© 2011 Lydia Hinshaw
New bus, old campsite
ELLIS, KS -- I've been across Kansas only once before, 26 years ago this summer, when I was driving alone to California in my 1976-model Volkswagen pop-top camper.
Several nights into the trip I landed in Ellis, attracted probably by a highway sign pointing toward a campground. It turned out to be a small, quite place, overlooking a small lake. You pick your site, make yourself at home and a police officer comes around in the evening and collects your campground fee, which is 1985 was $5 per night.
We happened upon Ellis Thursday about quitting time, as far as the work of driving was concerned. There had been some highway signs about a campground. And I remembered a peaceful place where I could hear the faint yells of the crowd at what I discovered was a youth baseball game.
Sure enough, same place, same procedure. The cost has tripled, but it's still a bargain, since our $15 includes water, electricity and wi-fi. The young officer who came to collect the money said he didn't know this place was here in 1985. He probably wasn't yet born then.
I rode my bicycle around town in 1985. No bike this year, so Prince Charming (who also wasn't around in 1985) and I walked around a bit. Later, we could hear an announcer and fans yelling, probably for some high school sports event.
Ellis has seen better days, no doubt. The main drag has a few open businesses and a number of empty storefronts, one small grocery store and one multi-tasking restaurants serving pizza and Mexican dishes. There were lots of old houses, and lots of people sitting on their front porches, watching a pleasant evening pass.
At the campground, which doubles as a park, a teenaged couple walked up and town, talking earnestly about something. Other locals seem to use the place for cruising, keeping an eye on who has stopped in town for the night.
Time may not have forgotten Ellis, but it's safe to say that Ellis is pretty far down on time's to-do list.
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