A Little Caching in WaKeeney and I Mean a Little 6/8/2010

Well we had a whole day and not much to do as there weren't a lot of caches in WaKeeney. We loaded the 2 caches into the GPS along with 2 others that were about 25 miles away and we were off. We got the first 2 that were close quickly and they were really nothing special. Then it was off to Castle Rock and the Kansas Badlands for a Earthcache and a traditional cache. Well we'll tell you it was quite a drive as most of it was on dirt roads through the countryside where if you saw one farm in the distance that would be a lot.

Castle Rock has been used as a landmark for several hundred years. In the 1800s, the Butterfield Overland Dispatch followed the Smoky Hill Trail which passed just a few hundred yards north of the then larger chalk formation.
Ruts from the Butterfield Overland Dispatch trail can be found a few hundred yards north of Castle Rock. The Rock was named by Lt. Julian Fitch in June, 1865 while he was surveying the trail for David Overland's company.
This area is rich in fossils from the Cretaceous Sea which covered this land over 60 million years ago. You may not dig for fossils on this privately owned land, but if you keep your eyes open, you may find fossil shark's teeth laying on top of the ground.
The Castle Rock limestone, chalk and shale formation is fragile and may not last many more years. The tallest spire fell following a thunderstorm in 2001. But there will still be a lot to see hear. I find the badlands area just south of Castle Rock to be far more interesting.
Castle Rock was a landmark on the Butterfield Overland Despatch route (Overland Trail). The chalk was deposited in the area by an ancient inland sea. The formation was formed by the weathering of the chalk by wind and water. It received its name because it is said to look like a castle rising above the prairie. The formation may last only a few more years. Weathering of the rock formation is increasing due to visitors climbing on the rocks. The tallest spire fell following a thunderstorm in 2001. The formation and the nearby badlands are located about 14 miles south of I-70 near Quinter, Kansas.
On January 29, 2008, Castle Rock and Monument Rocks were jointly named as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.

The Kansas badlands (also badland) is a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. It can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, hoodoos and other such geological forms are common in badlands. They are often difficult to navigate by foot. Badlands often have a spectacular color display that alternates from dark black/blue coal stria to bright clays to red scoria.
The term badlands represents a consensus in North America. The Lakota called the topography "Makhóšiča", literally bad land, while French trappers called it "les mauvaises terres à traverser" – "the bad lands to cross". The Spanish called it tierra baldía ("waste land") and cárcava. The term badlands is also apt: badlands contain steep slopes, loose dry soil, slick clay, and deep sand, all of which impede travel and other uses. Badlands form in semi-arid or arid regions with infrequent but intense rain-showers, sparse vegetation, and soft sediments: a recipe for massive erosion.
Some of the most famous fossil beds are found in badlands, where erosion rapidly exposes the sedimentary layers and the scant cover of vegetation makes surveying and fossil hunting relatively easy.

We finally foundthe entrance to Castle Rock and the Badlands after stopping at one of the few farms to ask final directions. We drove down the road about a mile and came to a screeching halt as there were ruts in the road 1 1/2-2' deep. The traditional cache was about 500' feet away so we decided to walk to it. WRONG. We walked up the hill and got within 300' and ooooooops a sheer cliff down to the cache. Back to the car and try the other road. No luck either here as we got about 8/10 of a mile from it and had to turn around. Well we did walk around and get a few pictures and had a nice drive but couldn't get to either cache, darn it as we kind of wanted to do some fossil hunting. So it was off back to the coach for lunch and the rest of the day. Well that's it for today so until tomorrow we miss and love you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick