Kansas Blog

At the sound of the clip-clop of hooves on pavement and the jingle of bells, I could feel the excitement building amongst the crowd standing around me on a street corner in downtown Lawrence one chilly morning. 

 As part of the Central Flyway, an established migration route for waterfowl through the Great Plains region, Kansas lays claim to some impressive waterfowl hunting opportunities. As the weather starts cooling down for the year and the migratory birds start flying south, the waterfowl populations in Kansas start growing.

1.      African porcupines like bananas.

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

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Like many others driving across northwest Kansas on Interstate 70, I’ve often grabbed fast food at a drive-through and continued on my way with hamburger in hand. Sadly, dining on the road became a quick stop necessity in my hurry to get where I was going rather than the experience it should be for travelers. I realized how much I was missing when I stopped in Goodland for lunch at On The Bricks Café, a quaint restaurant with delicious food, a calming atmosphere and friendly staff providing quick service. 

You may think of taking a drive to Winfield in September for its internationally famous bluegrass festival, but thousands of visitors are discovering how the town lights up December, too.

Catching a glimpse of any wildlife is always an exciting experience, but to see rare species in a natural habitat is a rare and treasured opportunity. In this delicate shift from fall to winter, the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge welcomes winged visitors who are in the midst of their migration. One such bird is the whooping crane.

Did you know “Mater” is from Kansas? He is – or at least the 1951 International boom truck used for his model is – and ...

The faces of three young boys from an orphan train peer out, their forlorn looks forever sculpted in brick on a busy street corner in Concordia. Having three sons, I quickly spotted the boys among the two dozen or so realistic scenes depicting the story of Cloud County on the three-dimensional Whole Wall Mural. Measuring 140 feet, this amazing piece of art is currently the longest sculpted brick mural in the country—and possibly the world!Standing before the mural, I began playing a game of “I Spy,” finding pioneers planting seeds, coal miners and brick layers at work, a 1928 biplane, a wooded windmill, grain elevators, a John Deere “A” tractor, a schoolhouse, a church, a train, and an iron truss bridge over the Republican River I remember crossing as a kid when my family drove from our farm near Cuba to shop in Concordia.

Deer hunting is so many different things to different people. It's a source of food, a tradition, a sport, or simply a way to find peace and quiet in a crazy world. All of these things play a part in why I keep hunting year after year, but the biggest draw for me are the actual deer themselves. 

Let me just start by saying I’m a big fan of Halloween. The mixture of fall colors, cooler temperatures, creative costumes and oh-so-sweet candy makes for one of the most fun holidays out there. So when I got my list of Faces and Places stops a few months ago, I was very excited that I was chosen to go to Neewollah, once I found out what it was.I had never heard of Neewollah before. It wasn’t until I told my parents about my trips, that my mom pointed out it is Halloween spelled backwards. I really should have figured that out earlier. My parents told me about the great Halloween celebrations that take place in Independence, Kansas, and from that point on I was counting down the days until the trip.