Latin Bolt

Many people think of Kansas tourism as this flat wasteland in the center of the United States. How wrong they are! Kansas is filled with interesting history, beautiful prairielands, museums, cultural events and attractions and the nicest people anywhere. You can travel in Kansas going from the large city of Kansas City to the little bitty town of Garnett where hospitality is shown in abundance.

Kansas has a number of very small towns such as Selden with a population of 177 as of July 2007. What this means is that there is a lot of open space for people that want to visit someplace they can actually breath without running into someone else in exactly the same spot! Here people appreciate the land and the hunting available. The pheasants are plentiful as well as the hunting farms and ranches that play host to the visitors.

If you like haunted places then you really want to go to Atchison where there is a Haunted Atchison Trolley Tour that will take you through the “Most Haunted Town in Kansas.” The trolley runs in September and October. The 1 hour ghost tour takes you to a number of homes in the community such as the McInteer Villa where lights go on and off in areas where there is no electricity, ghostly appearances have shown in the tower of the house and also in family photographs. There are footsteps where no one is and doors slamming in rooms that are empty. This is just one of the many houses that you will visit while riding the 1880 AT&SF trolley.

Take the time to enjoy Henry’s Sculpture Hill near Augusta. Here are sculptures created from steel and/or found objects will have you enjoying the creativity of this wonderful artist. The display is privately owned and the artist has stopped tours, at least for now. He said because of “maintenance, insurance, old age, and attitude, [but] serious buyers who are looking for original steel sculptures are welcome by appointment.” Take a little time and see this delightful site.

Want to visit the Garden of Eden? Just think of your Kansas vacation as an opportunity to do just that in Lucas at the “log house” built by a retired school teacher following the Civil War. Dinsmoor took “logs” made of limestone, laid them in the same pattern as timber logs would be placed and created his home. None of the windows or doors are the same size, he wanted the house to have character and attract attention. The construction took 31 years before he was completely done with the house and the gardens where he used 113 lbs of concrete and limestone to create his vision. The 11 room house was shown in tours to those that wanted to see it in his time and still today. To visit the house has a fee of $6 for adults and $1 for kids.

Manhattan has more than college football. There is the great Fort Riley where you can really get to study military history. As part of your learning experience you can visit the last cavalry training stables with its original cobblestone flooring which used to house 76 horses. Today it still houses horses for the Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard where 20 head are ready for parade all the time. This facility was built in 1889. This is just one of the many historical sites you can see and learn about while at the Fort. Although today the technology and advancements in military power are constantly being updated, history is still worth learning about.

Flat land right? How about the Gypsum Hills in central Kansas with their canyons, rolling hills, mesas, and buttes? That sure isn’t flat and boring! There are red cedar trees growing on the red land that is full of iron oxide so the land is actually red! Take the 42 mile drive from Coldwater to Medicine Lodge on the Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway and you will be surrounded by beauty. Now, when you are off the paved roads and back on the dirt roads keep in mind that it is open range area so watch for livestock. You don’t have to get off the paved roads, but it sure is fun if you do.

How many towns do you know that have two water towers? Probably a lot of them, but have you ever seen a town that has a Hot and Cold water tower? Canton has these two which must bring a chuckle to residents when visitors ask if it’s really true that one has hot and one has cold! It sure does show that those Kansas folks have a great sense of humor.

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