tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32760361980820784092024-02-08T00:32:04.668-06:00Larry Hornbaker's Travel NotesFeaturing Reports Of My Travels Around KansasLarry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-5964230691201688452013-04-21T08:15:00.000-05:002013-04-21T08:15:07.363-05:00An Afternoon in Southeast Harvey County, KansasAfter having been committed to doing other responsibilities, it was nice to have an afternoon to get out and explore again, even though it was close to home and I only traveled 78 miles. There is always something new to see!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUe2H7OvMAVUbebdFWzvfewylGeyQ0a0mJoWuBhORll1hyphenhyphenjzg_bFE1qy_G2G6hH7k8NTl09ZZJfy1tKu6PcQag5XDpkdv6rDTHuHeQ_W_DJAGv49Nun-gRzfi980RYN21QKlyjPTT9CBLI/s1600/BlueHeron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUe2H7OvMAVUbebdFWzvfewylGeyQ0a0mJoWuBhORll1hyphenhyphenjzg_bFE1qy_G2G6hH7k8NTl09ZZJfy1tKu6PcQag5XDpkdv6rDTHuHeQ_W_DJAGv49Nun-gRzfi980RYN21QKlyjPTT9CBLI/s320/BlueHeron.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The streams seem to have some water flowing again after recent snows and rains this spring, so I have begun stopping and looking at them. I came to a bridge over West Wildcat Creek and walked over to look. I heard a rustling and a blue heron started splashing down the creek. I snapped a quick series of photos and captured this image of it's wings stretched. I apologize for the messy background, but had to shoot fast.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPknUYXIkNPzWGie_cqqwz2dq8JJ9rOuHjpcB1u4XdGnsGDFHnBWGaiaUr-dTj0l7yALQ5UTfc3sh3UEb4n_nELNzFFS0lW794YQjHpNPmDWwL5mtiNh9IO6fF_INLNnqWkRaZ29R3NNlN/s1600/dsc07221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPknUYXIkNPzWGie_cqqwz2dq8JJ9rOuHjpcB1u4XdGnsGDFHnBWGaiaUr-dTj0l7yALQ5UTfc3sh3UEb4n_nELNzFFS0lW794YQjHpNPmDWwL5mtiNh9IO6fF_INLNnqWkRaZ29R3NNlN/s320/dsc07221.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I always enjoy exploring cemeteries, and this afternoon I visited 2 Mennonite cemeteries, Grace Hill and Mission, as well as the Whitewater city cemetery. I noticed this beautiful stone fence at the Whitewater Cemetery. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcma0E8nm-dDxqqfmAGUGcvTYXU8fTRJOwsGVlpn3xItO5qlmivt5k4hetJEPMh8i5GD7030PFq8yFFKIacnaGInz9bnh4WOqjMXB15PMhcr-tVeZwlqkCC622jqQ0bDsiep5ALlaMM8S/s1600/dsc07170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcma0E8nm-dDxqqfmAGUGcvTYXU8fTRJOwsGVlpn3xItO5qlmivt5k4hetJEPMh8i5GD7030PFq8yFFKIacnaGInz9bnh4WOqjMXB15PMhcr-tVeZwlqkCC622jqQ0bDsiep5ALlaMM8S/s320/dsc07170.jpg" width="320" /></a>Also, I notice familiar surnames in Mennonite cemeteries and look for unique stones and markers. This day, I noticed a frugal marking on several stones where someone nailed homemade letters for the names on a concrete stone. Here is one example. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjme3LG9qitCDHlg8P1VyKa989CgKBSk4DGYxtVSYFMmA9cu9VaMGsJh15YJsNmmxa-X9Kmbh6Z65QZ5srTG7XRoNuc5mRq3k6PCkfEEpPU84XEUPwh_bztAFg70dkS3H5hjDhEPtg5agpn/s1600/dsc07204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjme3LG9qitCDHlg8P1VyKa989CgKBSk4DGYxtVSYFMmA9cu9VaMGsJh15YJsNmmxa-X9Kmbh6Z65QZ5srTG7XRoNuc5mRq3k6PCkfEEpPU84XEUPwh_bztAFg70dkS3H5hjDhEPtg5agpn/s200/dsc07204.jpg" width="200" /></a>Further, I noticed some child's markers at Mission Cemetery, one of which had this spinning whirligig.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSmocy8n2ajs743Bo1Fdy4xT5ROtoM25rhLMXLRJZBcT0OphaSAEvn7wo0XX61VDdQmTBEDW0_ETVBfWvVLuKRSQ7jf203OrZ2u7Ad_s0zUBhrT6IThyQtYmOuTJLgCcVRG1cljgh8oSl/s1600/dsc07160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSmocy8n2ajs743Bo1Fdy4xT5ROtoM25rhLMXLRJZBcT0OphaSAEvn7wo0XX61VDdQmTBEDW0_ETVBfWvVLuKRSQ7jf203OrZ2u7Ad_s0zUBhrT6IThyQtYmOuTJLgCcVRG1cljgh8oSl/s320/dsc07160.jpg" width="320" /></a>I'm always on the lookout for fascinating rural architecture, and noticed some unique examples again this day. Mennonite farms were some of the first in this area of South Central Kansas and I came across a number of examples of homes and barns. One sad barn I noticed is this one back in the trees. Notice the farm had wagon wheels lining their driveway too. I wonder what stories could be told of what happened in this barn over the years!<br />
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It was so great to be out yesterday!Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-470058673107430702013-01-01T10:25:00.003-06:002013-04-25T12:28:54.415-05:00Try a Penny Tour<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Karen and I live in Wichita, KS but attend church in Hutchinson, about 1 hour by highway to the northwest. Being avid explorers and photographers at heart, we can't stand to travel by the main highway (K-96), especially when we are ready to leave Hutch and head for home. We like to take time to explore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We like to travel some dirt roads when heading back to Wichita. In the past 10 - 15 years, I have been on almost every rural road in the area bordered by Hutchinson, Newton, Kingman and Wichita, but still notice things I hadn't seen or noticed the last time I was on a particular road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">On Dec 30, 2012 we decided to try a <strong>"Penny Tour"</strong> as we left Hutchinson. We would flip a penny and whatever direction Abe Lincoln's head was pointing we would travel for 2 miles, then flip again and do the same. We did have a few restrictions - we would not backtrack on the same road, and as we got closer to Wichita, we preferred not to go north or west again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This photo shows the track we followed as recorded by my handheld GPS:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJs4bPOY75MJfdkqYI4wc3rKTX-U-f88FhnzaFsIxrtzpwnbvnZfh2YqKBfuSDmaAyHx1OwNdOMy_e8nBM6aAJzaK-5143r1plfpLcD9cdr4068aw-IcHyRH4_0JRTfw4TA5lh3hgSdBl/s1600/PennyTour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJs4bPOY75MJfdkqYI4wc3rKTX-U-f88FhnzaFsIxrtzpwnbvnZfh2YqKBfuSDmaAyHx1OwNdOMy_e8nBM6aAJzaK-5143r1plfpLcD9cdr4068aw-IcHyRH4_0JRTfw4TA5lh3hgSdBl/s640/PennyTour.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you can see this map clearly, you can see we were in eastern Reno County, southern Harvey County, and then travelled south to Wichita.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The normal trip back from Hutch via K-96 is about 50 miles and takes just about an hour. The route we travelled worked out to 74 miles, and took us 2 1/2 hours.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAoHSaKCz0i4FoHIjtTxF5Y5ZlgNOTebk2_WoSEhDSuwfUJ6mjZKVfYlgJ2E9nozrDg2g55XjsVNiuAX5sNrfWw9qL-HDCxypWduuzwLUrgxs4SA7ND9TzYDZOle0BqihRunGzuE0MU6oH/s1600/Snowman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAoHSaKCz0i4FoHIjtTxF5Y5ZlgNOTebk2_WoSEhDSuwfUJ6mjZKVfYlgJ2E9nozrDg2g55XjsVNiuAX5sNrfWw9qL-HDCxypWduuzwLUrgxs4SA7ND9TzYDZOle0BqihRunGzuE0MU6oH/s320/Snowman.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">While in eastern Reno County, we noticed a snowman someone had fabricated from wheels with attached tires. He has a tin can hat with a metal pipe in his mouth and a spark plug as a nose. A fascinating piece of rural art.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We noticed that the farmers in the rural areas of western Harvey County seem to raise a good deal of cotton, especially in the sandy areas south and east of Burrton. We saw traces of cotton still left on the stalks remaining in the fields.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0x_QgMp0G4zyGkV7sGZLDrEsKEQKZLM0kl85nU3DkpbZBEBOcUoCh_Xpr9j7OZiXaUQA-UQ7G7wUMhoJkIWh0i1IEho7BKex01oLFRFy5PEGJ9zTiaD2UGvNRBLDUPNmT6JsKEBy4JDY3/s1600/dsc06378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0x_QgMp0G4zyGkV7sGZLDrEsKEQKZLM0kl85nU3DkpbZBEBOcUoCh_Xpr9j7OZiXaUQA-UQ7G7wUMhoJkIWh0i1IEho7BKex01oLFRFy5PEGJ9zTiaD2UGvNRBLDUPNmT6JsKEBy4JDY3/s320/dsc06378.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our penny directed us into the small town of Halstead in Harvey County, which we have visited a number of times. We noticed some yard art and drove through downtown. I've heard good comments about the food and atmosphere at Kaleo's Cafe and Bakery and I stopped to admire the store front, mural and artwork at their facility. We intend to get here soon to try their cuisine.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana;">4/25/13: Update - Kaleo's Cafe is now closed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After leaving Halstead, we headed east, then south back home to Wichita.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Try something like a Penny Tour sometime, or at the very least, get off the main highways and visit the rural areas and small towns to see what rural Kansas truly has to offer. Take your time to see what's out there.</span>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-88402011448651183332012-06-09T12:30:00.000-05:002012-06-09T12:30:16.909-05:00An Afternoon at "The Arb"<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a warm spring day recently when Karen and I visited the historic Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine, Kansas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">"The Arb" as it is affectionately known was started in 1910 by Walter Bartlett, and developed into a tree lined park with a pond for waterfowl. Athletic facilities were also developed in the park.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After Walter's death in 1937, his son Glenn took over managing the arboretum. Glenn became a professional landscape architect and horticulturalist. Glenn and his wife Margaret planted flower gardens, more trees not indigenous to Kansas, and constructed bridges over the pond and creek.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After Glenn and Margaret's deaths, the third generation of Bartlet's decided to put the Arb up for sale, and in 1997, the current owner, Robin Macy bought the Arb while driving through the area, with no previous gardening or horticultural experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Robin is perhaps best known as a bluegrass singer and founding member of the Dixie Chicks, is a math teacher during the day and a steward of the Arboretum during almost all other times. She receives help from many local and regional volunteers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Robin has opened the Arb to weddings and still performs regularly with friends there. It took a lot of work to clean up and refresh the grounds. See more information at the Arb website (link is at the end of this post).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4cANcAcl9whqtyGOpHPm3Jsb6TxH88EjoF4CEKBf-RIy1I2GsvE0PYbZkjfFRgPieK7VRm993FLfy46-7M1E8rjFbxxpjC2BvTOd5YtcWwUvZlDp5b7VUsTmA0Wt_EF7QO64hwY1rbkE/s1600/img_0563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4cANcAcl9whqtyGOpHPm3Jsb6TxH88EjoF4CEKBf-RIy1I2GsvE0PYbZkjfFRgPieK7VRm993FLfy46-7M1E8rjFbxxpjC2BvTOd5YtcWwUvZlDp5b7VUsTmA0Wt_EF7QO64hwY1rbkE/s200/img_0563.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree Peony (Karen's Photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYsCKh82Ky2nl7PCSbmqM9HZNh0b3W-Tng8S2eMQRBJjFOSIXkrvOKwcWFFZsyPrlqpJNbRyXioEl5A-NajY7BS-MEo_imadLwchwGumiybLvUsxVvbm3z3jYaipyfSkh2y7FQca1lo67/s1600/dsc02331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYsCKh82Ky2nl7PCSbmqM9HZNh0b3W-Tng8S2eMQRBJjFOSIXkrvOKwcWFFZsyPrlqpJNbRyXioEl5A-NajY7BS-MEo_imadLwchwGumiybLvUsxVvbm3z3jYaipyfSkh2y7FQca1lo67/s200/dsc02331.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gazebo (Larry's Photo)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">When Karen and I entered the grounds, we immediately saw the warm early spring had helped the gardens bloom early. There were thousands of tulips and other flowers in a number of gardens. Architectural elements add to the beauty and Karen and I immediately started composing photographs.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OqkeftaTkrV4MPIm_eFhyOKgs4ANBx-WOH2soVWC5WZsoThHBei0fCsj1HVKLxpRZvjVx4pEFpWrnYlw2jP_fIrsBIBFoSUDrBui3gdYG8cfR8y11wAn362-DoXL0HttzQu_wibmjFys/s1600/dsc02380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OqkeftaTkrV4MPIm_eFhyOKgs4ANBx-WOH2soVWC5WZsoThHBei0fCsj1HVKLxpRZvjVx4pEFpWrnYlw2jP_fIrsBIBFoSUDrBui3gdYG8cfR8y11wAn362-DoXL0HttzQu_wibmjFys/s200/dsc02380.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Footbridge (Larry's Photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyljo1k1rRP2D90EyuZu2QWk-9ufWTxL56X40cfxgfCr_6z2YN886y-y-ADNJVQuckNOqtKy_cHb_xVn1wk_hxVPDdJcT7PNDozY25WUYntcKQrEAmajMGOk-TpGTlvNqu7DSD-Lc5kMkw/s1600/img_0580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyljo1k1rRP2D90EyuZu2QWk-9ufWTxL56X40cfxgfCr_6z2YN886y-y-ADNJVQuckNOqtKy_cHb_xVn1wk_hxVPDdJcT7PNDozY25WUYntcKQrEAmajMGOk-TpGTlvNqu7DSD-Lc5kMkw/s200/img_0580.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge & Tulips (Karen's Photo)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The water pond and creek are included in many of the photos we saved. There are three scenic bridges, a tree house, caretaker's house, and other elements that are also included in many of our photos. Between the two of us, we saved over 200 photos to our personal collections. (See the link to our favorite photos saved to our SmugMug gallery at the end of this post).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GP84JDj4vEc7jyTJ9-4ZHNahJNaBZ5vIUQp481ZWqgNokmn8FsXk4PDFTZoNXZOCAmCkY0fPcxDywMvLa7_Lk_Z-sYWVKpz9KKWFIhIHMXufa3exBV9x0dECvR3ff9aYa14WTg64DpwC/s1600/img_0702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GP84JDj4vEc7jyTJ9-4ZHNahJNaBZ5vIUQp481ZWqgNokmn8FsXk4PDFTZoNXZOCAmCkY0fPcxDywMvLa7_Lk_Z-sYWVKpz9KKWFIhIHMXufa3exBV9x0dECvR3ff9aYa14WTg64DpwC/s200/img_0702.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lanterns in flower garden (Karen's Photo)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We also visited the back part of the grounds, where a number of large, well-established, stately trees are found. Varieties of Cypress, Maple, Redwood, Cottonwood, Birch, Oak, Elm, Sycamore, Magnolia, Pine and other mature trees are here. It is a fantastic collection of mature trees.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I wish to credit the Bartlett Arboretum's website for the history and information I've used in this blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">See: <a href="http://www.bartlettarboretum.com/" target="_blank">http://www.bartlettarboretum.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Larry and Karen's photo gallery of the Bartlett Arboretum:</span><br />
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<a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Kansas-Exploring/South-Central-Kansas/Bartlett-Arboretum/22297881_ZF9PL2#!i=1781642594&k=n2LN6Vp" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bartlett Arboretum Photo Gallery</span></a><br />Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-18825198907665383112012-06-02T15:43:00.002-05:002012-06-02T15:53:15.970-05:00Wichita Carthalite<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Karen and I have been examining some of the architecture in Wichita that contains colored cast concrete elements called "Carthalite".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Carthalite was the trade name used by the Cement Stone & Supply Company to designate this unique cast stone. About 11 buildings still stand with these elements. All these structures were built between 1927 and 1940.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Colored elements were only used for surface structures, not any 3 dimensional elements. The color was obtained by adding mineral pigments to the concrete, and in a few instances colored crushed glass was also added to the concrete aggregate. The colored elements are usually surrounded by white or gray concrete. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There are even rumors that crushed Mentholatum jars were used in the mural on the old Wichita Municipal Airport building. The color was not just a surface treatment, but penetrated fully throughout the entire depth of the casting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Carthalite seems to be unique to Wichita and possibly the entire US. Researchers are still looking to see if other examples exist.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minisa Bridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">One of the most accessible examples of Carthalite is on the Minisa bridge over the Little Arkansas River on 13th St north near North High School. Here, Carthalite is used in the Buffalo and Native American images.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePF1L-JBWzGRpnJnS6e09vLNNzMhDttMdyOsl6T3vkH_tcp5kdTIfgfyjW9cd9V05RJPDEKSL807ggGH1X6gl9ZG6JYLPc5_jMhCtpoCkkJglFBGDQtWOerrgRRqZoZgfPUxRShqVIc85/s1600/Dockum1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePF1L-JBWzGRpnJnS6e09vLNNzMhDttMdyOsl6T3vkH_tcp5kdTIfgfyjW9cd9V05RJPDEKSL807ggGH1X6gl9ZG6JYLPc5_jMhCtpoCkkJglFBGDQtWOerrgRRqZoZgfPUxRShqVIc85/s320/Dockum1.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdXepIAIgsOfC6HJ1pbTE15ggg58VK4lWxd-ncoKcIanHTQeGO0LbBFAqzQEhLaR-8zwzbOGdzhhZR771-OE3tJVbK9xoV4rHAXkzhX-D6ycOT7880iXPdUESAmdtajC77yIKaAaQa8oi/s1600/Dockum2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdXepIAIgsOfC6HJ1pbTE15ggg58VK4lWxd-ncoKcIanHTQeGO0LbBFAqzQEhLaR-8zwzbOGdzhhZR771-OE3tJVbK9xoV4rHAXkzhX-D6ycOT7880iXPdUESAmdtajC77yIKaAaQa8oi/s320/Dockum2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dockum Drug Store</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdXepIAIgsOfC6HJ1pbTE15ggg58VK4lWxd-ncoKcIanHTQeGO0LbBFAqzQEhLaR-8zwzbOGdzhhZR771-OE3tJVbK9xoV4rHAXkzhX-D6ycOT7880iXPdUESAmdtajC77yIKaAaQa8oi/s1600/Dockum2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
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</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4YlBp6FwzmWp4fz2k4cTAWfj4nuVyhh1VoKKD6dAMQhDhMNsgUdwi6jHIltU8eMXWkA6RT7g7oMAaaYxnnL_50eI7urswQQRIucQ7wsLikeRYSdWDXic9Pwaqh0eqhODPMsGl-kbT9-W/s1600/Dockum1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;" unselectable="on"><tbody unselectable="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Also, there are many Carthalite elements on the 2 visible sides of the Dockum Drug store at Douglas Ave and Hillside St. Many pastel colored elements are placed over much of the walls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">For more information about Wichita Carthalite see the following:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Article about Wichita Carthalite in American Bungalow magazine written by Barbara Hammond of the City of Wichita Historic Preservation Office:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.wichita.gov/NR/rdonlyres/81CF4BF1-041A-437B-BFFA-02D59943D7DA/60397/ArticleAmerBungalowMagzineFall07linked.pdf">http://www.wichita.gov/NR/rdonlyres/81CF4BF1-041A-437B-BFFA-02D59943D7DA/60397/ArticleAmerBungalowMagzineFall07linked.pdf</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kansas Sampler Foundation Eight Wonders of Kansas page for Wichita Carthalite:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/architectureresults.php?id=54">http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/architectureresults.php?id=54</a>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-47557499815640583472011-08-20T23:01:00.001-05:002011-08-25T14:33:48.469-05:00A Day Visiting Historic Places<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My wife Karen and I are doing several quests around Kansas now. This year, we have been wanting to find 150 historic sites, buildings, places, signs, etc within a 150 mile radius of our home in Wichita. This is the 150th anniversary year of Kansas statehood, so we call this quest 150 times 3 (150X3).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Due to work schedules and some health issues, we have not been able to do as much towards this quest as I would have liked to this point in the year. Recently, on July 31, we headed out on a day trip south and east of Wichita to add some sites to our completed list.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMWezHEuZ1lnyYXLDFlDjgwNhyRAwzgVrLZQmQ67RcIDl1QVLwjzbq2KByJs8ayuKZdgCx5xMd6k-mcd0-8zawABU_nlOMK2EJy9D6kBJmz5QazNCtALLal50pmycT-05qZY0bMvbagpX/s1600/dsc08793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMWezHEuZ1lnyYXLDFlDjgwNhyRAwzgVrLZQmQ67RcIDl1QVLwjzbq2KByJs8ayuKZdgCx5xMd6k-mcd0-8zawABU_nlOMK2EJy9D6kBJmz5QazNCtALLal50pmycT-05qZY0bMvbagpX/s400/dsc08793.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tornado memorial in Udall</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We began by stopping at the city park in Udall to see the memorial to the people who lost their lives in the massive tornado on May 25, 1955. The tornado struck with almost no warning and killed 87, and injured another 200. Out of this destruction and loss of life came much work towards improving severe storm forecasts and warnings.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbFMaxvq_JjAsxj0RGVt0F4Tb1b2Fufti0MEV5xOIqGfc5NZk0f-Y2RexyVv91OkDVZbL2lydXnscYS4na485vgUgoBVOP1dPg3Z-iaCdBzRN0AZfZh-1Ab2EAtQjkTXWyZz_ZSFt1chK/s1600/dsc08803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbFMaxvq_JjAsxj0RGVt0F4Tb1b2Fufti0MEV5xOIqGfc5NZk0f-Y2RexyVv91OkDVZbL2lydXnscYS4na485vgUgoBVOP1dPg3Z-iaCdBzRN0AZfZh-1Ab2EAtQjkTXWyZz_ZSFt1chK/s400/dsc08803.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We traveled on southeast to the junction of US-166 and K-15 south of Dexter to view the Kansas Historic sign about the discovery of helium in Dexter in 1903. When the town tried to light the natural gas well that were drilled, the flames went out each time. It was discovered the natural gas contained 2% Helium. Helium was first used in balloons in World War I, but many industrial uses were developed also. There was a commercial plant producing helium in Dexter for a number of years.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2gRiJgmeq-esQ9IR4egkowu5wMKBzhMM4hihKNY_8MWZzCOOHyop4X0I2pnbWd9JKLwdaNoKeC2xZzSajP6qP5_2X48xFQ_Lc0OnGRwk2yeyO5AuaZUlQtCOy1PFD81yKteSKbi8obOk/s1600/dsc08839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2gRiJgmeq-esQ9IR4egkowu5wMKBzhMM4hihKNY_8MWZzCOOHyop4X0I2pnbWd9JKLwdaNoKeC2xZzSajP6qP5_2X48xFQ_Lc0OnGRwk2yeyO5AuaZUlQtCOy1PFD81yKteSKbi8obOk/s400/dsc08839.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hewins Park Pavilion interior view - Cedar Vale</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our next stop as in Cedar Vale in southwest Chautauqua County. We went to Hewins Park at the southeast corner of town to visit the Pavilion there, built in 1913. I found this to be an impressive wood framed building, that the town uses for large group events. It has great ventilation since it is open on 3 sides. A semi-circular stage is at the south end. The concrete floor was added in 1946. The photo shown here is of the impressive arch wood construction of the interior.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxd2P7OeY4P7BjUaSj09OTNvKojARpzN9GolIia3XUe6oXTDtfFrlVTyYqR0K2t3HrbOEHabPpE4_Of1jNO3wSCPMeXzjjUB0-IdZsbOaGImr4l3_y-hEvHAREGGyiPZnER4DRN25-9tvn/s1600/dsc08886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxd2P7OeY4P7BjUaSj09OTNvKojARpzN9GolIia3XUe6oXTDtfFrlVTyYqR0K2t3HrbOEHabPpE4_Of1jNO3wSCPMeXzjjUB0-IdZsbOaGImr4l3_y-hEvHAREGGyiPZnER4DRN25-9tvn/s320/dsc08886.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swinging Suspension Bridge in Moline</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our next historic site was in Moline, in Elk County. Here is the oldest swinging pedestrian suspension bridge in Kansas. It was built in 1904. Even though it was a very hot day, we got out and walked across the bridge with our dogs. The creek underneath was completely dry due to the extended drought in Kansas this year.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KIZ4ihGldVG5j9d1-8bYLxPdP-39eDiCcqLfZczouC3732X6wtCi_gdYvciW-u2MUQ3OtBBs_S336lJPz7g6GnVxZfqwjphyaMtO_k0Iyxj0oWmoX57fyp6anELczBWknPfW_7bCoaMH/s1600/dsc08893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KIZ4ihGldVG5j9d1-8bYLxPdP-39eDiCcqLfZczouC3732X6wtCi_gdYvciW-u2MUQ3OtBBs_S336lJPz7g6GnVxZfqwjphyaMtO_k0Iyxj0oWmoX57fyp6anELczBWknPfW_7bCoaMH/s320/dsc08893.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grenola Monument</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Continuing west on US-160, we pulled into the small town of Grenola in western Elk County. Heading downtown along the railroad track we found a limestone marker with the following statement: </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia;">"LONGHORN CATTLE DRIVE</span><span class="size22 Georgia22"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="size22 Georgia22">1881 TO 1884 GRENOLA, KANSAS BECAME </span><span class="size22 Georgia22">THE LARGEST SINGLE CATTLE SHIPPING POINT IN THE UNITED STATES.</span></span></span><span class="size22 Georgia22"><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia;"></span></span><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia;"></span><span class="size22 Georgia22"><br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">THE "SOUTHERN KANSAS RAILROAD" WAS </span><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">BUILT BETWEEN THE TWO SMALL TOWNS OF CANOLA AND GREENFIELD ABOUT 6 </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">MI. APART. THE</span><span class="size28 Georgia28" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"> </span><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">TWO TOWNS CLOSED RANKS AND TOOK GRENOLA AS THE CITY NAME USING THE "GRE" FROM</span><span class="size28 Georgia28" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"> </span><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">GREENFIELD</span></span><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"><br />
</span><span style="color: black;"><span class="size22 Georgia22" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">AND "NOLA" FROM CANOLA. AS THIS WAS ABOUT 75 MI. SHORTER DRIVE</span><span class="size28 Georgia28" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"> </span><span class="size20 Georgia20" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;">FOR THE CATTLE, DROVES BEGAN COMING IN"</span></span></span></div><br />
<span class="size28 Georgia28"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also nearby, is a nice mural depicting the cattle drives, and a nice gazeebo. Across the street is the town museum, unique in the fact that it is housed in the old grain elevator. This museum is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTPCOgxNiD_94XXq33VMQODx96SwdU4reSyBJpuQDqzkfV1NLL3CwmR6wTfHq4jltS7HhZ-NA7-B7L0yd_mw4xvpdXJbRarPxFa6Wb9cl3ciZ5YZCchIR248PAgvAA99a51jJQ8GtzkWty/s1600/dsc08909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTPCOgxNiD_94XXq33VMQODx96SwdU4reSyBJpuQDqzkfV1NLL3CwmR6wTfHq4jltS7HhZ-NA7-B7L0yd_mw4xvpdXJbRarPxFa6Wb9cl3ciZ5YZCchIR248PAgvAA99a51jJQ8GtzkWty/s320/dsc08909.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Summit Railroad siding</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Heading on west on US-160 into Cowley County, we pulled off north to a spot that intrigues me, the Grand Summit railroad siding. This station was active from about 1880 into at least the 1930's, but nothing remains except for a 2 track siding. I've read stories of many cattle being loaded onto rail cars here from the numerous ranches in the area during that time. Now, the area has only a few farms and ranches left. Just east of the station, the railroad crests the summit of the Flint Hills in this area and goes through a rock cut that has yielded fossils. The photo shows the lonely siding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We were able to visit 6 historic sites during a good day of exploring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">See more of my photos of our 150X3 quest at the following address:</span><br />
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<a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Kansas-Exploring/150X3/16787252_SGqGvs#1413306935_TWNkTgL"><span style="font-size: large;">150X3 Quest Photos</span></a><br />
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</span></div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-71614045873344296132011-04-10T22:23:00.005-05:002011-04-10T22:28:54.872-05:00Doing Dirt in Norton County<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During a recent trip out of Kansas, Karen and I were able to explore some rural areas of southern and western Norton County in northwest Kansas.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtbGEP0cCbUPenosOVh-hTRB6qIRPLI-avLxgEto0X07ya8bVwuzsjEDyek4EUbhPMheQQ0mtU_hFZbTJh5HV8mLBpQAXy0XXvyO4x4_QiZ6RFzkMe59oSkUo1DYZrpkGXn7rw1vIlDx4/s1600/dsc06604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtbGEP0cCbUPenosOVh-hTRB6qIRPLI-avLxgEto0X07ya8bVwuzsjEDyek4EUbhPMheQQ0mtU_hFZbTJh5HV8mLBpQAXy0XXvyO4x4_QiZ6RFzkMe59oSkUo1DYZrpkGXn7rw1vIlDx4/s400/dsc06604.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hills in Southern Norton County</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrPsgZiz92TmEHRDrbfNVOTooNkXOlCqxH8K2TL0htToN3ywH-teBEwAWGMd-3tNafLnGQ6A81GSng-ItdlW4iv5Zyw1L97wu3-zZQkC579ybW-_5wGgWVBMxldXXozwz16BUW1dsBirf/s1600/dsc06631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrPsgZiz92TmEHRDrbfNVOTooNkXOlCqxH8K2TL0htToN3ywH-teBEwAWGMd-3tNafLnGQ6A81GSng-ItdlW4iv5Zyw1L97wu3-zZQkC579ybW-_5wGgWVBMxldXXozwz16BUW1dsBirf/s320/dsc06631.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rummage Sale in Edmond</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We came into the county from the south and drove a few miles through the hills east of US-283 till we arrived at the small town of Edmond. Here we found an old wood frame abandoned church, a brick United Methodist church, the remains of an old brick hotel and a store front which seemed to be used for a rummage sale / flea market.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CB3GBc_TIwXYx2xb3Zgi44X7DQLTP56MUBXTrVa5ZKLrEHU8DeQ1pibsVtwFBqK42hRO5tZ-sHTGMbP80XhJUtm_lRIbHlQpZNkKZb2Ifssa1KDQ0XWdD-riPrpYJYFQKX1SXaXWHlcb/s1600/dsc06622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CB3GBc_TIwXYx2xb3Zgi44X7DQLTP56MUBXTrVa5ZKLrEHU8DeQ1pibsVtwFBqK42hRO5tZ-sHTGMbP80XhJUtm_lRIbHlQpZNkKZb2Ifssa1KDQ0XWdD-riPrpYJYFQKX1SXaXWHlcb/s320/dsc06622.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former Church in Densmore</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Then, we traveled east to Densmore where sadly we found a town which has lost its businesses, schools and churches. We noticed the brick school building was being demolished and some abandoned buildings downtown, along with a limestone church. We did notice a few houses where people were still living in town.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizirPoHxvAcbMu0wGhPp2ne4sS16Ujjpxt5xDMOdVOqvjPOIGnphmk7lZWZ4NgispXTjEClRYxulsZfPMgB-VIObJ7NtE0j-Zh4trb9Jet-j1bIGOAewXX7McdgVX6jEKPKL9INz2FQnw/s1600/dsc06640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizirPoHxvAcbMu0wGhPp2ne4sS16Ujjpxt5xDMOdVOqvjPOIGnphmk7lZWZ4NgispXTjEClRYxulsZfPMgB-VIObJ7NtE0j-Zh4trb9Jet-j1bIGOAewXX7McdgVX6jEKPKL9INz2FQnw/s320/dsc06640.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbeau House in Lenora</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After roaming on some dirt roads north of K-9 highway, we ended up at the town of Lenora. Here, we noticed an active downtown business district, a couple of schools, and the beautiful Queen Anne Victorian Barbeau House bed and breakfast.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3t5tUDQ2ohsP2sDLHqpebgIFmO2ViDbQREFGKmHNzUX1o8m9_iyUWyLwUsf-BHvsOjH935PRHPt8PMlTn2_ByDCbHkxdtDrumn4yf8vwGN1r96g3btzgVph1r4Ub_H_4JiLvypGPYm1f/s1600/dsc06656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3t5tUDQ2ohsP2sDLHqpebgIFmO2ViDbQREFGKmHNzUX1o8m9_iyUWyLwUsf-BHvsOjH935PRHPt8PMlTn2_ByDCbHkxdtDrumn4yf8vwGN1r96g3btzgVph1r4Ub_H_4JiLvypGPYm1f/s320/dsc06656.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Joseph Catholic Church in New Almelo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Next, we drove west to New Almelo, where still stands the beautiful limestone St Joseph Catholic Church, built in 1900. It is an imposing structure which can be seen from quite a distance.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Finally, we drove north through rural areas of the western part of Norton County before taking the highway to the town of Norton for the night. I would still like to explore some of the northern half of the county, so we will likely be back to Norton County again before long.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLLS87s-IokiwZUGPVcLTm3pVXqQrXd2XyagFoNKKr2LDWZ3-fI5zsCRTIj1FJG26jN_kk2j1DqMx2YTSy35K1sSpyeN_qwSBbG19YfS1p_d9Kbg1SL1hL_z11UPIg29ArC_WhDe_I2bF/s1600/dsc06680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLLS87s-IokiwZUGPVcLTm3pVXqQrXd2XyagFoNKKr2LDWZ3-fI5zsCRTIj1FJG26jN_kk2j1DqMx2YTSy35K1sSpyeN_qwSBbG19YfS1p_d9Kbg1SL1hL_z11UPIg29ArC_WhDe_I2bF/s320/dsc06680.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky outcropping - western Norton County</td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">See more of our photos of Norton County at the following link:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-West-Kansas/Norton-County-Dirt/16162645_mpb5n#1213624518_THk65"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Norton County Dare to Do Dirt photos</span></a></div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-44952592710928115202011-01-17T11:01:00.001-06:002011-01-17T13:52:19.816-06:00New Year's Day in the Gyp HIlls<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of Kansas's best treasures is the Red Hills physiographic region, which spans parts of up to 7 counties in South Central and South West Kansas. The heart of this area, also known as the Gypsum (or Gyp) Hills is in Barber and Comanche Counties between the towns of Medicine Lodge and Coldwater.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My wife Karen, has wanted to take a trip to this area since she moved to Kansas. When we saw clear sunny weather in the forecast on New Year's Day, we decided to take a day trip to this area. I have been to this area a number of times, but always enjoy going back, especially in different seasons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">On the way to Medicine Lodge, we made stops in Harper and Anthony to observe some murals, the old Runnymede Church, the 9-11 memorial and the Harper County Courthouse in Anthony. Karen has just begun a quest to photograph all the Kansas Courthouses. This will be an ongoing quest as we travel Kansas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">See Karen's Kansas Courthouses photo gallery at:</span><br />
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<a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Karens-Photos/Kansas-Courthouses/Courthouses/14923761_nHowU#1114190037_2jkDR">http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Karens-Photos/Kansas-Courthouses/Courthouses/14923761_nHowU#1114190037_2jkDR</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We left Medicine Lodge heading west on US-160 and turned south onto the 22 mile long Gyp Hills Scenic Drive, which travels through some of the most scenic areas of the Red Hills. Heading south, then west, then back north to US-160, this drive is suitable for all vehicles in good weather, and offers great views all along it's length. Below is a small sampling of photos of this area, taken during my journeys along this road.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUiM269M8t3rXOmcH85OObEt7-C1pPpf7cdczMyi03tpGcxA3BTYKeQfJKrzQg9MnIBUt7SkEqGVz4f38xfXBnUKk2LufZinHujKqDWKjUklCVCxw7gO-V5veUUBlsHCuWOMbTMl3xHma/s1600/img_6144-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUiM269M8t3rXOmcH85OObEt7-C1pPpf7cdczMyi03tpGcxA3BTYKeQfJKrzQg9MnIBUt7SkEqGVz4f38xfXBnUKk2LufZinHujKqDWKjUklCVCxw7gO-V5veUUBlsHCuWOMbTMl3xHma/s400/img_6144-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gyp Hills Scenic Drive (Karen's Photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33m0eHDh_eR3E26b2gkTNBiBOpEEleAVwTTFIzCj2yC1_g7FJEJYo8VWFQOfvaGfXbjFSJOzd1IXGvXrhruMukwn_vqXGXXkx6DDYQyAeWj1E3HbDwwW4ORpzgn8LhOjMeoTYB9ZZ8aq6/s1600/img_6172-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33m0eHDh_eR3E26b2gkTNBiBOpEEleAVwTTFIzCj2yC1_g7FJEJYo8VWFQOfvaGfXbjFSJOzd1IXGvXrhruMukwn_vqXGXXkx6DDYQyAeWj1E3HbDwwW4ORpzgn8LhOjMeoTYB9ZZ8aq6/s400/img_6172-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gyp Hills Scenic Drive (Karen's Photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjglUrJOXMbc58q0U3QrQ2Q5z1hEHyrUmmFOXg9leyn8p5hR4TuB2Vg6WvPHDI2LVytEC-5fB_6ULscIRAjtAJSaHKPoUQjmlYIf3t42wYjLOhNEAciLi_cxFPaFxy5zSi3dz4vp_CGZgx/s1600/p6120041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjglUrJOXMbc58q0U3QrQ2Q5z1hEHyrUmmFOXg9leyn8p5hR4TuB2Vg6WvPHDI2LVytEC-5fB_6ULscIRAjtAJSaHKPoUQjmlYIf3t42wYjLOhNEAciLi_cxFPaFxy5zSi3dz4vp_CGZgx/s400/p6120041.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower Pot Mound (Larry's Photo)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF1EcrF9zT-1RnwCstY-OmeqzTEpyED074oKMsDuKHO745yZ5O7jVNElxPQd6Wx6f7SoiV29hVjn9_dKKggRT1CRxh3bk99W2-GgatrFH0wPBoJ_0xT8nL9VFt8I6jfFAqReQCsqbDoPm/s1600/dsc02340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF1EcrF9zT-1RnwCstY-OmeqzTEpyED074oKMsDuKHO745yZ5O7jVNElxPQd6Wx6f7SoiV29hVjn9_dKKggRT1CRxh3bk99W2-GgatrFH0wPBoJ_0xT8nL9VFt8I6jfFAqReQCsqbDoPm/s400/dsc02340.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gyp Hills Scenic Drive (Larry's Photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information about the Gyp Hills Scenic Drive and related Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway, which together are a winner in the 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography, see the Kansas Sampler Foundation's page at:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/geographyresults.php?id=249">http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/geographyresults.php?id=249</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ATVmUjgui9OIzwx1KMKDyoCOOC13eV50QUgUshHCxO2LZP-OA5SIQmgqfEpLfPW5GT5SUmfrYXgcCjcGvJEk1aZRmIjH37tJ3IkCE1u-2FfpqwVOipmWAPq8yqAHTp6b_YxnnnKt_Osc/s1600/img_6217-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ATVmUjgui9OIzwx1KMKDyoCOOC13eV50QUgUshHCxO2LZP-OA5SIQmgqfEpLfPW5GT5SUmfrYXgcCjcGvJEk1aZRmIjH37tJ3IkCE1u-2FfpqwVOipmWAPq8yqAHTp6b_YxnnnKt_Osc/s400/img_6217-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dog Creek area - Lake City Road (Karen's Photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leaving the Gyp Hills Scenic Drive at US-160, we headed north on Lake City Road and viewed some of the ruins in Lake City. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From there, we headed east on River Road before turning north on another favorite road, Mingona Road towards the Elm Mills area in northern Barber County.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKp0UNu1H4iz3PMf6yuLE-M5anrJU_mOcPjOI3Y3uVhSuNOYrp246ZMo5eG6MvixPq7jLDlOhbfjN-1E_BOTpqOd-TRrp_GjyQAX17bkxiNX1XS7AwDTr_RgpMaSlfxJcbC7Bgn6bjpmK/s1600/dsc06391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKp0UNu1H4iz3PMf6yuLE-M5anrJU_mOcPjOI3Y3uVhSuNOYrp246ZMo5eG6MvixPq7jLDlOhbfjN-1E_BOTpqOd-TRrp_GjyQAX17bkxiNX1XS7AwDTr_RgpMaSlfxJcbC7Bgn6bjpmK/s400/dsc06391.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching thunderstorm on Mingona Rd (Larry's Photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We had seen the Flat Ridge Windfarm windmills from Mingona Road, so we backtracked south on US-281, then east and north on Isabel Road to view them up close. By now it was dusk, so we headed north to US-54/400 and back east to Wichita.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">To view more photos that Karen and I have taken in the Gyp Hills, see our photo gallery at:</span><br />
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<a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Kansas-Exploring/South-Central-Kansas/Gyp-Hills-Photos/15389857_o5ds6#1151768249_uaNoQ">http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Kansas-Exploring/South-Central-Kansas/Gyp-Hills-Photos/15389857_o5ds6#1151768249_uaNoQ</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">What a great way to start a new year with a trip to a beautiful area of Kansas!</span>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-8589471219282484782010-12-05T15:03:00.001-06:002010-12-09T16:45:10.902-06:00Labette County Roaming<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, Karen and I had a chance to to some exploring in Labette County in southeast Kansas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We visited some rural areas of the county as well as towns of Angola, Chetopa, Dennis, Mound Valley, Oswego, Parsons and Valeda.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpY6eOmfnLQ661Lt6rclR-4er8AVuE3yGJ4SNuRPETtVWIdvTNZDCqnzmswOtkUvERv63wsriCJOibhgbzACUvQVse7ogmrMB2li41fchXS7-SpteY0XZIZ0XrAvdHXnL4oLn28WxIKQ0/s1600/DSC04820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpY6eOmfnLQ661Lt6rclR-4er8AVuE3yGJ4SNuRPETtVWIdvTNZDCqnzmswOtkUvERv63wsriCJOibhgbzACUvQVse7ogmrMB2li41fchXS7-SpteY0XZIZ0XrAvdHXnL4oLn28WxIKQ0/s320/DSC04820.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oakwood Cemetery - Anteitam Circle</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In Parsons we looked over some of the impressive architecture downtown, including churches and the city building. Also in Parsons is the beautiful Oakwood Cemetery with it's Antietam Circle with Civil War Veterans graves.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzfU_GWY6vwR9kHOxCW06zjFYXetv_y22pQck5_hKs9K5iJs4SrJToQStr_gH5bnV3Y4xa9Ka2cJdIBupkLtditFOGn-VHWRN3t6XjKaZA29lhgxVhSEI20QiRdQT7b677lPy5F4KOjvQ/s1600/DSC04736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzfU_GWY6vwR9kHOxCW06zjFYXetv_y22pQck5_hKs9K5iJs4SrJToQStr_gH5bnV3Y4xa9Ka2cJdIBupkLtditFOGn-VHWRN3t6XjKaZA29lhgxVhSEI20QiRdQT7b677lPy5F4KOjvQ/s320/DSC04736.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osage Indian Village Mural - Oswego</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Oswego has a group of nice murals downtown with the highlight being the Osage Indian village mural. The farm scene mural in the Post Office and the railroad mural on a private shed were also beautiful. Also, Riverside Park at the north end of town offers an impressive view of the Neosho River below.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFD8I2gQpSQvZ0YZWBHBPV0J5EFmWSOVm5ANMwGr97CmIN6cPSr-44vsFdKLjpbHAQSOkiddD8gU4iNyzoA_YzRzvjQOLi9PfF6zRa_pWdEEE1a4VE7O7sM9vmNd6u0Tlav6WfMQjaJbxP/s1600/DSC04786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFD8I2gQpSQvZ0YZWBHBPV0J5EFmWSOVm5ANMwGr97CmIN6cPSr-44vsFdKLjpbHAQSOkiddD8gU4iNyzoA_YzRzvjQOLi9PfF6zRa_pWdEEE1a4VE7O7sM9vmNd6u0Tlav6WfMQjaJbxP/s320/DSC04786.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sinclair Service Station - Chetopa</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In Chetopa, we admired the architecture of the old mill at the east edge of town, and the beautiful Sinclair Service Station. The city building downtown has some elegant stained glass in the windows. Also, while in Chetopa, we found a flea market open on the holiday weekend and did some shopping.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKYeqB-nm7-DcoXnB_8WYnsv8UAYIHq_zXtWzKwshCV3XRaxQ0YnOnH9tQQvLQAG2pZq8BeQHtQ8q2dE6kZanVxCLoy39WNlFpuOKr8saf5PSDHahSBmx5itIlTlmZGsCUzt-02i5Ze65/s1600/DSC04923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKYeqB-nm7-DcoXnB_8WYnsv8UAYIHq_zXtWzKwshCV3XRaxQ0YnOnH9tQQvLQAG2pZq8BeQHtQ8q2dE6kZanVxCLoy39WNlFpuOKr8saf5PSDHahSBmx5itIlTlmZGsCUzt-02i5Ze65/s320/DSC04923.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In smaller towns, Mound Valley has their old brick city jail out for display and the flagpole at the middle of the downtown intersection. I was also impressed with the decaying abandoned school in Valeda. It must have been quite a building in it's heydey.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_D6lzBUsQ9QN1YFuwJEaCU6kods5-wygElvhM0GDuhHKvXeshVqsW0HT-1B-mtY7VhLsb6vr90bB8zGqaFWaENlK7fuKIj9IQ8CDg9UKql5a-fHC0WkL4FfBIVIVaIqQRblKR3deaN9o/s1600/img_5859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_D6lzBUsQ9QN1YFuwJEaCU6kods5-wygElvhM0GDuhHKvXeshVqsW0HT-1B-mtY7VhLsb6vr90bB8zGqaFWaENlK7fuKIj9IQ8CDg9UKql5a-fHC0WkL4FfBIVIVaIqQRblKR3deaN9o/s320/img_5859.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin Creek Pony Truss Bridge- ca 1932</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">As always, when exploring rural areas, I try and get a sampling of some historic bridges, and Labette County does have some memorable ones. There is quite a selection of concrete arch bridges dating back as far as about 1915. There is also a few iron pony truss bridges left, with the most impressive one we saw over Pumpkin Creek just west of Angola. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Finally, we had an unexpected surprise when visiting the Mt Zion Community Church west of Big Hill Lake. We pulled up to admire this old wood country church, and found the pastor Marty Warren there, and he gave us a tour and told us about the recent renovation of this church. When I hear about rural Kansas people getting together to save and restore something important to their lives, it makes you proud to be a Kansan!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">To see more of the photos Karen and I took while in Labette County visit our Smugmug photo gallery: </span><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/Southeast-Kansas/Labette-County-Dirt/10079736_3kFep#691596917_QmmSt"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Labette County Photos</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information see the following:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">City of Parsons: <a href="http://www.parsonsks.com/">http://www.parsonsks.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">City of Oswego: <a href="http://www.oswegokansas.com/">http://www.oswegokansas.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">City of Chetopa: <a href="http://www.chetopacity.org/">http://www.chetopacity.org/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Blue Skyways Labette County: <a href="http://skyways.lib.ks.us/counties/LB/">http://skyways.lib.ks.us/counties/LB/</a></span>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-50372839740636114632010-11-04T07:19:00.001-05:002010-11-04T08:08:41.557-05:00Birds and Chocolate<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oct 30 dawned a clear day with crisp fall temps. Karen and I left Wichita well before sunrise and headed northwest to Quivira National Wildlife refuge in eastern Stafford County. Quivira and it's neighbor Cheyenne Bottoms further north are important for migrating water birds on their long journeys throughout the Western Hemisphere.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHB6vA4ruraVSeE2F3V-Nk5yG3h2xVh91chMfmZYhRulJaB7xtOzn5UM_1IzDIZWAKU-NMw_sIXrQOypkrv2AxK4go6crmDXaTbp_jcMdsbXfGoi21JDjfiAcGAYE1fxahF2q-lpHl6mS/s1600/dsc03934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHB6vA4ruraVSeE2F3V-Nk5yG3h2xVh91chMfmZYhRulJaB7xtOzn5UM_1IzDIZWAKU-NMw_sIXrQOypkrv2AxK4go6crmDXaTbp_jcMdsbXfGoi21JDjfiAcGAYE1fxahF2q-lpHl6mS/s320/dsc03934.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise over Little Salt Marsh</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We arrived at the Little Salt Marsh area just before sunrise and went to the observation platform there. We were told by a couple of other visitors that we had missed an adult and juvenile Whooping Crane by just less than 10 min. The sun came up with it's brilliant yellow hues and I caught it just above the horizon.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbfPPqjDIfShBMAjvO0m3b_bldR_VugtSejkGpyO5ieP0h6qpFG4_jVmZC_5XPyFNFcmHHAC2mtAOzT9wCZBWHpgfSmLIx9kLLSmRfY6JdddXEi93bP-HKVWE3J6ADjhVPFsAmUg0QVYy/s1600/dsc03946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbfPPqjDIfShBMAjvO0m3b_bldR_VugtSejkGpyO5ieP0h6qpFG4_jVmZC_5XPyFNFcmHHAC2mtAOzT9wCZBWHpgfSmLIx9kLLSmRfY6JdddXEi93bP-HKVWE3J6ADjhVPFsAmUg0QVYy/s320/dsc03946.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pelicans flying over Little Salt Marsh</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Karen was watching the birds with binoculars while I was snapping photos as best I could. I don't have a long zoom suitable for wildlife, so most of my photos were more wide angle shots. I did capture a photo of pelicans flying over the platform.</span><br />
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<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Next, we walked the short Birdhouse Boulevard nature trail near the visitor center before driving north for a quick view of more birds in flight at the observation pullout for the Big Salt Marsh. We didn't have time to take the drive around the Big Salt Marsh on this trip.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Quivira is open daily from dawn to dusk. See the US Fish and Wildlife page at the following address:</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><a href="http://www.fws.gov/quivira/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish and Wildlife Service)</span></a></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, visit my photo gallery of Quivira at the following address:</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Kansas-Exploring/South-Central-Kansas/QuiviraNatWildlifeRefuge/14490125_Rhvd2#1075919719_9Yt8Q"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Larry Hornbaker's Quivira Gallery</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After leaving Quivira, we took a short drive to Stafford to attend the 2nd Annual Chocolate Sampler Affair, sponsored by the Stafford Chamber of Commerce, Stafford Main Street Association and held on the grounds of the Henderson Inn and Retreat Center at 201 N Green Street.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKxVq074lqr7qlUUSZu6SEZwWhRD3djuy8hINLKtmXLHxaXBh2YUPQEoLDsAHql6Ri5rDD0aBnJh5VDqmewmQrcyBSf8PuwQlYgnDRmYp-5J1fP99MdU3RZrjbi_-RNhod0gsR7ntezUe/s1600/dsc04008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKxVq074lqr7qlUUSZu6SEZwWhRD3djuy8hINLKtmXLHxaXBh2YUPQEoLDsAHql6Ri5rDD0aBnJh5VDqmewmQrcyBSf8PuwQlYgnDRmYp-5J1fP99MdU3RZrjbi_-RNhod0gsR7ntezUe/s320/dsc04008.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Treats</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Karen and I met my sister and her husband there and we found the chocolate sampling tent, with many goodies to try, including chocolate chili. We also saw exhibitors from the area including Stafford and Barton counties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We observed a bon bon cooking demonstration, participated in a cake walk and watched a pie eating contest. This event also features the nearby Wetlands and Wildlife Scenic Byway through the Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">See more about the Chocolate Affair at the following web address:</span><br />
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<a href="http://chocolatefestivalstafford.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chocolate Affair</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also visit the web site of the Henderson House Inn and Retreat center, a member of the Kansas Bed and Breakfast Association:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.hendersonbandb.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Henderson House</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My photo gallery of the Chocolate Affair can be found at the following address:</span><br />
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<a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Events/AChocolateAffair/14492137_JtQcZ#1076046491_ymtqR"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Larry Hornbaker's Chocolate Affair Gallery</span></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigt36BXRAwpdymhRz-gOzobz7UEMfRmzgIrDWNt5XLfh8I7nJYkp1E6VyDVRPZZHsjj5Q6SwKvYBbL0PhIkbyQdZPEaQMerP5WsFL_j8UDyXklXrCaf2ceadUqjwuRTZAEShC-AAMV_pfZ/s1600/dsc04039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigt36BXRAwpdymhRz-gOzobz7UEMfRmzgIrDWNt5XLfh8I7nJYkp1E6VyDVRPZZHsjj5Q6SwKvYBbL0PhIkbyQdZPEaQMerP5WsFL_j8UDyXklXrCaf2ceadUqjwuRTZAEShC-AAMV_pfZ/s320/dsc04039.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jigsaw Puzzles at Curtis Cafe</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leaving the chocolate festival around noon, our group headed to downtown Stafford for a meal at the Curtis Cafe, which is known for the hundreds of assembled jigsaw puzzles on the walls. We had a good meal here before heading back home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">What a great day to be out Exploring Kansas!</span></div><div align="left"><br />
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</div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-23249903695046455332010-10-06T16:53:00.001-05:002010-10-07T08:13:44.747-05:00McPherson Scottish Festival<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On Saturday, Sep 25, my wife Karen and I made a trip to McPherson, KS to attend the 17th Annual Scottish Festival. Karen has Scottish heritage in her family and has seen festivals in several states.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We arrived before noon and were able to see the midday ceremony and welcome. All the bands marched in seperately, along with dancers, and clans. There was a welcome from the mayor of McPherson, then a performance by the massed bands, and a Highland Fling dance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">After this, Karen and I went to the food area and did sample some ethnic food. I had a cottage pie, which is basically a beef stew inside a flaky pastry shell. It was hearty and very good. Karen had a scone with strawberries and cream which was also good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Next, we went to listen to Alex Beaton, a well known Scottish Folk Singer, who performed some of his songs under a tent. Just as his set was finishing, the heavens opened up and we got a thunderstorm with heavy downpours. Everyone scurried under cover for 20 - 30 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Then, Karen and I watched some of the athletic competition, including the women's caber toss. We also had the chance to see the sheep herding demonstration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Finally, we watched some of the bands perform in competition in front of some judges. Below is a video Karen shot of one of the bands.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwkSEkNzqo5Jrs8W1A50OyGu3fLHN4XoMSUL1MbZ1ApQr4EGZnd6P4Fe8A_lMVylyu0yb3m4yCLloRKXCgB4Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To see some photos of the festival, follow this link to our photo gallery:</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Events/2010McPhersonScottishFestival/13943950_u5kcE#1024570831_mzJVy">Scottish Festival Photo Gallery</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-9595575671654137962010-09-30T20:49:00.003-05:002010-10-06T15:30:12.819-05:00Kansas Cottonwood Trees<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I enjoy seeing Cottonwood trees around Kansas. Since I travel so many rural roads, I have seen many stately cottonwood trees, which are found mainly around and along streams and rivers.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The early settlers of Kansas prized finding cottonwood trees on the plains, because they knew there might be water nearby. Many of these trees were used as landmarks on the early trails.</span></div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">See some facts about cottonwood trees at the following page from the Great Plains Nature Center web pages:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.gpnc.org/cottonwood.htm"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.gpnc.org/cottonwood.htm</span></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fs5JKMy84q6lUCtkw4db3kSA6MnmuTdMo6YJToasNzJD2NVt3nEcKXGQ4kSiaNjoWg8LpMQOmDfpluepUzAmFmoTaHevJuM5wlE7kJm-3e0m0oCOG4ezurxEV4uwH-ZbyH_MRi3CYTG3/s1600/EasternCottonwood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fs5JKMy84q6lUCtkw4db3kSA6MnmuTdMo6YJToasNzJD2NVt3nEcKXGQ4kSiaNjoWg8LpMQOmDfpluepUzAmFmoTaHevJuM5wlE7kJm-3e0m0oCOG4ezurxEV4uwH-ZbyH_MRi3CYTG3/s320/EasternCottonwood.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastern Cottonwood near Studley</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have visited both of the largest known cottonwood trees in Kansas. The largest Eastern Cottonwood is near Studley in eastern Sheridan County in northwest Kansas. According to the Kansas Forest Service, this tree is over 35 ft in circumference (measured 4.5 ft off the ground), is 96 ft tall, and has a spread of 127 ft at the crown.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLwjFWcCjym-A1IWl9zm2zvLtXsyGadp7fcUXhb_mGNZ71fhbKNBrzMH5k0U-AuHWtZh4xjns_w5RDKeZHp-yT2dCnUFXzZxLBRUALFxcp_PJu-bp5QXI_AFKD2kGda4V8GHb5YaHyte5/s1600/p8255325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLwjFWcCjym-A1IWl9zm2zvLtXsyGadp7fcUXhb_mGNZ71fhbKNBrzMH5k0U-AuHWtZh4xjns_w5RDKeZHp-yT2dCnUFXzZxLBRUALFxcp_PJu-bp5QXI_AFKD2kGda4V8GHb5YaHyte5/s320/p8255325.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The largest Plains Cottonwood tree in Kansas is off West 4th Avenue on Avery Rd in western Reno County. I actually think this tree is more massive on it's trunk since is is tighter packed. I have visited this tree several times. It is almost 31 ft in circumference, 90 ft tall, and has a spread of 98 ft. Notice the size of the trunk in the photo below compared to me with outstretched arms. Note: the Poison Ivy did not seem to bother me.</span></div><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlKYOh5peLiJH24LXZE8qv4RDZEMRcG69I1xh4mHyVEfQClAuDK6Ke1QSHmWUdYGQAjpYdHs1cN6k_M_7i7Mx7lIbcTX8iAD59_l-daATwKtJgcNysNLT4HL_KjOuNk2Mpz7CTPB2bG4w/s1600/PlainsCottonwood2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlKYOh5peLiJH24LXZE8qv4RDZEMRcG69I1xh4mHyVEfQClAuDK6Ke1QSHmWUdYGQAjpYdHs1cN6k_M_7i7Mx7lIbcTX8iAD59_l-daATwKtJgcNysNLT4HL_KjOuNk2Mpz7CTPB2bG4w/s400/PlainsCottonwood2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plains Cottonwood trunk with me in front</td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Female cottonwood trees produce the fluffy white seeds in the spring to early summer that gives the tree it's name. See the photo below which shows a cottonwood seed shower I was in near Arlington, KS.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rB_b2NJplraaC2f1nMnPchxf_C0awo5N39JANoAsHEaL65UsR4XdseWJCuBYEi5sKtV0uvFgiQDlzdk-opZL4G-zmHjkvUHUaVud4lyCv8Xisl-9ID4yNLHAMNjVvoMEagC62v7NqUJM/s1600/pict5418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rB_b2NJplraaC2f1nMnPchxf_C0awo5N39JANoAsHEaL65UsR4XdseWJCuBYEi5sKtV0uvFgiQDlzdk-opZL4G-zmHjkvUHUaVud4lyCv8Xisl-9ID4yNLHAMNjVvoMEagC62v7NqUJM/s400/pict5418.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cottonwood Seed Shower</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also enjoy traveling down lanes with cottonwood trees lining both sides. A good example of this is a stretch of Herren Rd south of Greenfield Rd in Reno County, KS.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4bKBU9633mSJVL71hTo18Q8mDAkzsI1z1f1UeK_yBYopXZM7hrpae_7h6S3doKYlShaiRh9lzgC17wpea4pW7HJ146FoLGIxVyZote_uJvEqhpuURYW8lCw9jYyt4kt58yJ4Z23YZ-hD/s1600/Cottonwood+Lane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4bKBU9633mSJVL71hTo18Q8mDAkzsI1z1f1UeK_yBYopXZM7hrpae_7h6S3doKYlShaiRh9lzgC17wpea4pW7HJ146FoLGIxVyZote_uJvEqhpuURYW8lCw9jYyt4kt58yJ4Z23YZ-hD/s400/Cottonwood+Lane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Herren Road Cottonwoods</td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, another custom that attracts people to cottonwood trees is to attach something to the tree. There is a cottonwood tree near Wetmore in northeast Kansas, that people have been nailing shoes to for over 20 years. See the article about this tree at the following address on the Kansas Sampler Foundation's web pages:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/customsresults.php?id=230"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/customsresults.php?id=230</span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This tree inspired another. On a large cottonwood tree on his farm near Partridge, Jay Yoder has started a tree with license plates (tags). Nails and a hammer are provided so you can put your license plate on the tree facing towards your home. Karen and I visited this tree this past weekend and put her Indiana license on the tree facing northeast - See the photo below.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zx_SAtBCqV_IzAWSd9nuUzLntAPFOoGM4ZBbKv73a-F8PIEyq0HaCDf0DxrwWrJ35M5LrKd2T8V1dXxfFVI-5xE0R8EUaezVGXj0zCb3pOgEcdzP_gRkb0PXwZBgTpgaKAvmg7bTDqZr/s1600/Tag+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zx_SAtBCqV_IzAWSd9nuUzLntAPFOoGM4ZBbKv73a-F8PIEyq0HaCDf0DxrwWrJ35M5LrKd2T8V1dXxfFVI-5xE0R8EUaezVGXj0zCb3pOgEcdzP_gRkb0PXwZBgTpgaKAvmg7bTDqZr/s400/Tag+Tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jay Yoder's license plate Cottonwood</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In conclusion, it's no wonder that the cottonwood tree has been named the official Kansas state tree.</span></div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-73475260678034817552010-09-29T07:15:00.000-05:002010-09-29T07:15:45.579-05:00Ready to Explore Again<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have not been able to explore much this past summer due to a change in my life. On Aug 14, Karen and I were married in Fort Wayne, IN.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ5qZpSKYke8YTAmPCsGgHy6Rtkv2VBtWllt7FZI4zEQKTgepbR3FulqMYeDr3k34zCBK41neIV14eG03VgpooJAyAIl5pFitcRLvdTAluB6L2peNCYtW_YDKIuD6kWI-t-n-7yKpo3na/s1600/964050657_karenlarry1..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ5qZpSKYke8YTAmPCsGgHy6Rtkv2VBtWllt7FZI4zEQKTgepbR3FulqMYeDr3k34zCBK41neIV14eG03VgpooJAyAIl5pFitcRLvdTAluB6L2peNCYtW_YDKIuD6kWI-t-n-7yKpo3na/s400/964050657_karenlarry1..jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Since then, we have been arranging our house in Wichita, and have made a couple of short trips in this area.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Karen has not been to Kansas, except for one brief trip many years ago and she is looking forward to exploring the state with me. I'm excited that she and I can explore together, and we will continue to work on my "Dare to Do Dirt" quest together, along with taking other trips to introduce her to Kansas.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">More very soon.....</span>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-74004358572591521002010-05-08T12:45:00.006-05:002010-09-29T09:02:08.293-05:00Leavenworth County "Dare to do Dirt"<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While in Leavenworth for the Kansas Sampler Festival during the weekend of May 1-2, 2010, I had the opportunity to travel around Leavenworth County for my quest of doing at least 25 miles of unpaved roads in each county of Kansas. I have now finished 80 of the 105 counties in Kansas.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBd6QDsa_7hncOyoZaRvhBO9VcrNhr5rfJZE1jq2MXaKzUvu_rUQMIlm1EQNaer5dIgH75TqqbFJaZiihq9axW_rqWhhbtVrvr-If-Hr-G6f6Wk0BhWl52HFNC5u40wdK4asHUKzAow7T3/s1600/LeavenworthMap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBd6QDsa_7hncOyoZaRvhBO9VcrNhr5rfJZE1jq2MXaKzUvu_rUQMIlm1EQNaer5dIgH75TqqbFJaZiihq9axW_rqWhhbtVrvr-If-Hr-G6f6Wk0BhWl52HFNC5u40wdK4asHUKzAow7T3/s400/LeavenworthMap.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGzO5c6xgiAC3fSDHYvT4G_Nvm2Tksl46pz7uxr5tZmJhBPCHLJbYaOUC7ZKKkDUBbF8QuDxWxXcHhUhkD1r9Y9w1NfoISw9L-ewJ57hwW9gvlQkXKRxayYrk0bCMN81GjhDp2ypbm99P/s1600/dsc00741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGzO5c6xgiAC3fSDHYvT4G_Nvm2Tksl46pz7uxr5tZmJhBPCHLJbYaOUC7ZKKkDUBbF8QuDxWxXcHhUhkD1r9Y9w1NfoISw9L-ewJ57hwW9gvlQkXKRxayYrk0bCMN81GjhDp2ypbm99P/s400/dsc00741.jpg" tt="true" width="266" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This is a map of the area showing my GPS track laid out on the Leavenworth County area. I travelled about 135 miles in the county, and of course it was not all unpaved roads. For a guy from the flatland area of Kansas, it was especially nice to take some up and down roads in this the Glacial Hills region of the state.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1wEO4cs_FpSXIlte2w08i-E1ao7sGqgB3phLjskZhyXLtLBvnWgLJuU3qjGDoLFMGnSmBb5OZdQp2U89Sy05bjNtf6BELyThgVD6i0CGtK_MFkaPvPkovsNruf2dDmrco9OtoDuCv_2s/s1600/dsc00732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1wEO4cs_FpSXIlte2w08i-E1ao7sGqgB3phLjskZhyXLtLBvnWgLJuU3qjGDoLFMGnSmBb5OZdQp2U89Sy05bjNtf6BELyThgVD6i0CGtK_MFkaPvPkovsNruf2dDmrco9OtoDuCv_2s/s320/dsc00732.jpg" tt="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Saturday, May 1, I left the city of Leavenworth and headed north. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">A pleasant surprise for me was the area around the settlement of Kickapoo, in far northeast Leavenworth County. I visited the town memorial cemetery, then stopped at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. At this site in 1836, the first Catholic Church in Kansas was built of logs for the Kickapoo Indians then in this area.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">From Kickapoo, I travelled across the hills near the northern border of Leavenworth County, first passing over a bridge over Little Plum Creek in an especially scenic area, and then found an abandoned iron through truss bridge over Stranger Creek in the northwest corner of the county. This bridge was abandoned in place and a new concrete bridge was built nearby over the creek.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNt44KP46IF_Qab1t86CelittKm9GMPozUFYYFND1aMjsdNz2Ra0dBrmn3nzPv6VwDNgSAv-_VF2na07vnSo4sMmB1b3dTcMJTEx9ASKxN7AVpCA2vybYg2hyphenhyphenumMS4eYwDBBOpw2iSBVQ/s1600/dsc00752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNt44KP46IF_Qab1t86CelittKm9GMPozUFYYFND1aMjsdNz2Ra0dBrmn3nzPv6VwDNgSAv-_VF2na07vnSo4sMmB1b3dTcMJTEx9ASKxN7AVpCA2vybYg2hyphenhyphenumMS4eYwDBBOpw2iSBVQ/s400/dsc00752.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqfSH2havLX9HmjVdHLgxo73-uyZTfnJuRjcqKG5fWCoRnrE7DZUJnBA4hJ2Ye99c5Wnft2CcqNotOfIqyDX2_Z4yqKron9NwiV85-iX-EvWuX_YaI80061xIY-5eOr-UVPXWyvwFz3rr/s1600/dsc00784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqfSH2havLX9HmjVdHLgxo73-uyZTfnJuRjcqKG5fWCoRnrE7DZUJnBA4hJ2Ye99c5Wnft2CcqNotOfIqyDX2_Z4yqKron9NwiV85-iX-EvWuX_YaI80061xIY-5eOr-UVPXWyvwFz3rr/s400/dsc00784.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I then ended up in the town of Easton, where I admired the several old limestone buildings in town and found another small abandoned truss bridge behind the former school at the northwest corner of town.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">From Easton, I headed south across rural areas of the county with many great views of hills, streams and barns. I drove through the Jarbalo area, then headed to the Tonganoxie area. I found Camp Mt Hermon, just west of Tonganoxie, which is a Church of the Brethren camp. Then, I headed into Tonganoxie for dinner.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BcerM3P9K77I-DAliZX-17uSTfAKFtLZneey5r2WSRoNan-hZMxj3X9Wm3LII9lmvGAq9V64vyNhb1dhk_sm13y6GL-YYdJlLZ2GKwOtsfITIyh4Fmr1i6ogoLpwrvTOd1EqQJgv8Ark/s1600/dsc00893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BcerM3P9K77I-DAliZX-17uSTfAKFtLZneey5r2WSRoNan-hZMxj3X9Wm3LII9lmvGAq9V64vyNhb1dhk_sm13y6GL-YYdJlLZ2GKwOtsfITIyh4Fmr1i6ogoLpwrvTOd1EqQJgv8Ark/s400/dsc00893.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I had a fantastic KC Strip steak dinner at Bichelmeyer's Steakhouse in Tonganoxie. It was served with cottage fries which were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The steak was cooked medium just as I ordered, and was so good with a great flavor and quite tender. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the serving staff was constantly tending to me. All in all, a great experience and I would recommend Bichelmeyer's to anyone. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">For more information about Bichelmeyer's see their web page:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.bichelmeyers.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.bichelmeyers.com/index.html</span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From Tonganoxie, I headed east and north back to Leavenworth across rural areas, but stopped to look at the Fairmount area along the way.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">On Sunday, May 2, I left Leavenworth, and after escaping a thunderstorm, I took a drive across the southern part of Leavenworth County. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0grBhyphenhyphenOB_iCiugeahamH7Z6ZN1XK46Rtegk_db_FOSZ2TZWWDoXGl9bIdK0W98iCCfMAP1bqLrRDD3WDKDi953_7mzGqsICXHIsQe3ylzI63KpWPWKqaKkXK2WEkXp32K1zG-gwhaNN_f/s1600/dsc00988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0grBhyphenhyphenOB_iCiugeahamH7Z6ZN1XK46Rtegk_db_FOSZ2TZWWDoXGl9bIdK0W98iCCfMAP1bqLrRDD3WDKDi953_7mzGqsICXHIsQe3ylzI63KpWPWKqaKkXK2WEkXp32K1zG-gwhaNN_f/s320/dsc00988.jpg" tt="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I visited Stranger Creek Cemetery northeast of Linwood, then went into Linwood for a visit. I noticed a beautiful brick Basehor / Linwood middle school building, and old cemetery in town and an iron truss railroad bridge over Stranger Creek just southeast of town.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYnasPyiIZz7CXV9DxDvjZJYkBlyi3V6-vF3BB-PFNsXUzYdpyLzsW0WVuR1isdD_QUkkw53JwLcDXOrIIoUdfheD_Se08Revb26Ds-1bqD84-5IcaRAKoPHFh8mKBb6EwNTVHiT0QSKS/s1600/dsc01023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYnasPyiIZz7CXV9DxDvjZJYkBlyi3V6-vF3BB-PFNsXUzYdpyLzsW0WVuR1isdD_QUkkw53JwLcDXOrIIoUdfheD_Se08Revb26Ds-1bqD84-5IcaRAKoPHFh8mKBb6EwNTVHiT0QSKS/s320/dsc01023.jpg" tt="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After leaving Linwood, I continued west near the Kansas River, and drove down to the Union Pacific railroad tracks in the Fall Leaf area. Then continuing on west I stopped to view the road and railroad bridges over Mud Creek in the far southwest part of Leavenworth County.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I left Leavenworth County, headed into Lawrence, and headed on home. It was a nice 2 day journey around Leavenworth County.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">For a group of photos around Leavenworth County, visit my gallery at the following link:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-East-Kansas/Leavenworth-County-Dirt/12032219_FyeB9#853723119_yyNzv"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Larry Hornbaker's Leavenworth County Gallery</span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-2958780652789324222010-05-07T17:21:00.001-05:002010-05-07T17:24:28.447-05:002010 Kansas Sampler Festival<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had the opportunity to attend both days of the 2010 Kansas Sampler Festival, held May 1 - 2, 2010 in Ray Miller Park in Leavenworth.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjceqVM7ziDa0MNYEkHmqtX6g0fx90JmJ3lN9z31Q7Kijqqf7vqXmELVKXsKMlrEE6W3JYN5sSqkTG41iys50k3MHDgje8AbiH4vO3u7ObhPmlHCM1zPo-dzt3UaPWJIJci1mLkhWXuK5/s1600/paige.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjceqVM7ziDa0MNYEkHmqtX6g0fx90JmJ3lN9z31Q7Kijqqf7vqXmELVKXsKMlrEE6W3JYN5sSqkTG41iys50k3MHDgje8AbiH4vO3u7ObhPmlHCM1zPo-dzt3UaPWJIJci1mLkhWXuK5/s400/paige.jpg" tt="true" width="266" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This year, I attended the opening ceremonies for the first time. I enjoyed the parade of flags, welcome speeches by the Leavenworth organizers and Marci Penner, the performance by the Leavenworth High School Honor Guard, the national anthem performance by Allison Sowle and Theresa Hernandez. The highlight for me however, was young Paige Padgett portraying Dorothy and singing "Somewhere over the Rainbow".</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I was able to meet many of my Kansas Explorer friends and other friends from around Kansas during my visits. All the volunteers at the community exhibits were friendly and helpful as always is the case.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sunday morning was the annual Kansas Explorers Club meeting. This meeting is sort of the un-official start to the spring, summer and fall exploring season. It's always a good time to get energized and hear what other explorers are doing and planning.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_g5pl4MCFoI8Pc7fMg79VxPWjmXVGwGdu3uP0qopC6MTlsmjhE3rQwYuX0xi5deUOQCYKsIGEtCU9dtmnZvVDZVosTIGOFxp4KRIKyyJv45zyw4tfYiIP1Q_D_y2OF97YEM1Egiln-iK/s1600/foodcourt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_g5pl4MCFoI8Pc7fMg79VxPWjmXVGwGdu3uP0qopC6MTlsmjhE3rQwYuX0xi5deUOQCYKsIGEtCU9dtmnZvVDZVosTIGOFxp4KRIKyyJv45zyw4tfYiIP1Q_D_y2OF97YEM1Egiln-iK/s400/foodcourt.jpg" tt="true" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Finally, there is much good Kansas made and produced food. This year I sampled a pulled pork sandwich from Pachta Pork of Belleville, a bierock from Becky's Bierocks of St Francis, a German Sausage from Krehbiel's Meats of McPherson, a brisket sandwich meal from Big Dog BBQ of Paola, some cinnamon pecans from Nuts 4 Us of Lenexa, a cherry limeade from Fun Time Confections of Wichita and beef jerky from Ranchers Best Beef of Grenola.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">For more information about the festival including it's purpose and history, see the following link from the Kansas Sampler Foundation:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.kansassampler.org/festival/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kansas Sampler Festival</span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">For a gallery of my photos taken during the festival see the following link:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Events/Kansas-Sampler-Foundation/Kansas-Sampler-Festival-2010/12035534_RqMHT#854018556_jybxW"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Larry Hornbaker's 2010 Sampler Festival Photo Gallery</span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The festival will be held again in Leavenworth on May 7-8, 2011. Come join the fun!</span></div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-90313034625970849362010-04-18T08:16:00.000-05:002010-04-18T08:16:47.493-05:00A Quick Trip to South Sumner County<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday was a nice sunny spring day, and I decided late in the afternoon that it was time for a short trip.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmZ5flJr9DiQGkfcm-AHza_et0V5tcA_UUKtIvchkJgMkFD45xR5lzO3hBI8OZ9A5ujUkeISKQN6uXj8YfIx4WvJT38iolsW5SFQdDLnG5ThfdeL8v2-bASmAL8Z9emKW-N-57g4G9UUF/s1600/dsc00517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmZ5flJr9DiQGkfcm-AHza_et0V5tcA_UUKtIvchkJgMkFD45xR5lzO3hBI8OZ9A5ujUkeISKQN6uXj8YfIx4WvJT38iolsW5SFQdDLnG5ThfdeL8v2-bASmAL8Z9emKW-N-57g4G9UUF/s400/dsc00517.jpg" width="400" wt="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I made a quick dash to southern Sumner County near the Oklahoma border. First stop was the Rose Hill Cemetery, just east of the town of South Haven. I found a cemetery still active and growing spread out over a fairly large area. In the back of the cemetery is a flag pole with a veteran's memorial, and just in front of that is a memorial to Rex Wise, a Navy veteran who was on the USS Oklahoma, and was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I next headed down to Hunnewell for a visit. I stopped to again read the memorial to Hunnewell and the Real Cherokee Strip at Main St and US 177 highway, then drove back into town for a look. The community windmill and water pump is still there, even more encased with vines since the last time I saw it.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJSwldBlpB931yohJn1oWSqVAKxxt5mkQ2RJ5J77_DKtIObHPcZNPLyxWinYdP59-UefWLzS8tQQeCoE-VbjV9JGO2Sqmg0n1D_dhyOmo0iFYsFMQnqGq4q-npu0FXuluMukcqV_uwg4J/s1600/dsc00535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJSwldBlpB931yohJn1oWSqVAKxxt5mkQ2RJ5J77_DKtIObHPcZNPLyxWinYdP59-UefWLzS8tQQeCoE-VbjV9JGO2Sqmg0n1D_dhyOmo0iFYsFMQnqGq4q-npu0FXuluMukcqV_uwg4J/s400/dsc00535.jpg" width="400" wt="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I had heard of an abandoned truss bridge over Shoo-Fly Creek just east of Hunnewell, so I started out on 200th Street (the Kansas/Oklahoma border) to find it. I could not get through yesterday though, due to a very muddy rutty road. Will have to try again some other time.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwedxvwuCsJ2s6sWazeI3Y8Y9C-uHUamZjIlxljUlRw1cPsiKfSIr031uZPigmn18e7owUBzGLh0jvJ9-AS7l8E7CMS4oAXVallk8D7_lnUwjA1jHKkdgftBk-YPutCNIijEuB-K1bRnFQ/s1600/dsc00561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwedxvwuCsJ2s6sWazeI3Y8Y9C-uHUamZjIlxljUlRw1cPsiKfSIr031uZPigmn18e7owUBzGLh0jvJ9-AS7l8E7CMS4oAXVallk8D7_lnUwjA1jHKkdgftBk-YPutCNIijEuB-K1bRnFQ/s400/dsc00561.jpg" width="400" wt="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After a quick trip east to the town of Ashton, I then headed to Wellington for dinner at Fabiola's Mexican Restaurant. I ordered tacos de carne asada, which were very good. The grilled steak was very tender and they brought a plate with chopped tomatoes, chopped onion and cilantro, lettuce, and shredded cheese to add to the tacos. This seemed even fresher that the pico de galle I usually get with this dish at other restaurants.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Fabiola's is open Tuesday thru Friday for lunch, closed afternoons and open again for dinner. They are open Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 9 PM. Closed Mondays. Phone 620-326-6554 for more information.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">All in all, I had a great 5 hour trip.</span></div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-84591375449453988992010-01-19T06:49:00.000-06:002010-01-19T06:49:06.998-06:00Some Time in Newton and a Wichita Restaurant Tradition<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It had been a number of weeks since I had the chance to go out on a day trip due to the weather and other commitments. When the sun came out this past Saturday afternoon, I made a sudden decision to head out.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't get too far from Wichita, and ended up at Newton for several hours. First, I had to make a stop at The Breadbasket. While it wasn't the time to enjoy a German meal, I did pick up some baked goods, namely some coffee cake and cinnamon rolls. The Breadbasket is open daily. See more at: </span><br />
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</div> <a href="http://www.newtonbreadbasket.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.newtonbreadbasket.com/</span></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpIoJOWhFvWBdPF20ic-5iknk-ajdGtPiBJa-V10ZucQmbznaQIv_yCzCRw_Wihyscy3GlvljuqKEoPHRtqdSxzTHX7GLdO4gfhqs9RouiE2dUQBo3zkMxYb5pmTp_ihz-6D3eOSr5R-o/s1600-h/dsc09141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpIoJOWhFvWBdPF20ic-5iknk-ajdGtPiBJa-V10ZucQmbznaQIv_yCzCRw_Wihyscy3GlvljuqKEoPHRtqdSxzTHX7GLdO4gfhqs9RouiE2dUQBo3zkMxYb5pmTp_ihz-6D3eOSr5R-o/s200/dsc09141.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXzjaDmESc5hzG_B8q3LCxfhDXTPm0_Bhyy2M2Ggq_f-gm9gRPYhPacI4mHIISD7s7kY13sS7FiTiU1sNyYfqyRwwN5JmkVvK3a_kY3yNgTwA0Zfjtl77Tiqcb4zxLCU6W6Z5NhtjX9Za/s1600-h/dsc09146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXzjaDmESc5hzG_B8q3LCxfhDXTPm0_Bhyy2M2Ggq_f-gm9gRPYhPacI4mHIISD7s7kY13sS7FiTiU1sNyYfqyRwwN5JmkVvK3a_kY3yNgTwA0Zfjtl77Tiqcb4zxLCU6W6Z5NhtjX9Za/s320/dsc09146.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then, I went on to the beautiful Newton train station. I did not have the opportunity to go inside, but spent some time admiring the beauty of the architecture. This building is on the National Register of Historic Places. I marveled at the multi-colored bricks. Not only were the bricks several colors, but each brick itself was sometimes 2 or 3 colors.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUe40FTiC3NlLoTY1LRDlcCzOrzgK9wobOiNeTaRJjHyL5RJNo8uStj4gyg8AAFv691_Gcmv2U5fFUoZxIy1NQ5EH7vojYNtbBh659q1vLJRTZJwSE5CzG6C_80-OHJJ8EBltvYHbLGCF/s1600-h/dsc09173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUe40FTiC3NlLoTY1LRDlcCzOrzgK9wobOiNeTaRJjHyL5RJNo8uStj4gyg8AAFv691_Gcmv2U5fFUoZxIy1NQ5EH7vojYNtbBh659q1vLJRTZJwSE5CzG6C_80-OHJJ8EBltvYHbLGCF/s320/dsc09173.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Next, it was an old favorite of mine, the 1880 Santa Fe steam locomotive at Military Park at 7th and Oak. I enjoy the nostalgia associated with steam trains, and have visited this example a number of times. It's amazing all the interconnected parts work to propel these beasts at high speed. I took a number of photos of the parts of this locomotive.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3XSi1UKoaT8ibHNv6F-ZVXFH3cp0dEYasjTVSa3BPNgQia1Xox4IeNlar1CxJcfpd2jGOEH-Tfr8UT2vRcZHZU0HLinIqZTkQjNXSSCf6Re-6zbwSUrNJjpWhBmQAua02wN-gjMKkisb/s1600-h/dsc09188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3XSi1UKoaT8ibHNv6F-ZVXFH3cp0dEYasjTVSa3BPNgQia1Xox4IeNlar1CxJcfpd2jGOEH-Tfr8UT2vRcZHZU0HLinIqZTkQjNXSSCf6Re-6zbwSUrNJjpWhBmQAua02wN-gjMKkisb/s320/dsc09188.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Also, I went to Centennial Park at 12th and Kansas to see the Blue Sky Sculpture, which I hadn't seen before. This is an amazing free standing tile sculpture which blends in with the Kansas sky. What an impressive work by Phil Epp and others! I also noticed this theme on paintings on the water tower and some businesses downtown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Next, I went to North Newton to visit the campus of Bethel College. I parked my vehicle and walked a bit along the sidewalks marvelling at the beautiful brick and limestone architecture. See my photo gallery link (below) for some the the views I noticed here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I finished my journey to Newton by visiting the Chisholm Trail monument downtown and the Mennonite Farmer statue in Athletic Park, before heading back to Wichita.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYbNIX909DOim3dl4JwletoSi6QDkASojL_Mp-Gw1eKAkh8UeK-b0vsHX_FzJBtQGSaUhi0ytYZQwq8KaYbvjKNoZzN95SDU_G6uycmdWOo5ee5XnNLnOEfrzbO2y6lvf7ngZ6cMk5El_/s1600-h/dsc09248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjYbNIX909DOim3dl4JwletoSi6QDkASojL_Mp-Gw1eKAkh8UeK-b0vsHX_FzJBtQGSaUhi0ytYZQwq8KaYbvjKNoZzN95SDU_G6uycmdWOo5ee5XnNLnOEfrzbO2y6lvf7ngZ6cMk5El_/s320/dsc09248.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I met some of my family for dinner at Savute's Italian Restaurant on north Broadway in Wichita. None of us had yet been to this institution which dates back to 1944. We all found the food to be excellent, the service very friendly and helpful, and had a great experience. My lasagna had plenty of melted cheese with great pasta and sweet Italian sausage. All of us agreed we would be back soon. </span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Savute's is open daily for dinner from 4:30 to 11:30 PM. Learn more about Savute's at the 360 Wichita page:</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.360wichita.com/Restaurants/Italian/SavutesItalianRistoriante.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Savute's Italian Restaurant</span></a><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To see some of my favorite images from around Newton that I've taken on numerous visits, see my photo gallery:</span><br />
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</div><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Kansas-Exploring/South-Central-Kansas/Newton/10965386_Mb7or#766280439_ynXFA"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Larry Hornbaker's Newton photo gallery</span></a>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-20428040290034964412009-12-05T10:50:00.000-06:002009-12-05T10:50:14.978-06:00An Afternoon in Washington County<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last weekend, I had the opportunity to take a "Dare to do Dirt" loop around a portion of Washington County in North Central Kansas.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rhItQTE1QJ7utSAMbetlhROwoLuOQhN7Szy0ROKdftxjAMVKzAOIhukqELK4t-n0Loo1teZ21NqHtaBIWZkdn4qldTbtcvOs6J0U9SBZvrUJIIkTa1DG4B0mw3JVqKSwARJ6fasEDLz3/s1600-h/PalmerCafe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" er="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rhItQTE1QJ7utSAMbetlhROwoLuOQhN7Szy0ROKdftxjAMVKzAOIhukqELK4t-n0Loo1teZ21NqHtaBIWZkdn4qldTbtcvOs6J0U9SBZvrUJIIkTa1DG4B0mw3JVqKSwARJ6fasEDLz3/s320/PalmerCafe.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I entered the county in the south and headed to Palmer where I had a buffet lunch at the Palmer Cafe. While in town, I also went to the grocery store for a few items, then drove around town. This small town had several businesses downtown and the elegant St Paul Lutheran church. I was impressed to see that such a small town was still vibrant and well.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c-JRUhNFDz8zvvMKPr4W-zZO5lftAIcH6xWbPfLPta3u1FAkae796QuHkdzw2nXQ4y49AK1s_KiDGqSFN5TNYzvSB6h49Ejhd7CE-UB4fFPPQRUemrb5t9ZY98-sb3ey4dtEdLgM1O4f/s1600-h/JacksFoodStore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" er="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c-JRUhNFDz8zvvMKPr4W-zZO5lftAIcH6xWbPfLPta3u1FAkae796QuHkdzw2nXQ4y49AK1s_KiDGqSFN5TNYzvSB6h49Ejhd7CE-UB4fFPPQRUemrb5t9ZY98-sb3ey4dtEdLgM1O4f/s320/JacksFoodStore.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Then I went on to Linn to see another small town. I noticed several churches, a unique clothesline mural downtown, a nice city park, and another local grocery store, Jack's Food Store. I purchased some polish sausages and pork jerky from Jack's to take home - both were good.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Next up was the town of Greenleaf. I noticed a mix of older abandoned buildings and newer structures and some nice residential areas. The farmer's COOP was active, and there were several churches and a nice downtown area. The two limestone WPA community buildings were very striking.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">From Greenleaf, I headed east, then north to the Little Blue River valley. I headed up a hill to Pine Hill Cemetery, where I found the grave of Ezra Perkins, a Pony Express Rider in 1860 & 1861. The views from this cemetery were great all around. </span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrvcZnV3iWor0OTjxUYXCrTVuX4aZjkvtWrCpGXUO0rrGL8J_10tnHRyNWeaYXz_ItsMxqhyphenhyphenSTV4F4szCf4WStrITzInT4tH001VTuSvaILFXPDatuNK6r-F0a7IqZg8G9C3jQTKBeLKI/s1600-h/Bulldozer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" er="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrvcZnV3iWor0OTjxUYXCrTVuX4aZjkvtWrCpGXUO0rrGL8J_10tnHRyNWeaYXz_ItsMxqhyphenhyphenSTV4F4szCf4WStrITzInT4tH001VTuSvaILFXPDatuNK6r-F0a7IqZg8G9C3jQTKBeLKI/s320/Bulldozer.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I headed north thru Hanover, then west across central Washington County, noticing great views in the hills. This area is in the Smokey Hills psysiographic area, but other parts of this county are actually in the Glacial Hills and Flint Hills regions. I eventually ended up in Morrowville, where I stopped to see the replica of the world's first patented bulldozer in the city park. I was also struck by the elegant old concrete water tower structure.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNju3Ems3KUSXg3a9JKukexQrq2_ZvrBTj_bnMX3uI5JavXtbRx0hkiyEnpvdvWpwmO58HFuLRerOcs-jSl4iTucBQuJrHCNx6MOKcltcBvlP9rBwrjJf5SCXVYZagplzk6hL5z5P8rdUV/s1600-h/Strawberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" er="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNju3Ems3KUSXg3a9JKukexQrq2_ZvrBTj_bnMX3uI5JavXtbRx0hkiyEnpvdvWpwmO58HFuLRerOcs-jSl4iTucBQuJrHCNx6MOKcltcBvlP9rBwrjJf5SCXVYZagplzk6hL5z5P8rdUV/s320/Strawberry.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After leaving Morrowville, I headed south then west to visit two former town sites. First, I went through Enosdale, where I found some crumbling wood structures and an active Friends Cemetery. Then I headed west on K-148 and stopped at the monument to the former townsite of Strawberry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I enjoyed my visit to Washington County and need to go back to see more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">To see more of my photos from Washington County visit my gallery at the following link:</span><br />
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<a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-Central-Kansas/Washington-C/10459716_WGxah#725753685_q3JbF"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-Central-Kansas/Washington-C/10459716_WGxah#725753685_q3JbF</span></a>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-3671918097526841392009-11-21T14:53:00.001-06:002009-11-21T14:58:33.753-06:00Dare to do Dirt - Miami and Linn Counties, Kansas<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last week I had the opportunity to travel some backroads in Miami and Linn counties in eastern Kansas.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77otx1a8YQm4ac36_gvfGDbk5ThsRNpNVE36Mb7ulBTQyZGjuSzZdPb6FKsxPSml9JsZABxyB9ionbShAqF-LdDvZ-ZgQnSIrHFpMYXbvdHAQOpAr-l0UtGcvOpmLUoOQHQN0-1Irw56h/s1600/dsc07364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77otx1a8YQm4ac36_gvfGDbk5ThsRNpNVE36Mb7ulBTQyZGjuSzZdPb6FKsxPSml9JsZABxyB9ionbShAqF-LdDvZ-ZgQnSIrHFpMYXbvdHAQOpAr-l0UtGcvOpmLUoOQHQN0-1Irw56h/s320/dsc07364.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I had made a loop around most of Miami County on a past visit, but wanted to see the easternmost part of the county, so I entered Miami County in the northeast corner and visited the community of Bucyrus for a few minutes, then headed east and found the beautiful Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church at Wea. I also visited the cemetery out back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Then, I headed southeast around the town of Louisburg, then south to visit the wood deck pony truss bridge over South Wea Creek. I continued on south into the southeast corner of Miami County and stopped to view the pony truss bridge over an arm of LaCygne Lake on 399th Street. This was a very beautiful area that I would have liked to see a few weeks earlier in full fall color.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I then went on south into the northeast part of Linn County. First stop was the town of LaCygne, the city of swans. There were swan statues all over town. I had a good hamburger steak with great grilled onions at the Family Cafe just east of town.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6WkDqCeiK8h0iOjUlr4T1QOf2IGIuSrhLM9ab44IoyV2goiwtikttrZ1_zY6753W-71N71HpHDxalOSoOF6VFjxmKJVU1ylLp_SJpDw1OuyxkDyk6LCqtHuEZpdb50hPJNeq1IJDAjLR/s1600/dsc07502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6WkDqCeiK8h0iOjUlr4T1QOf2IGIuSrhLM9ab44IoyV2goiwtikttrZ1_zY6753W-71N71HpHDxalOSoOF6VFjxmKJVU1ylLp_SJpDw1OuyxkDyk6LCqtHuEZpdb50hPJNeq1IJDAjLR/s320/dsc07502.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">From LaCygne, I traveled southeast to the Marais des Cygnes Massacre historic site, where in 1858, 11 free state people were rounded up by pro-slavery ruffians, lined up along a ravine, shot and left for dead. Interpretive signs help tell the story about this incident. The beautiful stone Hadsell house used as a museum was closed for the season.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Next up was a visit to Trading Post Cemetery. Settlement in this area began with French traders in 1825. The museum was closed for the season, but I saw evidence of many early settlers in the cemetery.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOdeWzsjDHlcC0CJVrO_xUqKwRnNj16nRiEzgkPRmjEpOYEVYM6ymUS3KYg9YM5N07ogL9IpE-xC_5gCruA4bIqzBg5dh4lQHMdsCTpEMtb2ZAL1_GSW_3C8PYcKQ2kv7HoJUIlpTdQFt/s1600/dsc07582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOdeWzsjDHlcC0CJVrO_xUqKwRnNj16nRiEzgkPRmjEpOYEVYM6ymUS3KYg9YM5N07ogL9IpE-xC_5gCruA4bIqzBg5dh4lQHMdsCTpEMtb2ZAL1_GSW_3C8PYcKQ2kv7HoJUIlpTdQFt/s320/dsc07582.jpg" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I continued on south past Pleasanton and visited the Rainbow Arch bridge over Mine Creek. I did not visit Mine Creek Battlefield Park on this visit, but intend to do so on another trip. The next town was Prescott, where I noticed the school which has been converted into the town library, and the beautiful brick elementary school which in now City Hall. Not far southwest of Prescott, I found a beautiful triple arch stone bridge over East Laberdie Creek.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxX3aFVuWW6_iTYmCrCQwLVIF9KoPvXhWYmkELqIVH8YCNbG-5z40OWfA7djh4vbx-p1vg4vSwXczIP-oh39idyiblvhsti2NCOknYQMnnbEO5VzuvEKGDCwQq3q_kfjT7YVOEsvGl-VlM/s1600/dsc07631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxX3aFVuWW6_iTYmCrCQwLVIF9KoPvXhWYmkELqIVH8YCNbG-5z40OWfA7djh4vbx-p1vg4vSwXczIP-oh39idyiblvhsti2NCOknYQMnnbEO5VzuvEKGDCwQq3q_kfjT7YVOEsvGl-VlM/s320/dsc07631.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After going on west across the southern part of Linn County, I turned north and visited the communities of Centerville, Goodrich, and Parker. I was happy to find the active Matthes Farm and Field store in Centerville which obviously served the farms in that area. In Goodrich, I noticed the stone church at the south end of town and visited the elegant Five (5!!) arch stone bridge at the end of the lane. The bar and grill in Parker is now closed, but I did see a couple of churches there and a large Christmas lights display at one house.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">All in all, I had a great day exploring parts of two counties. To view more of my photos see the following links to my galleries:</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-East-Kansas/Miami-County-Dirt/4576724_Bvwjv#269790568_gquhZ"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Miami County Photos by Larry Hornbaker</span></a><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/Southeast-Kansas/Linn-County-Dirt/10310991_aq3ey#712566293_Ybfyg"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Linn County Photos by Larry Hornbaker</span></a><br />
</div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-63590221170956056262009-11-21T11:11:00.000-06:002009-11-21T11:11:35.144-06:00There is Still a Rural Johnson County<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last week I made a trip to northeast Kansas. While there, I took a couple of loops around the western and southern parts of Johnson County in order to complete my "Dare to do Dirt" quest for the county. I found that suburbia is fast encroaching as it is in Sedgwick County around Wichita, my home. I was pleased to still find some rural areas in Johnson County.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I began by entering the southwest corner of the county and stopping at the Edgerton Cemetery, then heading into town. I admired the architecture including the historic Grange Hall, and the public library, with it's sign "Bank of Knowledge", along with several churches.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XTCKP4lgEv9pizYMXklP4DZpkBliSfBVUA_0eQT43XEKDIVO-alDiXGky48Zuryd_s9QOEhQUQwA3CUVR21NyI6Yfs2e0cCcDqiZL_alHMK2nNyuVkvT2rWHbSznJc2cigcCe114NAWN/s1600/dsc07278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XTCKP4lgEv9pizYMXklP4DZpkBliSfBVUA_0eQT43XEKDIVO-alDiXGky48Zuryd_s9QOEhQUQwA3CUVR21NyI6Yfs2e0cCcDqiZL_alHMK2nNyuVkvT2rWHbSznJc2cigcCe114NAWN/s320/dsc07278.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After leaving Edgerton, I drove out to the Lanesfield School site which is on the National Register of Historic Places. This school, dating back to 1869, has been restored to it's 1904 version. I also enjoyed visiting the museum building to learn about the one room schools all over Kansas over the years.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4QPloIue1AF2Z5IgmaewZ4jUNUrFIxXd5iVBNGB2vX_hT2G1eRGyBNwSHasv61h4PwCAaMyk3cpiENrzLmqkHd4lHRKJ_YeXzyrV453iXiTAQDPqEOOs1bdoW7GAC3OiXtN7X5fAWIkT/s1600/dsc07302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4QPloIue1AF2Z5IgmaewZ4jUNUrFIxXd5iVBNGB2vX_hT2G1eRGyBNwSHasv61h4PwCAaMyk3cpiENrzLmqkHd4lHRKJ_YeXzyrV453iXiTAQDPqEOOs1bdoW7GAC3OiXtN7X5fAWIkT/s320/dsc07302.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I then continued north into the western part of Johnson County near the border with Douglas County. I visited a beautiful pony truss bridge over Captain Creek on west 127th Street near the Sunflower Army Ammunition plant. Then, I went around the corner and up the hill to visit the somewhat remote Prairie Center Cemetery, which was on a hill with mature cedar trees.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifx8tgTCv7jzFUSonY6ngNV1EcCCpnNNRr6gE_aVg1xM0SCpt1_mzGgxIXP467bZ6kJsbpyUoA-1TQVNBe98WgW9thqYY4iwapnKJb_dkJKR6tgPLrkVmVQAwVHpeRzYbrwBBoKmqo8Pjn/s1600/dsc07704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifx8tgTCv7jzFUSonY6ngNV1EcCCpnNNRr6gE_aVg1xM0SCpt1_mzGgxIXP467bZ6kJsbpyUoA-1TQVNBe98WgW9thqYY4iwapnKJb_dkJKR6tgPLrkVmVQAwVHpeRzYbrwBBoKmqo8Pjn/s320/dsc07704.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On another day, I made a loop across the southern part of Johnson County. I found a number of horse farms in this area and saw one dairy farm too. I did go east to State Line Road to the Missouri border for a few miles then headed back west across the far southern part of the county. A couple of gems I found were a low water bridge giving a great view of Camp Branch Creek on 175th Street near the Missouri border and a unique wagon wheel fence along a sod grass farm not far from Stillwell.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a gallery of my favorite images and videos from Johnson County, please visit the following link to my Smugmug gallery:</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-East-Kansas/Johnson-County-Dirt/10299665_M9f2N#711718994_Ft8rP"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Larry Hornbaker's Johnson County Photos</span></a><br />
</div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-89823025074371492712009-11-19T23:32:00.000-06:002009-11-19T23:32:13.958-06:00Some Great Cuisine in Northeast Kansas<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This past week, I had the opportunity to take a 3 day trip to northeast Kansas. During this time, I had some memorable meals.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANgy7KNfD4Le60iUAGzX2-mhrjuskSi1NCA2anFtfDlAqbH_bMJDo6fv06jfc8RSVP5t79Vt-gI68ms3bfMTBORKnMalirVJ4FK-ZsW4AtTn3n9CBsRL112VBnDC-4r_4ftf_S7IkGfZC/s1600/dsc07216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANgy7KNfD4Le60iUAGzX2-mhrjuskSi1NCA2anFtfDlAqbH_bMJDo6fv06jfc8RSVP5t79Vt-gI68ms3bfMTBORKnMalirVJ4FK-ZsW4AtTn3n9CBsRL112VBnDC-4r_4ftf_S7IkGfZC/s320/dsc07216.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I had a smoked chicken meal at Smokey's BBQ in Wellsville in northeast Franklin County. I ordered my meal with potato salad and baked beans. The chicken was wafer sliced, contained a very generous serving and was well smoked. The baked beans contained chunks of ham and were very good. I enjoyed the chunky medium sauce on the chicken. They also serve a good apple bread that is the consistency of cornbread. Smokey's is open daily at 510 Main in Wellsville. Phone 785-883-4119.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Based on a recommendation of Keith Stokes restaurant guide for Olathe, I had a meal at Chapala Mexican Restaurant. I ordered my favorite tacos de carne asada, and they were good, comparing favorably to any I've had at other Kansas restaurants. I did enjoy the salsa and chips too. Chapala is located just off I-35 at exit 218. See Keith's extensive guides at the following link: </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.kansastravel.org/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keith Stokes Kansas Travel, Tourism & Restaurants</span></a><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgUYPelKkbmH0EwuHdboJhuiRNPec8fE71knGVbcJVAAz1n5TpygLxBEoT1qm76_p01q0yUq7I_dXGqdPJb4GPY8-HQCZtNycQR4GY0IoP0SsfkOKLA6MiCLZjnLziHfEwm9azBCSoJwM/s1600/dsc07656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgUYPelKkbmH0EwuHdboJhuiRNPec8fE71knGVbcJVAAz1n5TpygLxBEoT1qm76_p01q0yUq7I_dXGqdPJb4GPY8-HQCZtNycQR4GY0IoP0SsfkOKLA6MiCLZjnLziHfEwm9azBCSoJwM/s320/dsc07656.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I visited Hillsdale Bank Bar B-Q, located in a 100 year old red brick bank building in Hillsdale, northern Miami County. This facility also features a caboose which has been converted with dining areas. I've had their smoked meats on previous visits and enjoyed their fine sauce at home. This time, I tried a pizza with smoked chicken, red onions, banana peppers and tomatoes. The 8 inch square pizza was cooked in a wood fired oven and served on a pizza stone. It was sliced on a diagonal into 8 pieces. The pizza was excellent with a thin crispy crust, fresh toppings and good sauce. I would highly recommend it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information, see the following link:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.barbqthesauce.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hillsdale Bank Bar B-Q</span></a><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-XKMhuqTCJI6rMH6VHyJiU3cifPi3p_LtKRxUTuefMHZ0qvACArg9hABtP7kO0wf-RfpTbrXhfMs2VuGyweGFhTWva5JMEDWaVjcsInNwkASA8yqqUH-4u2vmfUaKmBWkAczYYYNHrSa/s1600/dsc07747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-XKMhuqTCJI6rMH6VHyJiU3cifPi3p_LtKRxUTuefMHZ0qvACArg9hABtP7kO0wf-RfpTbrXhfMs2VuGyweGFhTWva5JMEDWaVjcsInNwkASA8yqqUH-4u2vmfUaKmBWkAczYYYNHrSa/s320/dsc07747.jpg" yr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, I had the opportunity to visit Guy and Mae's Tavern in Williamsburg in western Franklin County to try some of their famous pork spare ribs. This family run business has been operating since 1973, and serves half and full rack ribs on foil and newspapers. I found the ribs to be very tender - they almost fell off the bone. The mild sauce was good, although not really needed on the ribs. The atmosphere was friendly in the tavern too. Guy and Mae's tavern was voted as one of the 8 wonders of Kansas cuisine during the contest coordinated by the Kansas Sampler Foundation. </span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information about Guy and Mae's Tavern, visit the following link:</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/cuisineresults.php?id=174"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Guy and Mae's Tavern</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Try any of these fine restaurants.</span>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-45943397683732224512009-11-19T12:56:00.001-06:002009-11-19T12:58:16.408-06:00No "Dare to do Dirt" in Wyandotte County<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been on an Explorer Quest for 3 1/2 years now. My stated goal is to drive at least 25 miles of unpaved roads in each of the 105 counties in Kansas. These can be earth, sand, or gravel, just not asphalt or concrete.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Last week, I had the opportunity to get to a rural area in extreme southwest Wyandotte County. This area is bounded by 142nd Street on the West, the Kansas River along the east and south, and up to the city limits of Bonner Springs on the north. Loring Drive is along the east.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This area is still rural, but I found no unpaved roads. Every road even in this area is asphalt. I found active farms in this area and one farmer was cutting his soybeans. I saw a couple of UP trains passing while I was there and noted that the Little Kaw Creek passes through this area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This area was the last bit of unincorporated area that was shown on my KDOT map for Wyandotte County. Therefore, I'm not optimistic that I can find any unpaved roads in this county, and I will probably not search further unless anyone reading this can direct me elsewhere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">For a few photos I took in this area, please see my gallery at the following link:</span><br />
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<a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-East-Kansas/Wyandotte/10346224_2TsBP#715726012_steYA"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wyandotte Rural</span></a>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-89921632451092728512009-11-03T00:12:00.001-06:002009-11-03T06:48:56.474-06:00Some Dirt Road Exploring in Southeast Kansas<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recently I had the chance to take a day trip to explore parts of Labette and Cherokee counties in southeast Kansas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I began by following the Neosho River valley in far eastern Labette County. I headed south from the small town of Strauss and crossed Litup Creek a number of times. Shortly, I arrived at Oswego.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I spent some time exploring around Oswego noting some of the murals, the 1867 log cabin, the Labette County Courthouse, John Matthews park, and the Carnegie Library. I noted that Commercial Street was wide enough for people to park in the middle of the street.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-8I5Lx7DX5H5GKvTO1uK9ZLFYVDUiBozB2O_mRo3Qi67s6sSTPGCrriiA98bxr9jzZDD_D69lxLbz9MFmhEO01YBoPwlxJ1BGbFHgckFiHTluSrjHjc2HFyp755i67pnxWoIJJkazwOU/s1600-h/dsc06803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-8I5Lx7DX5H5GKvTO1uK9ZLFYVDUiBozB2O_mRo3Qi67s6sSTPGCrriiA98bxr9jzZDD_D69lxLbz9MFmhEO01YBoPwlxJ1BGbFHgckFiHTluSrjHjc2HFyp755i67pnxWoIJJkazwOU/s320/dsc06803.jpg" vr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Also in Oswego, I was amazed at the view off the bluff above the Neosho River in Riverside Park. This is one of the most picturesque spots for a city park that I've seen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After leaving Oswego, I headed over into the southwest corner of Cherokee County to finish my Dare to Do Dirt loop. I had made a previous trip around the northern, eastern, and southeastern parts of the county in 2007. </span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This afternoon, I visited three old cemeteries, and the communities of Faulkner, Melrose, Treece, Neutral, Sherwin, and Hallowell. This will perhaps be my last visit to Treece, as the residents are now eligible to receive buyouts of their property and be relocated out of this area that is contaminated from the former mining activities. Then the town will be closed.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LPKf8SAp8CNlCo6NmY44ie08jMgmDFfHlI9V_F2I1YG1H3RpLKTKcT6cs87vbzTnZKG6MpmntcWMXL2RahU9X0iqyECOP8zP8Hz8xBnCiGUO9u7pmPGOc-6gRtV4cMKF3UdEyGUNzzeq/s1600-h/dsc06837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LPKf8SAp8CNlCo6NmY44ie08jMgmDFfHlI9V_F2I1YG1H3RpLKTKcT6cs87vbzTnZKG6MpmntcWMXL2RahU9X0iqyECOP8zP8Hz8xBnCiGUO9u7pmPGOc-6gRtV4cMKF3UdEyGUNzzeq/s320/dsc06837.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">During the afternoon, I found two (2) low water bridges that I photographed. The Cherry Creek bridge southwest of Hallowell was flowing a substantial amount of water; so much so that I didn't try to cross it.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HJV_AbQ-il54aSig95mecLjoB7Jw8JHuSr0BaUH6W8QBhkWcOnJtQYtsUZ6xXAPoN9nVAP3b9gsuMADchyiqwTk6koDo2nwNBtO4teX2ZvM9K52wYwXUy9MU2BrZC2ofQl_ZUl8SXqoc/s1600-h/dsc06894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HJV_AbQ-il54aSig95mecLjoB7Jw8JHuSr0BaUH6W8QBhkWcOnJtQYtsUZ6xXAPoN9nVAP3b9gsuMADchyiqwTk6koDo2nwNBtO4teX2ZvM9K52wYwXUy9MU2BrZC2ofQl_ZUl8SXqoc/s320/dsc06894.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the extreme southwest corner of Cherokee County, I came upon a low water bridge over Fly Creek. The most interesting aspect of this site was the remnants of an Iron Truss bridge left there beside the concrete slab of the low water bridge.</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I finished my loop around Cherokee County, then headed west on US-160 back across the rolling hills of Labette County. </span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie429S6wgnUx-xAiXra40cCx4UZXCNzQcB4Q0JpItLM-fwQstu-cOwQDlPIh4YE1EWB6VR11gSn8kczI0s4tcQelv86UeSj4BGM2jInDglIDo-hi1osrynFAlqu_V-qakgND397SdjClkE/s1600-h/dsc06972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie429S6wgnUx-xAiXra40cCx4UZXCNzQcB4Q0JpItLM-fwQstu-cOwQDlPIh4YE1EWB6VR11gSn8kczI0s4tcQelv86UeSj4BGM2jInDglIDo-hi1osrynFAlqu_V-qakgND397SdjClkE/s320/dsc06972.jpg" vr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I decided to stop in Independence for dinner at the Brothers Railroad Inn. I had tried their Italian food the last time I was there, so this time I tried a steak dinner. I was very impressed with the filet mignon. It was very tender and cooked just right. It was well worth the wait on a Saturday evening since I didn't have a reservation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Then, I had a 2 hour drive back home to Wichita. It was a long daytrip of about 380 miles that ended at 9:45 PM, but was very satisfying anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">For more information:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Oswego: <a href="http://www.oswegokansas.com/">http://www.oswegokansas.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My photo galleries:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Labette County: <a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/Southeast-Kansas/Labette-County-Dirt/10079736_3kFep#691596917_QmmSt">Labette County Dirt</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Cherokee County: <a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/Southeast-Kansas/Cherokee-County-Dirt/9361386_WBtdZ#694039762_fiW6C">Cherokee County Dirt</a></span>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-44029847416096192652009-10-21T00:28:00.001-05:002009-11-03T00:20:33.782-06:00A Trip to the Glacial Hills<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From October 15 - 17, I made a trip to the Glacial Hills psysiographic region of northeast Kansas. During this time, I was able to complete "Dare to do Dirt" loops of Atchison and Doniphan counties.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In Atchison County, I visited the communities of Arrington, Larkinburg, Muscotah, Lancaster, Cummings, and Huron. I noticed a well kept stucco house in Arrington and actually met the woman who lives there while in Larkinburg admiring the Christian Church. She showed my the interior of the church and I was impressed with the wall art decorating the church.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9IfeY6eyX9Clc9xIJsREUc-jR5QvM3A2jIWCRDV26aIjUN11LIA333YsUQ34VnEZ0rFlyG7jxPY-hVpH4AEhiGTlrLdhEZnkoQYIJ6DIKEw5AmheL9G3nORBKDUBve7picPR1par3Yaj/s1600-h/dsc06087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9IfeY6eyX9Clc9xIJsREUc-jR5QvM3A2jIWCRDV26aIjUN11LIA333YsUQ34VnEZ0rFlyG7jxPY-hVpH4AEhiGTlrLdhEZnkoQYIJ6DIKEw5AmheL9G3nORBKDUBve7picPR1par3Yaj/s320/dsc06087.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Muscotah was the birthplace of Joe Tinker, a baseball player with the Chicago Cubs from 1902-1912, who played shortstop. Joe was part of the famous double play combination of Tinker to Evers to Chance, and there is a monument in the city park commemorating this.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">There was some beautiful fall foliage in Lancaster, a nice school in Huron, and the small town of Cummings still has a post office.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In Doniphan County, I visited the communities of Doniphan (ghost town), Elwood, Wathena, Iowa Point (ghost town), White Cloud, Leona, Denton and Purcell. Both Doniphan and Iowa Point contain a mix of abandoned and new buildings and homes. I stopped a bit at the Ft Luxembourg visitor center in Elwood, and viewed the historic downtown district in Wathena.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhLwm8S1eORxr-Lyla5Gv2DJ5kRRXsjKdjySiG87D541R0S6CVlka6iB6rfNNatumOXR-2mm742HblqMc43IAoxM3NGgRtTMgySSFR-3m5EJ1HejMW5fKHwy_DYuiY7hiKjjnF2ko1t28/s1600-h/dsc06513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhLwm8S1eORxr-Lyla5Gv2DJ5kRRXsjKdjySiG87D541R0S6CVlka6iB6rfNNatumOXR-2mm742HblqMc43IAoxM3NGgRtTMgySSFR-3m5EJ1HejMW5fKHwy_DYuiY7hiKjjnF2ko1t28/s320/dsc06513.jpg" vr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">White Cloud is in a very scenic area along the Missouri River and served river boats beginning in the 1830's. There is a monument along Main Street to Wilbur Chapman, the boy who started the piggy bank by donating his pet pig to a needy boy suffering from leprosy.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzoaLoCBijP_prb589qHxIKmIBqRESm673LLG5znQctUmiL9OpUifDDKoLLnnUC4MMdOP7EGBDLwpDwpwIcs2UgkcOcrelpUgbrOA0GMGOepODDz4sHXsizvxEvPuZ0NabOMI9m1ZCXOZ/s1600-h/dsc06564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzoaLoCBijP_prb589qHxIKmIBqRESm673LLG5znQctUmiL9OpUifDDKoLLnnUC4MMdOP7EGBDLwpDwpwIcs2UgkcOcrelpUgbrOA0GMGOepODDz4sHXsizvxEvPuZ0NabOMI9m1ZCXOZ/s200/dsc06564.jpg" vr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Purcell is the home of the beautiful St Mary's Church, now celebrating it's 150th anniversary. Denton seemed to be a nice town with very brilliant fall foliage and the unique hand operated water pump in the center of Main Street. Sadly, Leona appeared to be slowly decaying.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLJuaFvPpKD4ECuRzpfvu1oXsb5Jo9y98dAJiT3k9uv_gWR7XFiHu8HZ-atPOLPhOj28OVkSscaue8iTdziJra-rXGtQd0RZAqDqRlY07nEk85pwH01YO8M1Tfqzaw_VTDrBwcwQjXFzY/s1600-h/dsc06569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLJuaFvPpKD4ECuRzpfvu1oXsb5Jo9y98dAJiT3k9uv_gWR7XFiHu8HZ-atPOLPhOj28OVkSscaue8iTdziJra-rXGtQd0RZAqDqRlY07nEk85pwH01YO8M1Tfqzaw_VTDrBwcwQjXFzY/s320/dsc06569.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">As always, I'm on the lookout for interesting historic bridges and I found a number of iron truss and stone bridges in these two counties. Check my photo gallery links below for some photos of these.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjk95Uwij7DbfXziCslx_C_MFAbRIQfkhYIbZH-AeGuErybJupuKE9tbXNHMuB84Le3XCcv0HbJu_kHeIei208RgGycD-nlKLNT1xVh65lBrahV_OOsciSn5qzqaBecjNkChWQRKNg5O4M/s1600-h/dsc06597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjk95Uwij7DbfXziCslx_C_MFAbRIQfkhYIbZH-AeGuErybJupuKE9tbXNHMuB84Le3XCcv0HbJu_kHeIei208RgGycD-nlKLNT1xVh65lBrahV_OOsciSn5qzqaBecjNkChWQRKNg5O4M/s320/dsc06597.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPG9gACs4GNOi4Hdf1GvsWBiwjse4qOEylCz2oSutjp2tu2TZ_iDEWd39ADRUlYxWUfwGLZ-jvCXg5rnRkqfBEYhhR8FgLzK8SxHNhF-g4VioIU4n7aIePgZdbT5ZIAQMROg_kvwMvLL8/s1600-h/dsc06108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPG9gACs4GNOi4Hdf1GvsWBiwjse4qOEylCz2oSutjp2tu2TZ_iDEWd39ADRUlYxWUfwGLZ-jvCXg5rnRkqfBEYhhR8FgLzK8SxHNhF-g4VioIU4n7aIePgZdbT5ZIAQMROg_kvwMvLL8/s320/dsc06108.jpg" vr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I visited several cemeteries in each county, and due to the hills in this region, cemeteries can be very picturesque. Especially interesting to me were Round Mound Cemetery and Muscotah cemeteries in Atchison County. Round Mound has a layered limestone fence surrounding it and Muscotah cemetery has large mature trees. In Doniphan County, I found Doniphan and Iowa Point cemeteries to both offer fantastic views of the surrounding hills and countryside.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5H9w1HbsEYdJC8L1-uL1VuAGlnDrEICNVdMZsM2nHYXpp8jsLZkf3NT0j_6cJUVC5nDv9mxiEGTpIDVeyCEoj8gY_LcNs-1UJ9YNawPtWxn-iZdvWI4Xelas9dzWsW3fUH4Rq-XegNbI/s1600-h/dsc06216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5H9w1HbsEYdJC8L1-uL1VuAGlnDrEICNVdMZsM2nHYXpp8jsLZkf3NT0j_6cJUVC5nDv9mxiEGTpIDVeyCEoj8gY_LcNs-1UJ9YNawPtWxn-iZdvWI4Xelas9dzWsW3fUH4Rq-XegNbI/s320/dsc06216.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I travelled a couple of scenic dirt road drives in Doniphan County. The first was the route from the ghost town of Doniphan up to the Wathena area. This followed closely the Missouri River and the fall foliage was beginning to get colorful in the forests in this area. Also, I took a route north from Wathena up to near the Missouri River, then back south again to just east of Troy. This route offered forests, hills and the bottomland near the Missouri River. Again, the fall foliage was striking.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCubhBDd7ui_SZgYCSvFxWx-B0qlo8lfK-3pcsQkZPXTeFPZ62KwZ6kqrgtmhog95wdAcEvMOaNlgeAGjKmBP_tYiIv370Ezg2fYvypNA5CtmDBhOGK052tes-p1r9oTg451Ix8lkUY0c/s1600-h/dsc06320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCubhBDd7ui_SZgYCSvFxWx-B0qlo8lfK-3pcsQkZPXTeFPZ62KwZ6kqrgtmhog95wdAcEvMOaNlgeAGjKmBP_tYiIv370Ezg2fYvypNA5CtmDBhOGK052tes-p1r9oTg451Ix8lkUY0c/s320/dsc06320.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I enjoyed several memorable meals during my trip. I had dinner one night at Pete's Steakhouse in Atchison. While the hamburger steak with grilled onions was good, the highlight of the meal was a number of homemade salads on their salad bar. My favorite was the Copper Penny salad, a cold salad with cooked sliced carrots and onion slivers in a sauce of sugar, vinegar and oil. I do not see this salad at restaurants very often.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0j80KsjOMPaRZISk6c3rSf4wrJsz5Tvy_vJM2zWB6mW6PB-aILQNhyphenhyphenXFzo4X7PHbx6lrkk5yGKpwWhO8xFk2w0UQA1Tj2ispJFR0AiFftIoBA6Rkbxr8KzHOXmrrKkrUAraRkHHtQLzTc/s1600-h/dsc06179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0j80KsjOMPaRZISk6c3rSf4wrJsz5Tvy_vJM2zWB6mW6PB-aILQNhyphenhyphenXFzo4X7PHbx6lrkk5yGKpwWhO8xFk2w0UQA1Tj2ispJFR0AiFftIoBA6Rkbxr8KzHOXmrrKkrUAraRkHHtQLzTc/s320/dsc06179.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFfeud0acf1wp_HveqxlIAq9X7wmPp1CYC-RKTQIaYBXSH8_K5aJtHUlR8A2SGW3ebTQQFM-FPapvD6jeRiTqdMxHnoiB6NQSClQX4FuQzgr4JzsLnOjPEFvjinzXq2h2i2A1i2275kDd/s1600-h/img_1462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFfeud0acf1wp_HveqxlIAq9X7wmPp1CYC-RKTQIaYBXSH8_K5aJtHUlR8A2SGW3ebTQQFM-FPapvD6jeRiTqdMxHnoiB6NQSClQX4FuQzgr4JzsLnOjPEFvjinzXq2h2i2A1i2275kDd/s320/img_1462.jpg" vr="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Another night, I had dinner at Paolucci's Restaurant in Atchison, a great place that has been serving Italian food for many years. I had a very good order of lasagna, covered in a rich marinara and meat sauce.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvW8mqOjmIFfrmbptudsm631sfhOJgZGjTWWCDSYnP0S_Amk-Xi48AlamXzpkKTlOxuI4d2Wt7DeHNaOF8hah-PSv3wIzQvCpYahfHisdygDC_ohKEIWc1R7m-E_RII2bsS_NHYn4c3Bl/s1600-h/dsc06698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvW8mqOjmIFfrmbptudsm631sfhOJgZGjTWWCDSYnP0S_Amk-Xi48AlamXzpkKTlOxuI4d2Wt7DeHNaOF8hah-PSv3wIzQvCpYahfHisdygDC_ohKEIWc1R7m-E_RII2bsS_NHYn4c3Bl/s320/dsc06698.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-580_ecH6wByARI3iOiLxC5w-mm8TbMXs-qQI4J5hTipbyg7Fb4Ww4JiAoIjgrcsqgulAXZaVSVJwD9WwddFlS8XRlgk2-8VxVn1qkpqzccnFH415in5rZeHzaFM9ZWNLmwNFNwBXYA9/s1600-h/dsc06703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-580_ecH6wByARI3iOiLxC5w-mm8TbMXs-qQI4J5hTipbyg7Fb4Ww4JiAoIjgrcsqgulAXZaVSVJwD9WwddFlS8XRlgk2-8VxVn1qkpqzccnFH415in5rZeHzaFM9ZWNLmwNFNwBXYA9/s320/dsc06703.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After I finished my last loop in Atchison County, I travelled west into Jackson County to the small town of Whiting where I had lunch at the recently restored Whiting Cafe. The restoration of this cafe was done in June, 2009, and was a project of the Kansas Sampler Foundation. In addition to good food, this cafe is known for their fresh pies made daily. I can attest to this, since I had a piece of coconut meringue pie that was easily among the very best I've ever eaten.</span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">All in all,even though the weather was cool and cloudy and misty sometimes, I truly enjoyed my journey to Atchison and Doniphan Counties. </span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">For more information about the Whiting Cafe makeover, visit the Kansas Sampler Foundation blog at:</span><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://kansassampler.blogspot.com/search?q=whiting">http://kansassampler.blogspot.com/search?q=whiting</a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To view my photos of Atchison and Doniphan counties, visit my northeast Kansas Dare to do Dirt galleries, then open the appropriate county gallery:</span><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-East-Kansas">http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Dare-To-Do-Dirt/North-East-Kansas</a><br />
</div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-8166687929165913302009-10-08T20:01:00.024-05:002009-10-08T22:41:52.048-05:00A Weekend in St Louis<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div align="left">On Friday Sept 25, I drove to St Charles, MO, and met my friend Karen. We spent the weekend exploring in the St Louis metro area, and sharing our mutual interest in photography.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6SFidf_SfCxgydHGjdP3Ci6sL-1GseHu6oe75UWPTVywV4cI4y4EYmivRoQQdbsSbqjQ8SSQI5atqkCA90SkS0V7I-wRvGMa4uYIHT-NZPpaHSz7miGWBmZGRlHzHPRvm85jOfvRTReV/s1600-h/img_1770.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390436842609676562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6SFidf_SfCxgydHGjdP3Ci6sL-1GseHu6oe75UWPTVywV4cI4y4EYmivRoQQdbsSbqjQ8SSQI5atqkCA90SkS0V7I-wRvGMa4uYIHT-NZPpaHSz7miGWBmZGRlHzHPRvm85jOfvRTReV/s320/img_1770.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left">Friday evening, we went to downtown St Charles, and first visited Frontier Park along the Missouri River. This area is the eastern terminus of the 225 mile long Katy Trail State Park. Hikers and bikers are welcome on the Katy Trail which makes use of the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad grade from Clinton to St Charles.</div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yz2yjQ1pQ5LGg8y4wgVFtGcOsG6OXxLhzPmC-7Rqwa2gI00wcYRaZkfn1FEY09cDEcfhS621Y-c6BBxDYyTyYO1duvXvy-221tEYrd7v6DzGOTOJl7kTFRm7bcZYVSWBmTK1uKAaaFGM/s1600-h/dsc05052.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390435768475929458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yz2yjQ1pQ5LGg8y4wgVFtGcOsG6OXxLhzPmC-7Rqwa2gI00wcYRaZkfn1FEY09cDEcfhS621Y-c6BBxDYyTyYO1duvXvy-221tEYrd7v6DzGOTOJl7kTFRm7bcZYVSWBmTK1uKAaaFGM/s320/dsc05052.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="left">We then walked Main Street in downtown St Charles enjoying the shops and historic architecture. St Charles was the first Missouri state capital from 1821-1826. We stopped for dinner at one of several garden cafes and enjoyed the outdoor atmosphere on a pleasant evening. Several squirrels entertained us as we <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJsjyVVlvCwdzI7SAzn4w-F02K35S-5fGy36nYVUEP9H9FRAx8xF5tDhg5iA5Cn7zd_aSlWrXhrmWUzEL7fXf92CfY0bGtxF3LIM7Yvi4mdx0kULJ0KNPS_CUePSHppwbxBRjJM5FzvSc/s1600-h/dsc05023.jpg"></a>dined.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocf39xrRaSxvnpjDZmVOUluLoyAOUjhd_NiMo8rLWE171cexEoiKezQlEb0CfmIKbrCdg_GvRwOXcUKCq9EHZJV7EzJcW2uCK9DWC_pEPxINxWzTFHzaj-sHDYiLj2fvC31iHKfOqwyM0/s1600-h/dsc05023.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390435017639169538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocf39xrRaSxvnpjDZmVOUluLoyAOUjhd_NiMo8rLWE171cexEoiKezQlEb0CfmIKbrCdg_GvRwOXcUKCq9EHZJV7EzJcW2uCK9DWC_pEPxINxWzTFHzaj-sHDYiLj2fvC31iHKfOqwyM0/s320/dsc05023.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpZ0s21N-FT7i8WWAVC1OmZOgr2vcO9uK5DIcEyBuztfFV2hXuPguX3N6fx4ZvsMNM_8t5zqShvlaohuA_-ne3izIYcXtSr9AUuxxpN1rexdh0gRbqPhThqHmV5WHTAAvoGqJ4O6YSQp_/s1600-h/img_1862.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390432831456416146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpZ0s21N-FT7i8WWAVC1OmZOgr2vcO9uK5DIcEyBuztfFV2hXuPguX3N6fx4ZvsMNM_8t5zqShvlaohuA_-ne3izIYcXtSr9AUuxxpN1rexdh0gRbqPhThqHmV5WHTAAvoGqJ4O6YSQp_/s320/img_1862.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="left">On Saturday, Sept 26 we drove to Faust Park in Chesterfield. We explored the Historic Village with it's homes, barns and other buildings. Numerous flower gardens were here also. We stopped to see the St Louis Carousel, now housed inside a building for p<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTDAMWDKyEm9nRTDH8HE2PtaoDpnnfNqDQK6-mXMwE7uZ8VqOTvK8CxpbHrAQpnwk4AuMpsCBCUnNQResoK8rri-RdolMVQcYM_0t4U07ba1ktsAjRT7LXcshCmikIYtlf0QWvSiR-tFo/s1600-h/dsc05156.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390433453533295602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTDAMWDKyEm9nRTDH8HE2PtaoDpnnfNqDQK6-mXMwE7uZ8VqOTvK8CxpbHrAQpnwk4AuMpsCBCUnNQResoK8rri-RdolMVQcYM_0t4U07ba1ktsAjRT7LXcshCmikIYtlf0QWvSiR-tFo/s320/dsc05156.jpg" /></a>rotection.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxvp780yNZ5kGJtwzjTamDDXXyI8WxG7q71wijBTwJRu5l0tIS5_1s7ujf5gz3KgkOO0BTvtPuMQbyHs_3gq7Au9wQtG_rzyJx5NYYTI_ElhCDY0qhBmpJ0k-TpaJo_IUvlZfafUUYXmV/s1600-h/dsc05233.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390431443870998434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxvp780yNZ5kGJtwzjTamDDXXyI8WxG7q71wijBTwJRu5l0tIS5_1s7ujf5gz3KgkOO0BTvtPuMQbyHs_3gq7Au9wQtG_rzyJx5NYYTI_ElhCDY0qhBmpJ0k-TpaJo_IUvlZfafUUYXmV/s320/dsc05233.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">Next we went to the Butterfly House in Faust Park. After watching a film about butterflies, we entered the Tropical Conservatory, which con<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-1TexfCSIgUELGOdd6Gm0bTM14CJvtC5cHHlZYUJY5nAC1ZyF2Fg9qAHccROW5n8kqQRmQOAGkqgtTVgjiQeNnzl-fEXcGqaFzDsJlJJIj1JOQbqP6AAkua5hGzUJmhduQuK_Gd09bJ8/s1600-h/img_1923.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390432058041583202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-1TexfCSIgUELGOdd6Gm0bTM14CJvtC5cHHlZYUJY5nAC1ZyF2Fg9qAHccROW5n8kqQRmQOAGkqgtTVgjiQeNnzl-fEXcGqaFzDsJlJJIj1JOQbqP6AAkua5hGzUJmhduQuK_Gd09bJ8/s320/img_1923.jpg" /></a>tains nearly 2000 butterflies in free flight. The butterflies were in constant motion, so it was difficult to photograph them, but we did manage some good shots. We also walked through the outdoor garden here.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">Then, we travelled east to Forest Park, site of the 1904 World's Fair. Forest Park, at 1371 acres, is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. After stopping at the visitor center for some guides, we drove to the Boathouse for lunch. We enjoyed some baby back ribs while waiting out a rainstorm and watching the ducks on the lake.</div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPn6k21_g_HlrR5dStyeC9zsV1ytw6hkibn9YTiO8iBgvEUOMaZu0DW4P8b07Nr2b5pz1ysYvYyebiFu8Zl4zK8r8cXHOftNk22ramBJeUN91cSBCKFtHTwfAi6VjVJkBrGxvOSX9RA9ne/s1600-h/img_2006.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390429232495659586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPn6k21_g_HlrR5dStyeC9zsV1ytw6hkibn9YTiO8iBgvEUOMaZu0DW4P8b07Nr2b5pz1ysYvYyebiFu8Zl4zK8r8cXHOftNk22ramBJeUN91cSBCKFtHTwfAi6VjVJkBrGxvOSX9RA9ne/s320/img_2006.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">During the early afternoon we visited several areas in Forest Park, including the Jewel Box greenhouse, the pagoda area with the bandstand and Muny Theater, the World's Fair Pavilion and fountain, the Art Museum exterior and Grand Basin Pool, and finally the Cascades waterfall. There were several areas of this huge park we did not see.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNw5NEU4d1qiiDVeYqWBsZCcnHrG-Ix33JGuAsROXIxjpU-WzM2T9KxL1ZVV8O804b2l3Y-CXsPhogxe8mvInQ8eh1v1Rexynz_q0L_ys58rIDzuh2ScmsPgcXkg-2NTa3oC2hY5HMk-N/s1600-h/dsc05416.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390428572550188706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNw5NEU4d1qiiDVeYqWBsZCcnHrG-Ix33JGuAsROXIxjpU-WzM2T9KxL1ZVV8O804b2l3Y-CXsPhogxe8mvInQ8eh1v1Rexynz_q0L_ys58rIDzuh2ScmsPgcXkg-2NTa3oC2hY5HMk-N/s320/dsc05416.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">After leaving Forest Park, we drove to west midtown St Louis to see the beautiful Cathedral Basilica. This cathedral interior is covered with 83,000 square feet of mosaic tile art with over 41,500,000 pieces of tile in 8000 shades of color. The designs were elaborate and very striking.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimF54ioojrGgos3V56MPRUyFS31QnG08lq21LIaYpFUA71KylxYuxFt4beLlpAwlzZiZ__NEeM9PFsPIX7VzL7grjTxfoJDc2vS7wreJWoCfum29wSH6l3LAzI6WCpdK9ikGd0B8d2PzWe/s1600-h/img_2126.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390427795999927474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimF54ioojrGgos3V56MPRUyFS31QnG08lq21LIaYpFUA71KylxYuxFt4beLlpAwlzZiZ__NEeM9PFsPIX7VzL7grjTxfoJDc2vS7wreJWoCfum29wSH6l3LAzI6WCpdK9ikGd0B8d2PzWe/s320/img_2126.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTo1gMKn8_KcFyH89k5qdOcrWXb-9QiUdiQxuo_GcqRmO5Nd95shr8Oo_u0EkgSBNsbwcGYkr8Aqjz5RTr4nxbYwbQCYT3OoMUTLPK1t06vyUdM0kfXwV2SspVqEzOIe5ypAXFPbB4ynnn/s1600-h/dsc05469.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390425462101573314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTo1gMKn8_KcFyH89k5qdOcrWXb-9QiUdiQxuo_GcqRmO5Nd95shr8Oo_u0EkgSBNsbwcGYkr8Aqjz5RTr4nxbYwbQCYT3OoMUTLPK1t06vyUdM0kfXwV2SspVqEzOIe5ypAXFPbB4ynnn/s320/dsc05469.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">Just down Market Street from the Cathedral, we stopped at Union Station. After photographing the exterior, we went inside and looked through the railroad museum, then photographed some of the ornate int<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQW4S3SpOimGY18nnalDiuCme5EFuBb720_lJithwXVk6Ct4-0ywk2ZcxcpGh18jHrJuk1zHZsS_xDbgz7uUIIbrgmNl1kTSI322Wn6WFsTpaNcLAbQhkPlhu-Uhpu88Bb9zxwbckBMhhq/s1600-h/dsc05477.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390426346645014130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQW4S3SpOimGY18nnalDiuCme5EFuBb720_lJithwXVk6Ct4-0ywk2ZcxcpGh18jHrJuk1zHZsS_xDbgz7uUIIbrgmNl1kTSI322Wn6WFsTpaNcLAbQhkPlhu-Uhpu88Bb9zxwbckBMhhq/s320/dsc05477.jpg" /></a>erior architecture elements, including stairs and stained glass windows. We stopped into the Station Grille for a nice dinner.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX4VRmvg5m4iizqx75M6e4JJdu_JDKJil15V7L-eGT8MiL0ZOsAptZvRWwPLCSlShm70NvdcuOCvTXx45ISSv32QkVK5B5xUWRrIUbMvFzH2iJK34wfV-YPWT_XGdyIw60h4fSoNMM_nH/s1600-h/img_2159.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390425446559839810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX4VRmvg5m4iizqx75M6e4JJdu_JDKJil15V7L-eGT8MiL0ZOsAptZvRWwPLCSlShm70NvdcuOCvTXx45ISSv32QkVK5B5xUWRrIUbMvFzH2iJK34wfV-YPWT_XGdyIw60h4fSoNMM_nH/s320/img_2159.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">To top off a long day of exploring, we went down to the Mississippi waterfront at the Gateway Arch, before heading back to our rooms for the evening.</div><br /><div align="left">Sunday morning turned out to be beautiful, and we headed across th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuXjtM804-Kl7yJZB5DNem8eWPFmH7kizm6Krntc6wlw-LJ-sWlD2tIklYV0Es_1o3tDL3IoXH94TppXQ0x-CC9-lW7YGmjlOHJTA1SX1HAhyphenhyphenzs6vtra65bjEFii28n3ag_igc6e9xXxJ-/s1600-h/dsc05603.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 261px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 159px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390424002627491298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuXjtM804-Kl7yJZB5DNem8eWPFmH7kizm6Krntc6wlw-LJ-sWlD2tIklYV0Es_1o3tDL3IoXH94TppXQ0x-CC9-lW7YGmjlOHJTA1SX1HAhyphenhyphenzs6vtra65bjEFii28n3ag_igc6e9xXxJ-/s200/dsc05603.jpg" /></a>e Mississippi River at Alton, Illinois, then followed the river ro<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQxCp6oC-_0oMyf3SLXkUF-AyUohg4YkC0MGJ5-ih63FPrxhknzzJRpcuUjlHU49D8EDqz9n7g308WPvzF9bU7OhcVr5gFXfUGFu0kFgNFhkyQiOUEEzcl7e2aSm6rYed01gpg_lovchO/s1600-h/dsc05589.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390424547864273090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQxCp6oC-_0oMyf3SLXkUF-AyUohg4YkC0MGJ5-ih63FPrxhknzzJRpcuUjlHU49D8EDqz9n7g308WPvzF9bU7OhcVr5gFXfUGFu0kFgNFhkyQiOUEEzcl7e2aSm6rYed01gpg_lovchO/s320/dsc05589.jpg" /></a>ad, first stopping at some locks to view some barge traffic. Then we pulled off at a state park to view the confluence area of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Finally we stopped at the historic Route 66 Chain of Rocks iron truss bridge over the Mississippi. We walked across the bridge and back, enjoying the views of this huge bridge and the Mississippi River.</div><br /><div align="left">After lunch, we headed for our homes, each having hundreds of photographs to help us remember the weekend.</div><br /><div align="left">To view some of our favorite photos from this trip, see the seven galleries at my Smugmug page:</div><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/St-Louis-Area">http://ke2013.smugmug.com/St-Louis-Area</a></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276036198082078409.post-68343014326626146232009-09-07T10:37:00.008-05:002009-09-08T21:41:08.820-05:00Howard and Elk FallsOn Saturday, Sept 5, I spent a day in Elk County in the towns of Howard and Elk Falls. The Kansas Sampler Foundation had arranged another of the special "Bring Your Own Lawn Chair" events in Howard. <div><div><div><div><div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtna0BcNaFDQVqJfQWWrW3WRuDAEYWB-mDpJXx1-AG_q_Tb9XRUCpnFaEyzZ6Zq59UTRU04xMIpG5lRV15QfGOR2dvPoaI5Ld58gOywwXUQYOF-PpdwBT4z_M1otIZ3CZJBOpSC9z1bhF/s1600-h/dsc04546.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378793430939575090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtna0BcNaFDQVqJfQWWrW3WRuDAEYWB-mDpJXx1-AG_q_Tb9XRUCpnFaEyzZ6Zq59UTRU04xMIpG5lRV15QfGOR2dvPoaI5Ld58gOywwXUQYOF-PpdwBT4z_M1otIZ3CZJBOpSC9z1bhF/s320/dsc04546.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I arrived in Howard about 10:15 AM and checked in on the courthouse square and began meeting many of my Kansas Explorer friends. Then, I walked over to the downtown area to do some shopping and exploring.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div>At 11:30 AM, the event started on the courthouse square. We gathered our lawn chairs to hear speakers share about the local museum with it's <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOJ1DMWc9hRlHq5R7WDfpobQNV2O7epLjqLV4SxZPxP6jq56vG1Pz6fMNNxXR3Atpzs19FBtUaFkExKvx6-5QQLlTuWtxmBcjhTaQZnA9TUhR6TySmh9ly-qttE1si8aogP69-13AHpIm/s1600-h/dsc04557.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378793125015654690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOJ1DMWc9hRlHq5R7WDfpobQNV2O7epLjqLV4SxZPxP6jq56vG1Pz6fMNNxXR3Atpzs19FBtUaFkExKvx6-5QQLlTuWtxmBcjhTaQZnA9TUhR6TySmh9ly-qttE1si8aogP69-13AHpIm/s320/dsc04557.jpg" /></a>doll collection, from the Batson's who operate the local drug store/grocery and soda fountain, about Poplar Pizza, which has operated since 1995 in Howard, about the recently opened Traci's Trends which offers wedding dresses and tuxedo rentals, as well as alterations and Kansas gifts, and about projects for a new clock in the courthouse tower, for a new Veteran's Memorial, and for renovation of the historic Howard National Bank building.</div><div></div><br /><div>I then headed for Poplar Pizza for lunch and shared with some other Kansas Explorers there. While enjoying my New York style pizza, I shared with my friend Bonnie Dainley about my "Dare to do Dirt" quest and her quest of photographing at church in each Kansas County.</div><div></div><br /><div>Before leaving Howard, I checked out the new Veteran's Memorial and Hubble's Rubble, a unique collection of "creations". I then headed southeast to Elk Falls by the backroads.</div><div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFQKEKvcYxlpVoRwA06WWgrG82vDCUTQBS3W8L8QKEcuax0eIlhag4ks59hmgycSg9KMJQhaL-4zgKo5rz55XYlyGquZ7e6LxeXJnVQQchOkCElDGZb0bm-2SQc8k-3rQiYOOMtTtAdm7/s1600-h/dsc04627.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378792731070254994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFQKEKvcYxlpVoRwA06WWgrG82vDCUTQBS3W8L8QKEcuax0eIlhag4ks59hmgycSg9KMJQhaL-4zgKo5rz55XYlyGquZ7e6LxeXJnVQQchOkCElDGZb0bm-2SQc8k-3rQiYOOMtTtAdm7/s320/dsc04627.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>A group of perhaps 25-30 gathered at Elk Falls Pottery shop at 2:30 PM and were welcomed by Steve and Jane Fry. Then we were treated to an impromptu demonstration with Steve Fry helping Marci Penner make a bowl as we watched.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Then, Steve took us over to another property they bought 5 years ago and have been renovating. After they began removing the overgrown vi<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFpLl8YsEIlal0r8NRb6QdjP9Qm1yQag1wXg10SeOwOQGUVJ4IpmUXH9Ew6M6vaok7hhsiwVM50ndUKTuBEBhMGUhfMUaw_WMzFmyERYGv4jHUzqyh17dCIYuyE5g6RYoUMen3RuqV78A/s1600-h/dsc04645.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378791694639999138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFpLl8YsEIlal0r8NRb6QdjP9Qm1yQag1wXg10SeOwOQGUVJ4IpmUXH9Ew6M6vaok7hhsiwVM50ndUKTuBEBhMGUhfMUaw_WMzFmyERYGv4jHUzqyh17dCIYuyE5g6RYoUMen3RuqV78A/s320/dsc04645.jpg" /></a>nes from the yard they found an amazing rock garden which we all explored extensively. The Frys' plan to eventually move their living quarters and shop to this location and open another bed and breakfast here.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div>Before leaving Elk Falls, I did make a stop at the falls, then headed west on US-160, which is always a beautiful drive thru Moline, Grenola, Cambridge and Burden. I stopped in Douglass, in southwest Butler County for some a Mexican food dinner on the way into Wichita.</div><div></div><div>Links:</div><div></div><div></div><div>Howard, Kansas: <a href="http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Howard/index.html">http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Howard/index.html</a></div><div></div><div></div><div>Elk Falls Pottery Shop: <a href="http://www.elkfallspottery.com/">http://www.elkfallspottery.com/</a></div><div></div><div></div><div>My photo gallery of "Bring Your Own Lawn Chair - Howard":</div><div><a href="http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Events/Kansas-Sampler-Foundation/BYOLC-Howard/9531169_DUuaN#640549776_srMqz">http://ke2013.smugmug.com/Events/Kansas-Sampler-Foundation/BYOLC-Howard/9531169_DUuaN#640549776_srMqz</a></div></div></div></div></div>Larry Hornbaker, KE 2013http://www.blogger.com/profile/12182309908530278672noreply@blogger.com0