Kansas - the end

As we traveled south from Russell, KS towards the Oklahoma border the landscape was dotted with oil batteries and pump jacks reminiscent of southern Saskatchewan.  Lots of oil activity in the area with oil patch businesses and oil tankers on the move.

We have come across quite a few towns that have bricked streets.  They are very rough to drive on.

The land color changed from sandy soil to reddish soil as we neared the Oklahoma border.  The landscape opened up to large fields, many of sorghum grain still to be harvested.  The corn had been harvested but there was still field work being done.

We ate lunch at a truck stop in Medicine Lodge, KS which was next door to the home of Carrie Nation, a gal who was dead set against liquor.

Kansas continued

We ventured forth this morning to take in the town of Lucas, KS to see some unique art sculpture.

Kansas is definitely not flat

We came across Wilson State Park located on the south side of Wilson Reservoir.  It is one of Kansas’ premier recreations hot spots.

Lucas is known as the grassroots art capital of Kansas. 

The Grassroots Art Center was closed but we were able to tour the Garden of Eden built by S.P. Dunsmoor (1843-1932), a retired Civil War veteran.   He started this project in 1904 at age 64 and continued building until his death in 1932.

Dinsmoor used beer bottles for a mold for the spindles

He chose post rock limestone, the fine quality building stone used in many commercial buildings, houses, barns and fence posts in the area.  He had the stone quarried in long narrow lengths.  The stone was then laid up with dovetailed corners in the manner of a log cabin.  He built no two windows or doors the same size, adding to the unique look of the Cabin Home.

The house was actually quite large, having two stories and a basement with kitchen and cold room.  He had electricity two years before the town and running water.  He was a very inventive fellow.

All of the yard's sculptures are made from concrete which he mixed himself from a secret recipe.

this flag is concrete and actually rotates with the wind

Dinsmoor had five children with his first wife and after her death he married his 20 year old housekeeper and fathered two more children.  Dinsmoor was 81 when he married a second time.

Both of these children are still alive and they are the oldest children of a Civil War Veteran.

the picture frames are made from wooden cigar boxes

Dinsmoor and his first wife, Frances are buried in the mausoleum.

We were also told by our Cabin Home tour guide that it would be worthwhile to take in the public washrooms in downtown Lucas.  They were very interesting as you can tell by the photos.

 On the way back to Russell we came across some unusual fence posts.  The fence posts are quarried from limestone found in the area and are a unique feature to Kansas.  They sold for 50 cents but when the price per post reached $1.oo, people started buying wooden posts.

All in all we had a very unique day touring the countryside and venturing to the town of Lucas.  We ate at the only diner open on a Sunday in three towns the K18 diner.

Kansas

Left McCook, NE after getting two rock chips repaired in the windshield.  The wind is down a lot, coming at us from the northwest and so we headed south with a bit of a tail wind.

As we got closer to the Kansas State line, Clark kept an eye out for the welcome to Kansas sign but alas there was none!  So this is Kansas.

Not all of Kansas is flat.  In fact there are a lot of slow gradual grades even though we dropped about a thousand feet since leaving Nebraska.

We came across some unusual rock formations.  We found out they are limestone.  A lot of the side roads are very pale because of this material.

There is a diversity of farming.  Combining of corn was still being done and fields of sorghum grain were still waiting to be harvested.

the soil is very pale

There is a lot of oil activity in Kansas.  We came across tank farms and pumpjacks that reminded us of southern Saskatchewan.

notice the color of the soil

We are presently camped in Russell, KS at the Fossil Creek RV for $12.00 a night (that's with our Passport America discount) which includes power, water, sewer and wifi and they even have free showers!  It is an older park but quiet.

The sunset tonight was beautiful.  We stood outside watching it change and talking to fellow travelers from Missouri.  It is still very warm outside, 67F at 8 at night.  We won't need too many blankets tonight.