Kansas State Travel Blog: The Kansas Sunset is Perspective Defined

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Friday’s travel from Tulsa to Topeka was extra eventful. It featured a nearly-witnessed head-on collision between a Honda Civic and a semi, a way-too-long test of patience behind an oversized load, and an Amish horse-drawn carriage spotting.

Blind Tiger made it all worth the hassle, however.

Saturday was less eventful travel-wise, though the game — well, you know what — Saturday was pretty less eventful all the way around.

The day began with a 7 a.m. wake up call. I popped up to shower, got my Saturday best on, and readied for the day. Jackson Lavarnway (our photographer), meanwhile, slept through sirens.

No, seriously. He has emergency sirens as his alarm clock. And he kept sleeping. They were going off when I popped in the shower, going off when I was out.

By the time he woke up, I was all but ready. We had to bounce by 7:45 to get to Manhattan, and I had to get Starbucks and some food in me. Jackson? He passed on coffee. The only thing he put into his system, save for a Starbucks biscuit, was at about 7:15, right after awaking, when he inhaled two handfuls of pretzel M&M’s.

Oh, to be young again!

The drive to Manhattan was foggy (literally), but we made it in perfect time.

We parked two miles away (I forgot to request a media parking credential), so we, at Jackson’s urging, called an uber. It was an expensive ride to go 1.6 miles. (Don’t check the bank account, honey).

We arrived and got Jackson’s credential on-site, and lo and behold, Bill Snyder was posing for photos before the game. Still wearing the Camping World Bowl windbreaker from 1967, because of course. Definitely looks like he just polished off the lyrics to Shoulda Lean.

Pregame snackage before the game: Kansas State served biscuits with bacon. I was unimpressed, mostly because it was the only food of substance they provided until 3 p.m. (which came at 9:30. We didn’t leave campus until 4 p.m.)

But boy! Snickers ice cream bars came in clutch. By noon, I’d already lost my six pack and surrendered a belt size.

I was stationed next to The Oklahoman‘s Nathan Ruiz to my left (and to my right, The Franchise’s Cam Jourdan). Ruiz, pictured left: what’s left of his oreo stick. Another satisfied customer. Cam smashed his oreo cookie ice cream sandwich so quickly I couldn’t even snatch a photo. Sad!

As for the game itself … well, here’s some thoughts if you want to read about it. The company I experienced the game with made whatever I watched far more enjoyable, I can say.

Jackson and I hitched a less-expensive uber back to our cars after the game and got a contact high (halfway kidding) from the amount of smoke in our driver’s car. We booked it to Cane’s to grab chicken for the road.

Hours later, this beaut.

Nothing like a sunrise to give you perspective. The blog’s comments were *checks admin filter, nods* yeah, they were definitely melting down. OSU played like Berryhill High School facing mighty Hoover.

But man, as the sun popped down behind the clouds, behind the Kansas plains, the sky’s final sun light of the day gave us a show I won’t soon forget.

And all be darned if it didn’t rise again this morning.