Genuine Kansas Hospitality

This past weekend, I made a day trip to Montgomery County in southeast Kansas. Before long, I found myself at White Cemetery northeast of the town of Elk City. I visit many cemeteries during my travels - they are fabulous sources of information.

I pulled into the cemetery on the gravel drive, parked and walked around looking and taking photos of some of the stones. After I finished, I got back into my truck and proceeded towards the back of the cemetery with the intent of turning around and coming out the same drive I had entered.

I had not gone far when I hit a soft wet spot in the grass, and before long I was stuck but good. After realizing I could not get out, I walked about 1/3 mile down the road to the nearest farm. After explaining my predicament to the farmer and his son, the farmer said to his son without hesitation: "Get a chain and help him out. Take the truck, tractor, or whatever you need".

We rode back over with a 4 wheel drive truck, but this could not pull me out. As the young man went back for the tractor, I snapped a photo of the situation. Soon the young man returned with the tractor, and we hooked the chain under my truck's frame and pulled me out. I thanked him, and as I already suspected, he would not accept any money for the 30 minutes time he had spend helping me.

My point in sharing this story is to emphasize that, Kansans, almost without exception, are congenial, helpful, and willing to share about their towns, communities, etc, especially when you show interest. Try stopping into a local cafe and talking to the locals, attending a local event, visiting a town or county museum, and you will probably find, like I have on many occasions, that one of Kansas' best assets is her people.

Exploring Geary County

Recently,I had the opportunity to explore the rural areas of Geary County, mostly south of I-70 and Junction City.

Geary County lies within the Flint Hills physiographic region. I have not explored the northern Flint Hills nearly as much as the southern areas and enjoyed the chance to take in some new areas.

While in the county, I visited at least 10 historic bridges: 3 Truss bridges, 3 Concrete Rainbow Arch bridges, and 4 stone bridges. I followed roads along most of the major creeks, including Lyon Creek, Clark's Creek, Humboldt Creek, and McDowell Creek.

I visited 9 rural cemeteries and noted there were many Scandinavian settlers in the area. I visited 2 beautiful Lutheran Churches: St Joseph's (now closed) and St Paul's (active).

Finally, I can heartily recommend Stacy's Restaurant in the Grandview Plaza area. I had an great Sloppy Joe sandwich and potato salad meal there.

Tips for Photographing Streams

One of my favorite subjects to photograph are streams, creeks and rivers of all sizes. I continue to take photos during all seasons of the year, and would like to offer some tips that I have learned over many years.

In spring and summer, the trees will of course have most of their full green foliage, and there may be other green vines, shrubs, etc along the water. I have found during these seasons, that it is best to expose a photo either on gravel/sand along the stream, or in the upper canopy of the trees where there is less full green color. If you expose on the deep green colors, it is likely there will be areas of your photo which are washed out.

During fall there will likely be some intense colors in the leaves, some of which are still on the trees and some likely will be on the ground. Again, don't expose on the darker colors, but use some lighter color such as gravel / sand or the lighter tree limbs, but not the darker tree trunks.

Winter photography can present some challenging conditions, especially if snow is on the ground. If there is snow with bright sunny conditions, either reduce your exposure by 1 to 2 stops, or use a snow scene setting on your camera. During cloudy and snowy conditions, it is best to expose on some yellowed grass or lighter branches in the trees. These photos may require some adjustment with a photo editing program to bring out the contrast and brightness.

In summary, it is best with all landscape photos to expose on areas which are medium light - your camera is usually set to get the best exposure with an 18% gray color. In fact, many photographers carry an 18% gray card to use to set the proper exposure.

More Ford County, Kansas and Family Reunion

On Sunday morning Nov 9, 2008, I left Dodge City to explore some areas in northeast and eastern Ford County.

I visited the town of Wright (with the "Right" Coop), then continued on northeast to Spearville. I had not seen the windmill farm here for awhile and also noticed the architecture in town, including St John's Catholic Church and the limestone bandshell downtown.

Then I traveled on southeast for the highlight of my day, to visit the fabulous Immaculate Heart of Mary Church at Windthorst. What elegance! - both outside and inside! I went on east into Edwards County, then north thru Kinsley and onto Lewis for lunch and a reunion with some of my Hornbaker cousins and aunts and uncles. This is always a great gathering.

Finally by midafternoon it was time to head east and south back to home in Wichita.

For more information:

Immaculate Heart of Mary Church: http://www.visitdodgecity.org/index.asp?nid=92

My photo gallery of Ford County: http://ke2013.smugmug.com/gallery/6502491_NuQdh#413045108_T5BHY

Dare to do Dirt Loop - Ford County, Kansas

On Saturday Nov 8. 2008 I was able to complete a 150 mile loop around Ford County. I headed southeast out of Dodge City thru Ft Dodge, thru Ford, then east and south to Bucklin. I continued on westward across the southern part of the county thru Kingsdown and Bloom, then on west and north up the western part of the county. Finally I traveled across the northern part of the county before returning to Dodge City.

I visited 8 cemeteries: Bloom, Bucklin, Concord, Ford, Ft Dodge, Pleasant Valley, Ridenhour and Sodville. I crossed the Arkansas River several times during the day, and also enjoyed driving along Duck Creek and Sawlog Creek in the northern part of the county.

At the end of the afternoon, I was treated to a glorious colorful sunset, and I finished up the day with a great meal at El Charro Mexican Restaurant in Dodge City.

Tomorrow, I look forward to finishing exploring the Northeast part of Ford County on the way to Lewis in Edwards County for a family get-together.

For more information about Ford County:

Blue Skyways page: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/counties/FO/

Dodge City CVB: http://www.visitdodgecity.org/

My Ford County Photo Gallery: http://ke2013.smugmug.com/gallery/6502491_NuQdh#413045257_rNJTN

Back On The Road Again

After spending several weekends at home for health reasons, it was good to get back on the road exploring again today.

I left Wichita mid-afternoon and traveled to Dodge City for a couple nights stay. I went out to dinner to Casey's Cowtown Steakhouse. The combination of the atmosphere (stained glass and much framed art), friendly staff, along with a fabulous fillet steak dinner made for a very pleasurable experience I would recommend to anyone.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a "Dare to do Dirt" journey around Ford County. Sunday, I will be traveling back east to Lewis in Edwards County for a family reunion.

First Sesquicentennial Sunflower Barn Logo

On Saturday Oct 18, I went to Dexter in eastern Cowley County, Kansas for an event sponsered by the Kansas Barn Alliance and Kansas Sampler Foundation. This event, part of the BYOLC (Bring Your Own Lawn Chair) series, saw the completion of the first sunflower logo put on a Kansas historic barn.



I arrived in Dexter about noon, drove downtown and enjoyed a good meal at The Gathering Place restaurant. I had their Riley sandwich with pumpkin pie for dessert. I shared the meal with an Explorer friend, Bonnie Danley, from Kansas City.



After lunch, I drove 1/2 mile north of Dexter to the historic barn, owned by Grady and Shannon Martin, housing the Stone Barn Mercantile. Here, we set up our chairs and watched Kenny Unrein, an artist from Augusta, put the finishing touches on the sunflower logo on the roof.



While Kenny was painting, we heard about the barn logo project from Sally Hatcher, president of the Kansas Barn Alliance. Shannon Martin told about how she and Grady came to own this historic barn, came to participate in the logo program, and about their new rental cabins on the property. Kenny finished the painting and was gracious enough to take some of us up on his lift to see the logo from above the roof.



I left Dexter and decided to follow a route north and east generally following Grouse Creek to the extreme northeast part of Cowley County. I visited one of my favorite stone bridges, the Fox bridge northeast of Cambridge, then found an iron pony truss bridge I had never seen before, before finally stopping at the lonely Glen Grouse Cemetery in far northeast Cowley County, which is overgrown with prairie grass. Finally, I continued on north to Latham, in Butler County, then west and on home.



Links: Kansas Barn Alliance: http://www.kansasbarnalliance.org/

Kansas Sampler Foundation: http://www.kansassampler.org/

The Gathering Place: http://www.dextergatheringplace.com/

Stone Barn Mercantile: http://www.stonebarnmercantile.com/

My Photo Gallery: http://ke2013.smugmug.com/gallery/6307153_X8GMy#397749498_AhRjg