Category: Kansas
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Wrapping up our three-week sojourn in Kansas
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…
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Of buildings and architectural beauty – Topeka, KS
From the tall grass prairie we moved closer to civilization and made Lawrence, Kansas our next home base.  The ongoing heat and humidity caused us to limit our outdoor activities somewhat.  We toured a university and the state capitol, enjoyed some Kansas-style barbecue and briefly crossed state borders into Missouri. Lawrence, Kansas The University of Kansas, Lawrence campus is located high…
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Hiking the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – Strong City, Kansas
We were alerted to a heat advisory on the day we decided to visit and hike at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.  We had only a short time on this stop, so we slathered on the sunscreen and bug protection after getting up for an early start.  We checked out the Visitor Center after our hike, so we could…
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Exploring the Flint Hills – Strong City, KS
My mom gave me a book titled “America the Beautiful”, and one of the intriguing places marked on the map that I really wanted to visit was the Flint Hills of Kansas. Our earlier route planning did not include this stop, as we had thought our drive through Kansas would be quick.  But I was glad that we were…
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Taking life with a grain of salt – Hutchinson, KS
Well, we somehow managed to get out of Dodge without facing any gunfights on the streets, although Steve was afraid there might be a little gunplay with me after his moment with the saloon girl.  But it all worked out, and down the road we went to Halstead, Kansas! We find underground activities to be fun and…
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We’re getting the heck into Dodge! – Dodge City, KS
Dodge City, known as the “Queen of the Cow Towns” and the “Cowboy Capital of the World,” had a reputation as a hostile, lawless town where the “fastest gun” ruled.  It is the source of the idiom “get the hell out of Dodge,” meaning pack it up and move along NOW.  On this stop we were…
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Oh we parked our home where the buffalo (bison) roam – Scott City, KS
While out here in rural Kansas, we had an opportunity to get up close and personal with some magnificent bison.  We learned about a “bison ranch tour” that Duff Ranch offered, just up the road from our home base at Lake Scott State Park (Steve’s review here).  It definitely sounded like something unique and interesting, so we jumped in the…
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The Chalk Pyramids – Scott City, KS
We’ve often heard that because of the flatness of the Sunflower State and the monotony of driving through it, it’s best to just breeze through and be done with it.  And the fact that we’re traversing Tornado Alley can produce some anxiety, too.  But like every state in our great nation, there are many things to…
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Under the spacious Kansas skies – Scott City, KS
We left the rocky mountains of Colorado behind and moved out onto the open plains of Kansas. What a stark difference it was from the air of the high mountain elevations to that of the lower western plains. As we continued to drive, I was amazed to see a broad prairie under a big sky with nary an obstruction.…
