As of this writing we have already departed Kansas. I got behind on my blogging, because for the first time we used up our monthly data allocation on our Verizon plan. I’ve been surviving on campground WiFi service, but that’s what I get for downloading a huge Mac OS upgrade and eating up all of our data!
We are on our last stretch out of Kansas, inching toward the northeast corner of the state and making our final stop at Sabetha. As if to remind us again that Kansas is not all flat, our GPS, “Randy”, took the fastest route to our campground and we darn near got stuck in the mud on a hilly dirt road that had been rained on the night before. What was Randy thinking? With no traffic in either direction we unhooked the car so I could search for our campground while Steve recovered from the experience of sliding sideways down a hill in a 17-ton motorhome.
Fortunately the campground was only a mile away, and the owner had spotted us and came over to escort us to our spot. Steve was very skeptical when the owner guided us into our site, but he drove in and Betsy immediately sank into the mud! Well, with the rear tires sunk 3 inches we were perfectly level, so we put out the slides and decided to worry about it later. We were actually laughing about the whole thing, and Steve came up with:
You might be in Kansas if…your campground host says, “Hey, looks like you’re stuck there, I’ll go fetch a tractor and pull you out.”
And that’s exactly what he did when we left 3 days later, as you’ll see below.
The campground turned out to be quiet and beautiful, but a bit crowded over the weekend (Steve’s review is here). It’s certainly one we’ll remember!
We ventured out of the campground and walked up a dirt road to see if there was anything interesting around. Steve stopped on a bridge and was excited to see a beaver swimming along Pony creek.
On the way up the hill, we spotted a lone deer walking on the road:
The top of the hill rewarded us with a vista of rolling countryside covered with cornfields and occasional dense forest.
When Steve left me behind, this beautiful Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flew up and perched on a wire. It just made my day – this bird has been on my watch list since Dauphin Island in Alabama!
Back at the campground we enjoyed a non-stop symphony of birds singing and male cicadas serenading the females. Their buzzing and clicking noises, amplified by the thousands, turned into an overpowering hum. It got me curious, so I went searching for them in the grasses.
When we weren’t exploring we just sat outside amidst the humming of the cicadas. It was during these moments that we looked back and contemplated all of our experiences here in Kansas. We felt fortunate to have seen parts of the state that many travelers never do. We’ve met friendly people here, visited inspiring natural hidden treasures and experienced historical and educational places.
The state has a sampler of things to do, called the 8 Wonders of Kansas. It’s meant to help the world get to know the state and to encourage the public to explore it. We were happy to learn that we had experienced 3 of the 8 wonders, and if you missed our posts they are the Monument Rocks, the Underground Salt Museum, and the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.
Some other wonders of Kansas are architectural and art related; we admired the architecture of the Chase County Courthouse, and the Keeper of the Plains statue in Wichita. We also enjoyed the John Steuart Curry Murals at the state capitol. He was a famous Kansas artist whose depiction of abolitionist John Brown was seen as too fierce, as he depicted him holding a bible in one hand and a gun in the other.
The Keeper of the Plains sculpture in Wichita honors the region’s original citizens and has become a symbol of Wichita.
The five-ton sculpture was placed at the confluence of the Little and Big Arkansas Rivers, which is considered a sacred site by Native Americans and was home to the Wichita tribe for many years.
There were other uncommon structures that we saw along the byways:
We still can’t believe we spent three weeks exploring Kansas. And it sure helped that we didn’t hear a single tornado warning siren! We won’t complain about the heat and humidity, it’s just a fact of life here. Our initial plan of making 2 stops morphed into 6 great discovery stops. So, next time you’re traveling through Kansas, get off that featureless interstate and discover the unexpected pleasures of the state!
OK, back to our drama of leaving the park. Even after 3 days of sunshine, Betsy was just too deeply rutted to get out by herself. True to his his word, the owner got one of his tractors and made quick work of pulling us back onto terra firma.
We noticed a lot of very noisy pickup trucks while in Kansas, so Steve wanted to share one other observation:
You might be in Kansas if…the luxury model pickups are the ones that come with an exhaust system!
…and off we went to continue the adventure!
Lowes Travels 
Beaver! That’s one that I would love to see!
Kansas looks more interesting than I would have expected. Thanks for taking me there.
I do believe we are some of the only people who spent time in Kansas Originally, we were only stopping to spend the night and just driving through the state til I realized there were things to see and do! So our two days turned into 7 days. We could have stayed longer…next time. We, also, saw three of the 8 Wonders. Glad you enjoyed the state as much as we did:) At least your sinking in the mud had a good purpose:) Good they were able to pull you right out. These babies are SO heavy!! Love Steve’s thought for the day at the end…haha!
And I agree…I would have never thought Kansas has so much to offer and it is quite pretty too. Love the pictures of the tractor pulling you out…what an adventure! The cicadas used to drive us crazy back in Georgia, but I never saw one up close…cool! And dont you just love it when a bird just flies into view for a photo opp. Beautiful scissor-tailed Flycatcher!
Great tour on Kansas and I’m glad you didn’t run into Dorothy and Toto and the swirling wind. I’m sure getting stuck was adventure enough. Go Cornhuskers!
You have done an excellent job of pointing out why Kansas should be a destination state. Thanks so much for making me a believer. Glad Betsy got out of the mud easily. Safe travels!
You sure did a fantastic job on things to do in Kansas. Much more than I’d have thought. I loved the bird picture. Beautiful. Bummer about the mud, but at least you had a tractor to pull you out!
Thank you. the state really has a lot to offer.
You were a lot calmer than I would have been handing getting stuck in the mud. And no way would I have been able to wait until it was time to leave to get unstuck. Sounds to me the owner is used to having rigs get stuck if he offered to just get his tractor and pull you out.
With the ground very saturated, Steve did not want to move Betsy another inch. The owner was really helpful especially when he saw Betsy “limping” in the hills and is lost.
Sliding sideways down a hill in a 17 ton motorhome would cure me of any GPS even one named Randy. You two have nerves of steel. Sunk in the mud and you just say, Oh Well. I obviously have much to learn from you. You got a picture of the scissor tail I have been longing to see. WOW! Love that picture. And the Keeper of the Plains. But this whole post is just terrific right down to the tractor pull and the exit photo. Who would have thought Kansas could be such an adventure.
I too was surprised when Steve said he wouldn’t move Betsy any further when we sunk. The ground was already saturated. I was so excited when that scissor tailed perched on the wire. I had been wanting to see one since last year.
Kansas definitely has far more to offer than I ever would have imagined. Thanks for the great (and fun) tour. So happy you didn’t have any tornadoes to deal with — that’s my one big concern about traveling through Tornado Alley. Haha, so perfect that you got pulled out of the mud with a big red tractor. That certainly added to your Kansas experience!
We kept an eye in the sky everyday Laurel. We are so happy that there were none. The state has lots to offer and because only a few ventured out, it is less touristy.
Kansas is a wonderful place – I appreciate that you showed that as most just go around it without even realizing all that is here to see. I would probably recommend coming here in April or September/October, though…certainly better weather than in June/July! Ha!
Visiting the state for three weeks was quite an eye opener, the state really is great place to visit.