks and a couple of drinks.

I don’t know what it is but today seemed long and tiring. I guess almost two weeks on the road is beginning to take its toll. When I am traveling on my own If I start feeling like this, I can stop and spend an extra day in town taking in the sights and basically just take an easy day to reset. Today we crossed the 4,000-mile mark in the amazing adventure. Our stay here in Topeka will be our next to last night on the and are still well over 1,000 miles from home. That means tomorrow and the next day will be a pair of 500-mile days.

The adventure continues but as I sit here in Topeka, the end is near.