A L O N G T H E S A N TA F E
M A X
M I K U L EC K Y
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The untamed west. America’s bright horizon. Wagon trains, unplowed land, and the boom towns that followed. The semis and SUVs that cross Highway 56 through Kansas today are a far cry from the Santa Fe Trail’s original unpaved roots. But the landmarks and stops that identify the 192 years of faithful service to travelers tell its story well. Stretching 403 miles diagonally across the Kansas landscape, the old Santa Fe Trail was just that — a trail. Today, Highway 56 follows that trail as it runs through the Flint Hills and many small, curious towns along the way. Traveling the trail west I couldn’t help but compare my journey in making these photographs to that of the journey so many made along the old trade route. I only knew which path I was going to take. I had no idea what I would encounter along the way. A once dangerous journey across Kansas that would take weeks, now takes hours cruising at 70 miles per hour in an air-conditioned vehicle. Highway 56 connects Main Street to Main Street from one small town to the next. Some towns flourished and some only leave traces from another time. The aim of this ongoing project is to observe and document the small towns the modern day trail connects. The future of these small towns is uncertain. To photograph them is to preserve them.
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10.
Santa Fe Marker, Overland Park
42.
Flowerbed, Larned
12.
Wagon Ruts, Baldwin City
44.
Dreamer, Chase
14.
The Patch, Overbrook
46.
Municipal Stadium, Dodge City
16.
Schoolhouse, Burlingame
48.
Thunderbird Motel, Dodge City
20.
Apartment Gym, Burlingame
52.
Plaster Horse, Dodge City
22.
Council Grove High, Council Grove
54.
Chiropractors Office, Lyons
24.
Main Street, Council Grove
56.
Motel, Florence
26.
Field Burning Remnants, Herington
58.
Cutouts, Garden City
28.
Wheat State Motel, McPherson
60.
Keep Slim, Garden City
30.
Side Street, Herington
62.
Junior Senior, Syracuse
32.
Fellowship Ministries, Herington
64.
Road G, Syracuse
34.
Dollar General, Herington
68.
Trail Marker, Kinsley
38.
Tunnel, Larned
40.
Herington Lanes, Herington
INDEX
M A X M I K U L E C K Y. C O M