KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Reuters) – While some avid travelers seek exotic ports or ancient cities, Larry Hornbaker‘s ambition is to drive 25 miles of dirt roads in every county in the U.S. state of Kansas.
He has company on the back roads. Some 1,500 members of the Kansas Explorers Club long to see every corner of the state and patronize struggling small towns, many of which are fighting a losing battle against population decline.
“Our mission is to sustain and preserve rural culture,” club founder Marci Penner said. “Our explorers know the difference they can make.”
Bill Bunyan ate a hamburger in all 105 Kansas counties. Then he ate a steak in every county and now he and his wife, Susan Bunyan, have set out to have ice cream sodas at all 39 old-fashioned soda fountains in the state. They visited their 12th soda fountain in Greensburg on Tuesday.
Larry Woydziak bowled in every county that had an alley — 85 counties altogether. Bonnie Danley photographed a church in every county. John and Charlene Van Walleghen are walking a mile in every county and sending themselves a post card from each one.
Others have built county-by-county quests around eating pie, landing an airplane, seeing a historic bridge or visiting every courthouse.
Perhaps the most-traveled members of the