SALINA, KS
June 11, 2004

It was the beginning of the big River Festival when I arrived on Thursday evening. (The 28th year.) I was tired, however, so I just went down town on Santa Fe Street and found a good place for dinner. I discovered that I had gone through a tie zone and it was 9 pm, not 8 pm as I thought. The downtown has been redesigned to be very attractive and functional. Clearly they want to keep it from becoming a ghost town. Another way to assure that would be to prevent any big shopping malls from being built on the edge of town. Despite the festival, I found an affordable motel room. Never turned on the TV, just went right to bed.

Salina is the biggest town for many miles around. Having plenty of room, it is quite spread out. I remember reading about a recording studio (Blue Note?) in Salina that was recording all of the old blues musicians. I contemplated spending the day at the River Festival, but decided to do my consulting stint and then drive the rest of the way to St. Louis. Like the horse going to the barn, I was focused.

I met with the owners of a mortuary that is planning a new cemetery, which will have a labyrinth. They really didn't know much about labyrinths, which makes my services that much more valuable. They had a photo of a labyrinth with a columbarium in Richardson, Texas -- a severe design, with a huge, plain wall completely surrounding the labyrinth. It looked like the labyrinth was confined to the stocks. Whereas the Richardson labyrinth was in an enclosed courtyard, the Salina labyrinth would be out in the open space. I suggested something more appealing and less intimidating.

In Salina I visited the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Its architecture reflects the appearance of grain silos. Quite unique. I went inside briefly, and then headed for St. Louis. I stopped only once, at the Golden Armadillo antique mall, where I bought about 40 yardsticks. That increases my collection to about 1500 yardsticks now. Yardsticks are quite a fascinating topic, but I'll save it for another day. I got home at about 9 p.m. on Friday night, June 11. I had driven some 2300 miles over five days, which is actually a pretty leisurely pace. With a second person to help drive, I think I could do it in three days. I'm certain to have that opportunity in the future. And when I do, I'll be sure to keep another travel diary. Keep tuned.