Marathon Pundit: My Kansas Kronikles: Goodbye to Kansas, the last of a 39 post series

On the last Saturday in July I left Kansas for home in Morton Grove. Despite the plethora of posts, I was there for only a week. For those bloggers and aspiring bloggers who think they can't come up with original material, just hop in your car and drive--but take a camera with you. If you don't drive, there is always, always something near your home that will be of interest to someone who lives nearby--or on another continent.

Well, to answer Thomas Frank's question, What's the Matter with Kansas?

I couldn't find any Kansas-specific problems. Of course uber-liberal Frank wasn't happy with the way Kansans voted, which is why he wrote his book.

Frank also wrote the Kansas was the nation's least popular vacaction destination. That may be true. But as I proved in this series, there is plenty to see and do there, as there are in all states.

In several e-mails that I've received--none of which need to be reprinted here--I've been encouraged to return and "touch base" with some of the Kansans who liked what I wrote--and who were quite touched that I chose to spend a week in the Sunflower State. But to keep on pace, like any marathon runner must, I felt the urge to move on--which is the same, because Kansans are incredibly friendly people.

But I was only there a week, and I missed some attractions. These include Kansas' highest point, Mount Sunflower, near the Colorado border, the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City--Hey, a little cheesiness never killed anyone--and most of all, historic Leavenworth.

I traveled on six the state's nine scenic byways, the ones I missed were Post Rock, Frontier Military, and Glacial Hills. Two of the these three travel through Leavenworth.

What surprises did I encounter? Well, for one there is a lot of incredibly natural beauty in Kansas. If you've driven across the state on Interstate 70 or I-35 and you think I'm nuts, then you need to take a detour off the freeway to see what I mean.

Another was the dominance of the beef industry, and the large Hispanic populations of the towns I've nicknamed the Beef Kingdoms: Garden City, Dodge City, and Liberal--all in the southwest corner of the state.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Kansas. For instance, the US Mint's statehood commemorative quarter series is winding down. A few years ago a very creative person designed a satirical batch of statehood coins, the Kansas entry is on the right. Hear it from me: It's not that flat, it's not all white, and if your coming from Kansas City as I did, it's not even that easy to enter.