This weekend I started mapping the east-of-Gillham part of 43rd St in KC. I went from Gillham to just past 71 on Saturday, and further east to Indiana on Sunday.

Pedestrian-safety observation: The crossings on either side of Gillham Park are The Worst. You can go way up or down and find a crosswalk with a light, or you can take your chances running across both-way car traffic and then both-way bike traffic without much visibility. For this entire stretch of road (and most of my outdoor activities around KC) I wear bright dae-glo jackets. I call it protective coloring.

There wasn’t much to map in this area as it was mostly homes. I crossed the bridge over Highway 71 and found a few benches and a bookcase that was locked. I mapped these, but I do not think they are being maintained anymore. There was a defunct church nearby that I think they were part of. I took photos of the various tags on the bridge and the view looking down on the highway while crossing - cool and fun for me, but not necessarily mapping-related. I also photographed a few tags painted on walls, but nothing quite rose to the level of a mural.

On Sunday I brought Mom out with me, and she made a valiant effort to keep up with the up-and-downhill walking, but we ended up quitting a bit early as she was exhausted. We didn’t have much to map until around Indiana St where we found a little strip mall with a convenience store and hairdresser. I showed her how I map the amenities around the outside such as the trash can, standing ashtray (or trashcan for cigarettes, as translated for OSM’s tagging system), the compressed air machine and attached vacuum. She had been tired from walking but perked up and urged me to also map the UHaul pickup/drop-off location. On the way back to where we parked, I also found a roadside memorial for someone who died in an accident. I had trouble deciding how to map this, as I felt it should be mapped but it was not a “cross” - it seemed instead to be centered around a solar light - so I was not sure the best way to tag it. Advice is welcome!