Bird City

Like St. Francis, Bird City has an impressive website.

It's a large, pleasant town with lots of churches, promising businesses, and well-maintained properties.

I used to play basketball against a homeschool group from Bird City - they were always friendly and well-behaved.

A couple of funny things we noticed here: Again, there was a community bulletin board in the middle of the street. Also, there was a sign that describes Magen perfectly.

Wheeler

Wheeler wasn't much more than a few homes, the Wheeler Equity Exchange, and some dilapidated old buildings.

It used to have a post office, but that was closed in 1988, a little less than 100 years after first opening.

It's sad to think about how these old buildings -- once cozy homes, profitable stores, or secure barns -- have decayed and become liabilities rather than the assets they once were. I guess it's also good to remember that everyone's hopes, plans, and dreams are temporal. One day, sooner than we'd like to admit, we will go the same way as these old buildings did.

I'm reminded of John 6:27: "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal."

St. Francis

After some searching, we finally found a little gas-station diner that was open for breakfast on Sunday of this Independence Day weekend.

The food was good, the bathrooms were clean, and we were glad to have a brunch of pancakes after our early-morning adventures.

After breakfast, we headed over to the park, which we had scouted out while looking around for a place to eat. Like the rest of the town, the park was nice and well-maintained. Though it was only 10 a.m., the sun was beginning to heat up, as it tends to do  on bright July days in Kansas.

One very interesting thing about St. Francis (and Cheyenne County, of which it is the seat): For such a small, rural area, it has a pretty impressive Web presence.

In all, this was a friendly little town, and we were glad for a chance to stop there.