Day 8:KS to Missouri

Today I woke up in this Kansas ranch house to the smell of Elaine making bacon and eggs just for me. I dressed and went out to walk Winnie. After meeting the ranch foreman, Jerry, I was summoned to the kitchen for breakfast by the traditional triangular dinner bell! Just like my grandmother, Elaine eats standing up in the kitchen while her guests/family are served with generosity.
Jerry has heard that I have horse experience. He asks if I am in a hurry and I said no. So, he says he would like me to help move some cattle this morning. We round up a group of heifers, pen them. Go to another field, round up 5 bulls and move to a field by the heifers (using natural magnetism to move the stock). Then we move the heifers to another field. They give me, "Secret," a nice, sensitive mare (no plodding trail animals on this ranch). Moving these cattle was challenging and fun! I had to use that "stock sense" from sheep herding to know when they were going to bolt and then whirl my horse to block and persuade. I was a little intimidated by the big bulls..but they didn't have horns, so it wasn't that scary. Here are pics of me with a bull and the heifers we rounded up and penned.

The third pic is Jerry and ranch hand Leeann in front of one of the bulls we moved. We worked for about 2 hours.
They wanted me to stay that afternoon and help out some more! But I said I had to get on the road. Elaine didn't charge me for the "trail ride" because she had watched me work the cows and appreciated my help. This is a place I would definitely stop by again. I recommend it for everyone driving through Kansas that wants a taste of real Kansas life and not just a Super 8 motel. Sunrockranch.com

Back on the road. I get an email from my sister who just started reading my blog. She tells me my brother-in-law Tom lives in Kansas City and gives me his number. I do a quick check on the map and I will be in Kansas City in about 1.5 hours. So I call him and make a deal- if he shows me the best BBQ in KC, I will treat! Well, Tom is a foodie and KC has the best BBQ in the world (even I know that) so it was going to be a guaranteed good time. Tom lives in a cool converted historic building in downtown KC. We leave Winnie there with his cats (poor Winn, what she puts up with) and Tom drives me to Oklahoma BBQ. No lie, this place is in a Shamrock gas station (see pic).h Tom tells me there is usually a line about 20-25 people deep. But it is mid-day so we walk right in. M

y mouth is watering as a write this....those ribs were tender and juicy on the inside and a bit crunchy on the outside. The flavor permeated the meat and the sauce had a perfect sweetness but wasn't heavy.
I ate more than I should of...but hey, how many times do you get to eat the best ribs in the world. The manager pointed us to a prestigious magazine article on the wall: "13 Places to Eat Before You Die." Along with famous restaurants in Paris and New York, number 13 was Oklahoma BBQ in Kansas City!
Feeling full and happy, I head out to the address I have for Winnie's breeder. But my gas in low and it's getting late, so we stop and stay the night in Chillicothe, Missouri. It is the county seat and has a downtown with many historic buildings with mainly thriving business and -no lie- this town is the home of sliced bread! (The desk clerk at the hotel affirms this is the town where they invented the machine that slices bread). Tomorrow, to track down Winnie's breeder on my way to St. Louis.