Away from the Crowds in Kansas

Kansas is a landlocked state in the Midwest bordering Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south, and Colorado to the west.

American aviation pioneer and author Amelia Earhart is one of the most famous people born in Kansas. Her childhood home can be seen in Atchinson. The home was constructed around 1860 and is now the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum.

Arikaree Breaks is located north of St. Francis near the corner of Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska. The beautiful region of badlands encircles the southernmost points of the Republican and Arikaree River basins. Here, water runs over the soil, causing it to erode away, leaving behind towering cliffs. The dirt in the area is known as loess, and after the creative work of the wind and the water, it resembles a small version of the Grand Canyon.

Civil War veteran Samuel Perry Dinsmoore is the creator of S.P. Dinsmoore’s Garden of Eden in Lucas. In 1907 he started working on the “Garden of Eden.” It is made mostly of concrete. The home was constructed from limestone logs, and his sculptures were placed around the cabin, surrounded by a number of concrete trees.

It is a creative combination of modern civilization, populist politics, and the Bible. His final work was a concrete mausoleum where his body rests in peace in a glass coffin. Ensuring that his family was well-provided for long after he was gone, Dinsmoor stated in his will that no one except his family was allowed to see him for less than $1.

Maxwell Wildlife Refuge is located near Canton and is home to one of the remaining herds of American bison left in the world. The Maxwell family established this area for bison herds in 1943.

Visitors can also see groups of elk grazing on the prairie. Tours are available by tram or on horseback, and you can get great views from the observation tower.

Monument Rocks in Oakley is regarded as the first National Natural Monument in the US. These are a group of 70-foot-high chalk formations believed to be the relics of the Western Interior Seaway that divided North America into two halves during the Cretaceous Period. Most of the chalk formations have specific names that have been given based on their shape and ‘personality,’ for example, “Charlie the Dog” and “The Eye of the Needle.”

Mushroom Rock State Park in Brookville has some of the most unusual rock formations. (pictured above) The park has massive geological formations that are among the Dakota formations of the Cretaceous Period, dating back to 144 to 66 million years ago. They are made of cemented calcium carbonate; the largest rock formation at the park has a 27-foot diameter.

Dorothy’s House and Land of Oz in Liberal is all about the fictional character Dorothy from the storybook by L. Frank Baum. A man named Max decided that Liberty might just be the place that Dorothy lived with her Aunt Em. A guide, usually a local girl dressed as Dorothy, shows you around the exhibit and narrates the story and its events one by one.

You can skip down the “yellow-brick road” with your “Dorothy” or make a small donation to get your name on a brick along with the likes of previous visitors such as Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

The Oz Museum is located in Wamego, with everything in it to do with The Wizard of Oz. It was established in 2004 and captures the spirit of the Land of Oz.

Visitors can enjoy more than 2,500 Oz-related artifacts and memorabilia, including items related to the storybook as well as the movie. Among other exhibits, there is a representation of the black and white farmhouse where Dorothy, the little Kansas girl, lived before she landed in the fantasy world of Oz.

Truckhenge, a grassroots art display that is part of the Lessman Farm & Catfish Pond. It is located between Topeka and Tecumseh and is one of the most unique art installations in the state. It was created by a man named Ron Lessman, who collected trucks and other “junk” on his property and did the most creative things with them. There are also a few buses standing on end, a collection of wood carvings, and concrete sculptures featuring colored glass bottles. Also, a miniature version of Truckhenge aptly named "Boathenge." Being on private property, visitors have to schedule a tour.

The Wichita Troll is a spooky-looking seven-foot goblin with an enormous head and a black cobbled dress that looms over the streets of Wichita. It is the 2007 creation of Connie Ernatt, a local artist. Visitors to the city cannot miss him as the creature lights up green underneath a storm door and can be found near 777, West Central Avenue, Wichita.