There's a lot a didn't know about Kansas before my summer trip to the Sunflower State. Yes, I did research on what to see, what roads to take, what I should bypass.
On my map of Kansas, a few miles east of US Route 83 in Gove County, there was a red dot: Monument Rocks.
The rocks, made of a soft limestone known as Niobrara Chalk, are as worthy a site as similar, but better known locations as Nebraska's Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff National Monument. Unlike those spots, the Monument Rocks are on private land. You have to drive on six miles of unpaved road to see them. The rocks are on private land, the owner of the property does not discourage visits. There is no tourist center.
But you can walk right up and touch the rocks. National Park Service personnel don't let you get closer than a half-mile to Chimney Rock.
Ignoring Alan Clark's advice not to take any unpaved roads in Kansas--I think he meant the damper eastern half of the state, I cautiously drove the six miles to the rocks. And I was glad I did.
Roughly twenty miles to the east of the Monument Rocks is Castle Rock. I didn't make it there, it's a smaller version of its western kin. If you are in central Kansas and you're pressed for time, then head west to at least Castle Rock.
As with both places, don't take advantage of the accessibility of the rocks. Don't try to climb them and don't carve your initials into them. When you leave the rocks, let the next person see them the way you did.
A few things about the Kansas trip, now that I'm winding down the series. Marathon Pundit reader Chris R. of Tustin, California e-mailed me the question, "How long was I in Kansas?" The answer to that is one week in late July.
The photographs: All were taken by me, with the exception of a couple of pre-tornado pictures on one of my Greensburg, Kansas posts, which were duly credited.
Why Kansas? Well, according to Thomas Franks' What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
, in which the author for the most part trashes his home state, the Sunflower State is American's least popular vacation destination. As a blogger, uh, make that journalist, I view it my task to find places and stories that others have overlooked.Also, Kansas until July was the only Midwestern state I hadn't step foot in.
Next: Smoky River Scenic Byway
Previous "My Kansas Kronikles" entries:
An overview
This has to stop
US Route 83, America's Loneliest Road
Little pueblo on the prairie
My return to western Kansas
Gray County Wind Farm
Wagon ruts
Chase County Courthouse
Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church
The Sunflower State
The Flint Hills
Alan Clark's filling station in Eskridge
A taste of home
Kingman
Western Holiday Motel in Wichita
The Prairie Chicken Capital of the World
The Texas panhandle
Oklahoma's strange panhandle
Greensburg posts:
Greensburg, the fall and rise, part one
Greensburg, the fall and rise, part two
Greensburg, the fall and rise, part three
Greensburg, the fall and rise, part four
Greensburg, the fall and rise, part five
Greensburg, the fall and rise, part six
The Beef Kingdoms:
Dodge City, Beef Kingdom
Liberal: Kansas' second Beef Kingdom
Garden City, Kansas' third Beef Kingdom
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