Traveler II
To most of the country, and world, Kansas is a fly-over state only checkered with corn, wheat and grass. While not completely false, there are vast areas with views you will not find anywhere else in the world. This trip through the Flint Hills was a last minute run made by two friends who linked up at Konza Overland. Konza is similar to Overland Bound, and predates my membership here, in that we promote safe and responsible travel with an emphasis in Kansas.
The weekend weather forecast looked mighty pleasant for the first weekend of November, especially after winters first snowfall hit a week before. We had no route and no plan other than knowing which lake we wanted to camp and a collection of points on a map... and we had an extra hour to do it thanks to ending daylight savings time. This is what we found.
A well preserved school house in the prairie. I imagine this is the view a young kid would have had when going to school 120 years ago, less the livestock fence.
No trip to Central Flint Hills is complete without a stop at the infamous Teter Rock. This crazy monolith is a monument for the pile of rocks James Teter placed on his land to help guide settlers to the nearby Cottonwood River.
Some of the original fragmented prairie remains where no plow could break ground for cropland. These Flint Hills Vistas are hard to beat.
Since most of Kansas is privately owned, you can't seek out public land to explore. One way I've found to locate neat old towns and locations is to check out several of the remaining train depots throughout the state.
While there are no wild forests to wander through to find a suitable site to camp, Kansas does have many primitive state fishing lakes which provide an opportunity for primitive camping. These little oasis's can be fabulous. We almost didn't make it to camp before the sunset.
Winding road and some remaining fall color -
The sad reality for many small towns is a steady decline in population. This school house was once the pride a joy of a small bustling town.
Many old bridges, iron and stone, can be found among the prairie. I have no idea how the elm (right) and cottonwood (left) held onto their green leaves through the last snow and freeze.
This old Garage is one of the coolest things I have seen in a ghost town. I love that somebody is working to preserve some of the history of this forgotten place. This would be a great piece of property to own.
Back road exploration is one of the most well kept secrets of the sunflower state. A few locals know about it and the adventure bike guys know about it. The travelers stuck on the interstate with a tunnel vision destination of the West have no idea what they are missing!
The weekend weather forecast looked mighty pleasant for the first weekend of November, especially after winters first snowfall hit a week before. We had no route and no plan other than knowing which lake we wanted to camp and a collection of points on a map... and we had an extra hour to do it thanks to ending daylight savings time. This is what we found.
A well preserved school house in the prairie. I imagine this is the view a young kid would have had when going to school 120 years ago, less the livestock fence.
No trip to Central Flint Hills is complete without a stop at the infamous Teter Rock. This crazy monolith is a monument for the pile of rocks James Teter placed on his land to help guide settlers to the nearby Cottonwood River.
Some of the original fragmented prairie remains where no plow could break ground for cropland. These Flint Hills Vistas are hard to beat.
Since most of Kansas is privately owned, you can't seek out public land to explore. One way I've found to locate neat old towns and locations is to check out several of the remaining train depots throughout the state.
While there are no wild forests to wander through to find a suitable site to camp, Kansas does have many primitive state fishing lakes which provide an opportunity for primitive camping. These little oasis's can be fabulous. We almost didn't make it to camp before the sunset.
Winding road and some remaining fall color -
The sad reality for many small towns is a steady decline in population. This school house was once the pride a joy of a small bustling town.
Many old bridges, iron and stone, can be found among the prairie. I have no idea how the elm (right) and cottonwood (left) held onto their green leaves through the last snow and freeze.
This old Garage is one of the coolest things I have seen in a ghost town. I love that somebody is working to preserve some of the history of this forgotten place. This would be a great piece of property to own.
Back road exploration is one of the most well kept secrets of the sunflower state. A few locals know about it and the adventure bike guys know about it. The travelers stuck on the interstate with a tunnel vision destination of the West have no idea what they are missing!
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