by Sally Hammond

Take a ruler and a map of USA and draw a line across the centre, then another north-south through the middle of the country. There in Kansas, somewhere near the Missouri River where those two lines cross, you have found the heart of America.

Yet you really have to go there to get the feel of that heart's pulse - travel around, talk to folks, smell the prairie and sing the songs of the land, for here the real West begins they say, somewhere on the plains.

Today's West is not wild any more. The people are more interested in heaping your plate high with biscuits and gravy (an unlikely combination of scones smothered in rich creamy sauce - surprisingly good) than they are with pumping you full of lead. And strangers are welcome now.

"Ya'll jest set yerself right down and make yerself at home," they drawl in the restaurants and bars as they smilingly fill your glass with iced water before you even have to ask. The drinks - root beer, cherry soda, coke, iced tea - are bottomless usually, filled frequently as you eat, and the servings are massive. You can share most dishes and still be unable to finish a plateful, and beware: in the US an 'entree' is the main course and often almost twice the size of any you've seen before.

The food is not all that is king-size here. Cars are gas-guzzlers, the prairie is never-ending, and rivers are long and wide. Two states, Kansas and Missouri, share the shores of the Missouri River, unflatteringly dubbed Old Muddy, in this area. Here it is lazy, having travelled almost two thousand kilometres from its source in the Rockies in Montana and with still another 500 or so kilometres to go before it finally joins the Mississippi at St Louis. Each of these states has a Kansas City too, confusingly situated just across the river from each other. Missouri's city is three times the size of Kansas' one, yet neither is a state capital.

For too long these most-central states of America have been ignored, forgotten by travellers, or dismissed as being 'boring' or lacking in facilities. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. In fact because they are to some extent off the tourist track, you will be likely to get more relaxed, personal service, better deals on accommodation and packages, and the queues are shorter.

Queues? For what? you say. For plenty. While California and Florida may have cornered the market currently with Disneyland, Missouri has Silver Dollar City, a unique family theme park near Branson, where you can discover the heartland of a hundred years ago, and the double-value Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, at Kansas City. If you are travelling with children, both of these are 'must-sees'. And don't skimp on time either. Each one needs at least a day to fully enjoy everything they have to offer. It takes a while to get around the 11 hair-raising rides at Worlds of Fun and you can't rush the 50kph speed slide or the waterfall drop at Oceans of Fun.

And while you're at Silver Dollar City, plan to stop over in Branson and take in a show or two. This small town of only three thousand residents is daily host to thousands of visitors who come by the coachload to hear the country western stars who have made their homes here and have opened huge auditoriums in which to perform. You'll find such legends there as Tony 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon' Orlando, the crazy Baldknobbers who parody the simple Ozark hillbillies, some of whom still live in the area, and whacky Jim Stafford who has drawn a large cult following. But book early and secure your accommodation as they are packed out most nights.

Travel just a few hour's west from Branson, across the state line, and you enter another world. Kansas. Here you'll see oil wells pecking at the ground as they pump the black gold out of the earth. Here the horizon widens and the plains begin. Stop off at El Dorado, an oil refining town (but pronounce it El DorAYdo) and see the oil museum there. Even though most people associate Texas with oil, they have been pumping it from Kansas since the l920's, and south-west Kansas has the largest helium fields in the world.

'A man without a horse has no business on the prairie' goes an old saying hereabouts. Kansas has horses and prairie, and one of the best ways to combine the two is by spending a day or two on a ranch. Prairie Star Guest Ranch near Cassoday is smack dead in the centre of America and surrounded by prairie to the skyline. Here the land is quiet and the country sings with the music of the grasslands. You can stay in bunkhouses on the ranch, round up cattle and watch as Stan Green and his boys rope steers and just get on with the day-to-day work of the ranch. Visitors or no, fences need mending, cattle need tending, and you can watch or join in as you please. But when the day is over, expect a cookout of prime Kansas beef under the stars, some tall stories around the campfire, and some country songs backed with a soft guitar or two.

Far from the jazz of New Orleans, the pulsing rhythm of Manhattan, the whooping of gambling machines of Las Vegas or the 24-hour stomp of LA, this simple country music says it all. It calls up the past and strikes a chord with the present. And while the pace may be a little slower, the beat of this heart of America is strong and sure.

WHERE TO STAY

Make sure that you stay at least one night in the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center, an above-ground shopping arcade linking two major hotels in Kansas City. Apart from this, the two states have every level of accommodation from economy Best Western and Budget 8 Motels onwards. Fort Scott in Kansas has delightful restored Victorian mansions offering bed and breakfast and some other meals.

FOOD

This is the land where beef is king and you can visit a different steakhouse every night if you wish. Much of the beef is aged and grain-fed and cooked to perfection. Servings are huge and preceded by a salad (usually also huge). Steaks mostly come with a baked potato (massive) and sour cream and bread rolls.

GETTING AROUND

Take a bus, (there are plenty) or hire a car. 

PLACES TO SEE

JESSE JAMES BANK MUSEUM, 102 N. Water St, Liberty, MO. Site of the first successful peaceful daytime bank robbery in US history and attributed to Jesse and his comrades, notorious holdup men of the time. Open daily, small admission price.

JESSE JAMES FARM AND MUSEUM Kearney, MO. This country location brings history alive. Open daily and charging a small admission.

WORLDS OF FUN AND OCEANS OF FUN, 4545 Worlds of Fun Ave, Kansas City, MO. Almost a hundred hectares of themed park divided into 'continents' and more than 36 water-related attractions.

ARABIA STEAMBOAT MUSEUM, 400 Grand Ave, Kansas City, MO has 150 tonnes of retrieved sunken treasure on display to let you see how life was lived 135 years ago. Open daily.

SILVER DOLLAR CITY, Branson MO, has Thunderation, a smooth roller-coaster that tops the trees then plunges into a mine, glassworks, candy factory, and many other rides and displays. Open daily late May through October.

BASS PRO, Springfield MO is probably the world's largest sporting goods store. Here you will find everything you'll ever need for huntin', shootin', fishin' and much more. Worth a visit just to wonder at the gadgetry available for each sport.

FORT SCOTT, Kansas, is a town that has grown up around the fort which was instrumental in keeping peace on the Indian frontier in the mid 19th century. The fort itself is worth touring, in the well-preserved main street there are fascinating shops and a museum, and the town, with many gracious Victorian mansions may be seen by taking a trip on Dolly the Trolley, a restored trolley car.

PRAIRIE STAR GUEST RANCH, Rural Route #1, near Cassoday. KA, has accommodation and facilities for people to do their own thing or join in the work of the ranch.

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, Independence KA is where Laura Ingalls Wilder's family lived in a log cabin and the memories became the basis for the TV programme and book of the same name.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact your travel agent or airline.