On Tuesday, June 23rd, Day Six of the journey, I reached the middle. The continental center of the United States is that rock right there under the stone arch. It is just as impressive as the one in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and yes, that is sarcasm, but this one actually has real science behind it. The coordinates work out to prove that this is the exact middle. The pavement cutting through the field behind it is Route 191, the only real road leading to the spot in Lebanon, Kansas.
I arrived around 8:00 AM. The weather was nice for just a few minutes, and then the rain rolled in. It did not matter at all; I was entirely alone in the middle of the country. I hung out for about 45 minutes or so. The site has a small chapel – made famous by Bruce Springsteen in a Super Bowl commercial for Jeep a few years back, a couple of plaques, and a motel that was built behind it fairly recently, though it is currently empty and up for sale.
It was a deeply peaceful stop, and I felt a lot of the weight from the trip lift right there. This is the exact spot I circled on a map six years ago when I first started planning this journey. In the end, it was a very simple, easy place to just stand and relax. These were photographed on film, using the Hasselblad 500C, 120 camera with Ektar 100 film.
The hardest part of today was deciding which photo to share. What came next was a visit to Lebanon, the town itself, just a few miles down the street. Home to 183 people, I spent even longer there. I met some great people, took portraits of a few, and fell in love with the town, or at least the concept of this one.
This is one of those times I spoke of before, where some of these photos need to be seen first in a gallery show before I post them online. Because of that, I think I might hold onto the Lebanon photos proper for a bit. I hope to expand on my images of the town soon in a different way.
Tonight’s daily pic will pick up at the other end of the middle. I am heading to Kinsley, Kansas, where the famous milestone sign I have been chasing is located, the one originally photographed by Todd Webb. Spoiler alert, I found it and spent some quality time with it. More on that in the next post.
Day Six.
tr/trp
