Just Like a Welcome Stage Stop in Years Gone By

Mittens/Western Kansas Wildlife Travel Center, Exit 76, I-70, Oakley, KS

Imagine traveling toward the sunset 150 years ago. How welcome would that town in the distance be--the stage stop or railroad depot with hot coffee and a place to stretch your legs. Some things never change. Our mode of transportation may have changed, but not our longing for a comfortable place to take a break.

It is always reassuring when I am heading home from travels and there is Mittens/Western Kansas Wildlife Travel Center on the horizon. It literally is the front door to western Kansas--to the rock formations, museums, hunting--adventure!

I have a warm place in my heart for truck stops. Growing up just outside of Mount Airy, NC, every other person has a trucking company and Karns Virginia 500 and Brintle's were local hangouts for drivers and everyone else that wanted a good cup of coffee and camaraderie. Daddy's cousin, Orin Jarrell, owned the world's largest truck stop on I-95 in Virginia. So I always associated truck stops with hardworking people, good food, and interesting stories. This is what drew me to Mittens when I traveled through western Kansas and eventually moved here. 

It is a welcoming environment but there is also a sense of adventure. I mean, anyone can walk in. Anyone! From the guys hunting elk in the Rockies to the families with six kids and two dogs crammed in their vehicle with their luggage on top. Musicians and movie stars and ranchers and oil rig workers. School teachers and dropouts. Anyone. Folks you might run into at the country club or the corner bar. Anyone. 

Sometimes, it is someone I know. Friends who are passing through text me and say, "Hey, I'll be at Oakley in a couple of hours. Can you meet me at IHOP?"

"Sure!"

When the grandkids come to visit, we head over to IHOP and then they run around upstairs fascinated by the wildlife mounts that line the walls. I grab the massage chair and give my spine a good workout. They have added an Urgent Care on the upper level now which is a great service to the traveling public but also to us locals.

Mittens provides hundreds of jobs and is a great community partner There is a Subway inside, in addition to the deli and IHOP, and a Sonic next door.  I cannot say how much they mean to this community and to the traveling public and we are so proud and grateful that they are sponsors of Around Kansas.