Land(mark), ho!

Most people know Kansas is (relatively) flat. And you don't have to drive much further west than Salina to see that, by comparison, everything east looks hilly. My in-laws live in the country. And on a clear, starry night, they can see from their front window the lights of our neighboring towns. That are 30-40 miles away. Flat, flat, flat, flat, flat. So now that I've imparted all this wonderful knowledge and background, it's time for the application.

I get lost, I am directionally challenged and the lack of terrain and trees makes navigating the gravel roads I drive a near impossibility (I went for the dramatic flare). Let's just say that when Farmer Tim and I explore or are going to new places, I am NOT in the passenger seat with a map. Now that I've been here a year, I'm not as desperate as I once was, but nothing makes me happier than when I see an obvious landmark I can use to get me where I need to go. Ergo my appreciation for the lone tree along Road 24, which the Franklin's long ago dubbed the "pheasant tree". Granted, they use it as a unit of measure, telling them how far they are from home. For instance, when there is a snow storm and you don't know where you are in the blizzard-like conditions (because it's flat and most likely windy- it's Kansas), a sighting of that pheasant tree lets you know you are within a mile from home. Phew.

I can make my way to the usual spots, no problem. But I'm still driving to new fields, and Tim telling me to, "go 2 miles south, 1 mile east, then turn on a trail road," can bring on the tears. Which way is north? How bad is this trail road? So if I have something like the pheasant tree, in the midst of all this flatness, I feel a lot better. Besides, who doesn't want to be a pirate and yell out things like, "landmark, ho"?

The End.