The Explorer
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Issue #105 August 2014 THE EXPLORER The Kansas Explorers Club is created to inspire, educate, and encourage the exploration and appreciation of Kansas...and to have fun doing it! Explorers are urged to look for the rural culture elements in each town — architecture, art, commerce, cuisine, customs, geography, history, and people. Kansas Sampler Foundation, 978 Arapaho Rd., Inman, KS 67546 620.585.2374 kansassampler.org [email protected] / [email protected] THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SMALL Explorer Research Voyage Update TOWNS WHEN YOU EXPLORE We’ve now researched 238 incorporated cities and countless unincorporated towns in 43 counties. Only Don’t judge. Have no expectations. These are 388 towns in 62 counties to go before the guidebook the two most important things about exploring a research is complete. small town. Know these towns for who they are, COUNTIES WE’VE RESEARCHED not for how you want them to be. Get to know them in their daily reality.. Conversations with peo- Allen, Barton, Brown, Cheyenne, Decatur, Edwards, ple almost always change how you’ll see the town. Ellsworth, Ford, Geary, Gove, Graham, Grant, Greeley, Harper, Jackson, Jewell, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, PRACTICAL DETAILS Linn, Logan, Marion*, Marshall, McPherson, Morris, Cafes and stores are most often closed on Norton*, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Sundays and Mondays. Republic, Rice, Russell, Scott, Shawnee, Stafford, Fill up your gas tank when you can. Not every Washington, Trego, Wallace, Wichita and Woodson. town on the map has gas pumps. *not quite done Many places don’t take debit or credit cards. Make sure you have cash or ask before you ST. BRIDGET, AXTELL buy. Visit this historic Catholic Public restrooms are sometime hard to find. church 6 1/2 miles north The best approach is to ask a store where one of Axtell2 on 30th Road. is and they may let you use theirs. No longer open for ser- vices, you are welcome ABOUT EXPLORING inside if you can maneuver About 65% of churches will be open. Be respect- the latch. ful. You’ll find unique characteristics in each one. If stores are closed (or there are none) observe KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN! the architecture downtown and in the residential areas. Look for yard art! This mail Two mini-castles are found Grocery stores often have delis in the back. box was found on a side at Lincolnville3. One in Postmasters, librarians, and city clerks are street in Durham3. town. One on the outskirts. often the best in a small town to answer ques- tions — and guys at the co-op. Cemeteries are always open and you’ll learn a lot about a town here. When you find a stone with Ole Aarstad’s name, you know you’re in the Norwegian cemetery near Everest1. Featuring the rural culture element of geography... EXPLORER ITINERARY #1 All of these except Cedar Bluff Reservoir were 8 Wonders of Kansas winners or finalists. NATURAL LANDMARK TRIP Continue on the trail If you’ve not been to these natural landmarks, it’s a to the badlands. rock-solid guarantee that you’ll see Kansas with new These ancient chalky eyes. Come along on this trip to Cedar Bluff Reservoir formations are grand in Trego County, Castle Rock and Monument Rocks as a playground, as a (aka Chalk Pyramids) in Gove County, Mount Sun- photo subject, or as a flower in Wallace County, and the Arikaree Breaks in place to just relish Cheyenne County. that a landowner For the Cedar Bluff site and Castle Rock you’ll want allows people to en- the sportiest vehicle in your garage. joy these eroding landmarks. CEDAR BLUFF RESERVOIR (Trego Co.4) WARNING: A SUV SCENIC OVERLOOK or 4-wheel drive is the best vehicle for One mile north on 290 off of AA road. On Z Road, this very-rutted field turn east for 1 mile to top of lookout. On the south- driveway. YOU MUST west side of the lake is AA Road. Turn north on 290th turn around and go and then east on Z Road to the overlook parking lot. back as you came before the final turn west after the It’s not the easiest place to find but the half-mile badlands. expanse of 100-foot chalk bluffs is a scene unlike any- thing else in Kansas. If you’re feeling sure-footed, a MONUMENT ROCKS (Chalk Pyramids), Gove Co. 5 path along the rocky edge will give you a spectacular There are several ways to get to the Pyramids. The view of the two sides of the bluffs above the lake. easiest is off of U.S. 83. (See 8wonders.org). Eighty million years ago this area was an open ocean. Now fossils abound at this National Natural Landmark. Please don’t climb on the formations. Sit and enjoy! When you leave Monument Rocks, head south on Gove 16 for about 2 1/2 miles, then turn west on Gove E for 4 miles (at some point it becomes Elk Road). CASTLE ROCK and the BADLANDS, Gove Co. 5 One route to Castle Rock is from the Quinter exit (#107) off of I-70. Go south on Gove 74 for 6 1/2 miles, west on Gove T for one mile, south on Gove 72 (Castle Rock Road) for 9 miles, east on Gove K for 4 There should be a sign here directing you to Keystone miles, then north on Gove 80 for 1 1/2 miles. This will Gallery. At County Road 450 turn south for a mile, bring you to a sign that then west again on Dakota for about 1 1/2 miles. It will says Castle Rock. lead you directly to Keystone Gallery and we recom- Turn in to this field mend stopping here. driveway and cross the cattle guard. At the MOUNT SUNFLOWER, Wallace Co. 6 fork, stay left. Castle The highest point in Kansas Rock, a true sentinel of the plains, was just one mile From Weskan in Wallace County, continue 3 miles south of the Butterfield Dispatch Trail which passed west on U.S. 40, then 10 1/2 miles north on Road 3, here in 1865. Continued next column. then 1 mile west. Continued on p. 3 Page 2 Continued from p. 2 LET’S GO NATURAL KANSAS LANDMARKS ELEMENT EXPLORING! MOUNT SUNFLOWER ARCHITECTURE PARACHUTE BUILDING, Pratt8. A what? This 40-foot tall building was so-named because it was used to dry, inspect, clean and reassem- ble parachutes used by B-29 crews in World War II. Listed on the National Register of In 1961, the U.S. Geological Survey recognized this Historic Places in 2009, it’s spot in Ed Harold’s cattle pasture as having the highest located at the former Pratt elevation in Kansas, 4,039 above sea level. Though Army Airfield 3 miles north most people are able to reach the summit, it’s a treat to of Pratt on U.S. 281. get there to see the handiwork of Ed commemorating the site and sharing the Harold family connection to the area. Cotton hose drying building, Kingman9. You’ll find THE ARIKAREE BREAKS, Cheyenne Co. 7 an 80-foot-high cotton-hose drying tower in the 1888 Head to the most northwest county in Kansas, Chey- fire station, now the Kingman County Museum at 400 enne, to find a place unlike any other in the state. To N. Main. Open Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. find the craggy and rugged canyons in the state, head Grainfield5 Opera House. north from the Benton and Washington intersection in It’s a Mesker front and it was St. Francis, cross the Republican River bridge, and turn shipped from St. Louis. A right at the first fork. The first great view will be about “Mesker” is the name of a 14 miles north. Once you get to Nebraska, go west company and it was known for until K-27 and come back south again. Take the Dev- façades that consist of sheet- il’s Gap turnoff for some of the steepest views. Flat metal panels stamped with cropland shows up when you don’t expect it. Native decorative motifs. Recently American history is rich here in the canyons and short restored, this 1887 opera grass prairie. Take the turn to the 3-state corner, too! house is a masterpiece in downtown Grainfield. ART HISTORICAL MURALS, Junction City10. Artists Amber Hansen and Nicholas Ward were under 30 when they painted the murals in the C.L. Opera House, 135 W. 7th, Junction City. Whether you at- tend a show or not, it’s worth going in just to see these murals that showcase the history of the area. 1 ALLERTON MURAL, Hiawatha . A colorful mural Featuring the rural culture element of customs... painted by Ron Allerton in 1961 is found on the sec- GOLF COURSES ond floor of the clock tower building (new history cen- ter). It de- COW PADDY GOLF COURSE, Grinnell5. The 9-hole picts Brown grass-green course is much nicer than the name. County’s Constructed in a cow pasture, it’s a self-pay course. agricultural Cross the track on north Adams (the main street). history and an imagined WATERVILLE GOLF COURSE2. Built by volunteers future for ag. and nestled in a valley, this 9-hole grass-green course operates with a self-pay station. It’s located one mile east of Waterville on K-9/U.S. 77. Page 3 Continued from p. 3 WELCOME TO THE LET’S GO ELEMENT EXPLORING! EXPLORER FAMILY! COMMERCE This is a list of those who have joined since the last newsletter.