Wagon Ruts

It’s always good when they point them out, because unless you know what you’re looking at, you could totally miss the whole “rut” thing.

The wagons which inflicted said ruts were riding along the Santa Fe Trail, which got its start in 1821.

Now, for me, when I first heard of wagon ruts, I pictured truck ruts in a mud road - two wobbly lines dug into the soil. But with wagon ruts, it’s not merely wheel ruts, it’s a whole lane of traffic. They are big swales in the land.

To my untrained eye, there appeared to be three ruts/swales/lanes here on the prairie near Black Jack Park in Douglas County.

Wildflower on the virgin prairie.

It’s hard to photograph ruts.

In this photo, I’m standing in the rut. From the bottom of the swale to the top, it’s about, I don’t know, a 30″ difference in height.

Also, Larry and Carolyn Mix of St. John have an in-depth site documenting Santa Fe Trail history: Santa Fe Trail Research.com.

Filed under: history, landscape on May 21st, 2008

7 Responses to “Wagon Ruts”

  1. heineken160, on May 21st, 2008 at 10:05 pm Said:

    Cheryl, you are in a rut! No you are not. I just wanted to say that.

  2. Cheryl, on May 21st, 2008 at 10:08 pm Said:

    I saw that one coming. :-)

  3. heineken160, on May 21st, 2008 at 10:10 pm Said:

    I saw that coming, also.

  4. elebrown, on May 21st, 2008 at 10:36 pm Said:

    Aren’t there supposed to be wagon ruts somewhere around Council Grove? I’ve heard that but I’ve never seen them. (or maybe I have seen them and didn’t know what they were)

  5. Onnalee, on May 21st, 2008 at 10:42 pm Said:

    As soon as I started reading this Daily News, I started laughing. It just really tickled my “funny bone”. Then I thought - “Hmmm! Do I say this was funny or not?” Then . . . . . when I read Roger’s, I just had to He-Haw!
    Things like this just seem like the “spice of life”. So layed back and with so much “simple thinking”. I love it!

  6. heineken160, on May 21st, 2008 at 10:57 pm Said:

    See “Centered” because maybe I am in a rut.

  7. Cheryl, on May 22nd, 2008 at 9:13 am Said:

    Ele - there may be several places ruts can be seen near Council Grove, but I’m pretty sure there’s a sign west of town that points to them - maybe somewhere around Wilsey.

    Also - isn’t there a sign and a place to view them west of WOODBINE?

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