The Unsung Hero

During the time that I was in college my family lived in Iowa. In most any new social situation at school I could count on being asked that universal question, "So where are you from?" My answer of "Iowa" almost always brought one of two different responses: 1) a blank stare and a little bit of uncomfortable shifting of the feet as the person frantically tried to come up with SOMETHING, ANYTHING to say about Iowa or 2) "Oh, Iowa, yah I think I drove through there once--lots of corn."

My mom and I recently made our own cross-country trek in a Budget moving truck and had quite a few "drive through" experiences of our own. Kansas was one of the states on our tour de America, and I admit I approached the state with the same stereotypical shortsidedness that I found so annoying as a college student. But, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I found Kansas to be--dare I say it--rather fascinating. So, in praise of seldom thought of midwestern states, I give you my impressions of Kansas, the unsung hero.
We came into the state heading west on I-70 from Kansas City and were met with Topeka and the Brown vs. Board of Education Center, the "Little Apple" of Manhattan, Kansas and home of Kansas State University. Just past the university exit was the Konza Prairie Restoration and Research Center for KSU. A military base at Fort Riley had dozens of oversized brown-black helicopters that looked like flying cockroaches (one took off right as we passed and made sort of an awkward wobbly start). The rolling hills of Ellsworth County were covered in huge white wind turbines. Operational oil rigs were scattered across the state, but were especially plentiful near Russell, Kansas. The claim of "sunflower state" was a little disappointing because in our drive along I-70 we only came across one field of the cheery flowers, near Hays, Kansas. (Perhaps though it is like Georgia being the "peach state" and yet you would never see a single peachtree orchard anywhere north of Macon. )

There were also grazing buffalo, old fashioned wind mills, fields of harvested wheat (or barley?), corn fields, hay bales, wind breaks, and lots of prairie. But, lest you think it was just a lot of sameness, the innovative Kansas residents have created pleasant diversions for boredom weary travelers. Tired of seeing mile after mile of rolling green hills?--you are in luck, stop for a bit, put your feet up, enjoy some refreshment and wander through a musuem honoring...barbed wire, or an 8000 lb. prairie dog, or the largest Czech egg in the world, or the famous fish-within-a fish fossil, or a six-legged steer. If that is not enought to tempt you, why not make an entire vacation exploring the EIGHT WONDERS OF KANSAS! (who knew?) Mom and I were curious enough (or bored enough?) to take a 30 mile (one way) off-the-beaten path adventure to pursue one of those "eight wonders". South of Oakley, Kansas is Monument Rock, a group of chalk monoliths from the Createous period of geologic history when the state was under water that for some reason are extremely resistant to wind erosion. Certainly an oddity for the western Kansas prairie!

I suppose the overall appeal had something to do with the fact that I have never driven across the state of Kansas before. The newness of the experience made anything (even ANOTHER wind mill) seem exciting. But, I think the appeal also has something to do with seeing Americana in an undefiled state. The sky was so blue, the harvested fields of grain so golden, billboards were minimal, pollution was almost non-existent, roadside littering was few and far between, and there was a sense of history and preservation. This is certainly not your drama queen state. Don't expect a prima donna performance, no knock-your-socks-off vacation destinations. But refreshing, and soothing, and altogether picturesque, yes.