Kansas Blog

The railroad is so closely tied to the Kansas story of adventure, opportunity and progress that it only seems fitting those visiting the state should take the time to ride the rails. Amtrak service is limited in our state, but excursion trains to provide a unique and relaxing opportunity to enjoy this piece of history.

The museum that bears the name of Martin and Osa Johnson is not exactly what you'd expect to find in the middle of Kansas. Then again, Martin and Osa Johnson were not exactly your run of the mill people. 

With the arrival of spring in Kansas, the glow of a great tradition across the state rolls into our lives again: The Drive-In Movie. 

When you visit Mine Creek Battlefield on a quiet day, you can almost see them there: 7,000 Confederate soldiers charging across a battlefield on horseback towards two highly outnumbered Union brigades cresting the hill. The Union forces freeze in their tracks against the odds, but are destined to carry the day. 

Osawatomie is a great little Kansas day-trip full of history from a time when the state was new and people were passionate about their political positions. The town was a pivotal spot during the Bleeding Kansas fight for freedom. It stakes claim to being the place Kansans were first called "Jayhawkers" and is where the Kansas Republican party was founded. BUT, it is perhaps best known for its relation to the famous abolitionist, John Brown.

  I have always loved glass art. When I was a child, my grandmother collected paper weights. I used to pick them up and marvel at the bursts of color sprouting from beneath layers of clear glass. These things of substance and beauty always held a little bit of mystery for me. My favorites could be turned upside down to reveal what seemed like a single point of color mysteriously bursting into the central floral or spiral design of the piece. They seemed impossible, mesmerizing and yet somehow soothing.

I have always been fascinated by the rise and fall of places. I’m talking about spots in our world where hope and optimism brought people in droves and then, somehow, failed to keep them. These are places where the world literally changed pace – and then reverted back to nature. If you have ever driven the Kansas Turnpike near El Dorado, you came near one of these places, and I’ll bet you never knew it. 

 

As you travel through Kansas, you will find many ways to learn more about the 1890s, but it was the 1980s we were delighted to explore on a recent trip to Exploration Place in Wichita. It was a temporary exhibit, set up to explain the technology behind, and development of, video games that captured our attention.

Looking for a special treat for that hard-to-please person? How about a trip to Liberal to take in a dinosaur-airplane experience?

Yes, dinosaurs and airplanes will be on display together this spring at the Mid-America Air Museum in Liberal. 

1.      African porcupines like bananas.

2.      Camels are really soft and fuzzy and they like to nuzzle.

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