Girard

Girard is the county seat of Crawford County. Out in front of the county courthouse is a nice big lawn, complete with a gazebo and a helicopter on display honoring the town's veterans. 

Downtown are some shops and a bar called "Bender on 7." The town also has a park, a swimming pool, and a lovely sesquicentennial display of decorative quilt squares.

Perhaps surprisingly to those who know Kansas as a solid "Red State" Republican party holdout, Girard used to be a bastion of the Socialist Party, especially from the 1890s through the 1920s. Fred Warren, a citizen of Girard, commissioned Upton Sinclair to write The Jungle, and the notorious Socialist politician Eugene V. Debs lived in the town in the early 1900s. 

 

Cherokee

 

Just outside of Cherokee, we crossed some dead train tracks, where I found two beautiful ladies posing, so I figured I'd snap their picture before we moved on.

A little further on, we saw some cats crossing the road, whereupon they turned to each other and began to lick one another diligently. "Look, Daddy!" the kids said, "Kissin' kitties!"

Cherokee itself boasts several churches, a cemetery, a downtown area with some thriving shops, a school, a city hall, and a number of small houses (some in good repair, others not so much). 

We were surprised at how busy First Baptist Church was in Cherokee -- It seemed like there were more people in that parking lot than lived in the whole town.

Opolis

 

Opolis is a small town with modest homes. It's the type of the place where cats cross the road without looking either way. There's a park, a post office, a Bible church, and a flea market that looks like it has seen better days. (Though, really, what flea market ever looks like it's in its heyday?)

Frontenac

Frontenac is a little town that feels like a suburb of Pittsburgh, but still has its own personality. We really liked walking through the Wilderness Park, and we were also charmed by the community burn pile. The town's trashcans are distinctively painted in a yellow-and-red or yellow-and-pink pattern, and they are very proud of their Raiders athletic teams. 

 

Pittsburgh

We stayed the night in Pittsburgh at the Lamplighter Inn and Suites, which we found quite adequate. The kids always love hotel breakfasts, so they were in heaven the next morning.

Before hitting the hay, though, we went to the Caballo de Oro Mexican restaurant, which was excellent. We really enjoyed ourselves. They even had live music!

The downtown area of Pittsburgh is quaint and interesting, with lots of shops and restaurants. It also has some more industrialized areas, as well as chain restaurants and hotels on the edge of town. The residents of Pittsburgh love the Pitt State Gorillas, judging from the red-and-yellow painted gorilla statues all over the city.

Cottonwood Falls

Cottonwood Falls is just south of Strong City; you can walk over on a nice wide sidewalk that crosses the Cottonwood River. It has a cute brick-street downtown area with a magnificent old limestone courthouse. A park near the river affords a fine view of the falls the town is named for.

Burlingame

Burlingame, like Scranton, was a delightful surprise. The downtown was well-maintained, and several fun local shops were still open toward the end of the day on Saturday.

Magen posed in front of the Burlingame Dance Spot building (another location of the Scranton Dance Spot).

Then, while she fed the wee one, I took the two older boys to check out Chicken Coop Antiques across the street. Even though it was almost closing time, the owner was really sweet and let us look around for a bit.

This town was warm, friendly, and inviting. I'd love to visit again in the morning when more shops are open and we'll have time to enjoy lunch at the cafe.