598. Atchison, Atchison County (KS059)

There is something about a roughhewn courthouse I adore.  Of course, it’s completely stylistic in this case because you can see from the carving and scroll work on the front that they could have made this anything they wanted.  I can’t even explain why I like it so much.  It just feels right in a certain kind of way to me.  The namesake of this county is buried a couple of counties over.  I thought about going to see his grave because I believe there’s a couple of virtuals there.  On the one hand, it’s interesting that some of his friends posited that (though he himself never held this position) he might have been President of the United States for a day.  On the other hand, he was instrumental in kicking off the “bleeding” part of Bleeding Kansas.  Therefore, as far as I’m concerned, screw that guy.  That doesn’t really even matter though, because this county’s most famous resident was the one and only legendary aviatrix herself…

…Amelia Earhart.  Wikipedia can tell you far more than I ever could about her, so I leave that as an exercise for the reader.  That said, there are a few caches around here dedicated to her memory in one way or another but none more so that the virtual at her childhood home which is now the Amelia Earhart Museum. 

That was an easy park and grab, even though there was a party going on next door with a bunch of teenagers and some older folks eating barbeque and tossing around a football with no masking or social distancing or any other precautions.  You’ll understand my reticence to crash it…  Kansas hasn’t been too bad when it comes to all that, but, then again, Kansas and I are not exactly attached at the hip either. 

While I was down the street, I decided to grab another virtual.  I had never heard of the Sallie House, but it claims to be the most haunted house in Kansas.  I don’t know about that, but I do know there was a small team out front looking at some kind of equipment inside their van.  When both members were inside, I slipped to the front of the house, did the necessary, and then slipped away like, well, a spirit or a phantom.  With that, I took a bathroom and food break.  The last time I was here, there was a restaurant with an old school lunch counter I ate at.  Unfortunately, it looked like they were closed down.  Fortunately, a small grocery store had opened next door.  I grabbed some sandwich makings and took a short break as the sun began to set.  I had a little more energy in me, but only so much.  I decided to keep going for a couple more counties while I could.  Besides, if I was going to stop for the night, I preferred to do so in a larger place.  I’ve spent the night in small towns, but I like having more people around.  I pulled away from Amelia and Atchison, intent on reaching…