Kansas Road Trip
8/8 to 8/11 & 8/23 to 8/25
8/8 to 8/11
The game plan for this trip was to start on the eastern side of KS and end up at the
southwest corner of the state when KS, CO, and OK meet.
Then work my way back to my sister-in-law's farm south of Kingman, KS.
Didn't quite work out the way I planned it...
Hanging out at the farm/ranch. Beautiful country.
South central Kansas!
237 miles to get to the farm.
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Teter Rock
Located in the Flint Hills of KS, this site is 12 miles east of I-35 at Cassoday, KS,
and 1 mile south of the road (which is dirt the entire way).
Left the farm at 4am so I could be here at sunrise. 2.5 hour drive to get here.
Apparently, this is all that remains of a small town founded in the 1920's during an oil boom.
These stones were erected as a monument in 1954..
120 miles from the farm to this location. 357 total.
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Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
This site is 6.6 miles east of Teter Rock.
A 3 mile hike and some drone flying in the early morning.
364 total miles.
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Rock City Park... in the rain (drizzle, barely).
128 miles from Flint Hills Trallgrass Prairie Preserve, this location is 20 miles north and east of i-70 at Salina, KS.
129 miles from Flint Hills to Rock City - 488 total miles.
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Mushroom Rock State Park - more rocks! More rain!
46 miles south and east of Rock City Park!
Total of 534 miles.
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Spent the night at a rest area on I-70 just east of Russell, KS
58 miles for a total of 592.
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8/10 - 1st stop
Went to Twin Mounds (Google Maps link... https://maps.app.goo.gl/VuXyq4phZrc86K6Y6).
41 miles to get there from Russell, KS, most of it on dirt roads,
which after the rain last night and this morning weren't too bad.
BUT - the gps sent me down a different road to get to the next destination and I ended up stuck
in the mud, on a downslope with an entirely inundated road at the bottom.
Tried several times to get out on my own, which included getting the truck turned around to go back the way I came, but no matter what I did, I just kept getting closer to the flood at the bottom of the hill.
Called for towing assistance. While I waited, flew the drone to document my dilemma.
After waiting a while, I tried again, and by God's grace was able to get out and back on dry road.
(called and cancelled the tow).
49 miles from Russell to where I got stuck - for a total of 641 miles.
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From the "stuck in the mud" site to WaKenney, KS where I reevaluted my next steps.
91 miles for a total of 732.
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8/10 - 2nd stop
Ness City, KS
Well, it just didn't work out. I had planned on at least 5 more sites to visit today
and 3 to visit tomorrow on my way back to the farm to pick up my wife.
After the "stuck in the mud" debacle, I reevaluated what my options were when I got to WaKeeney, KS.
Realizing that the next 288 miles involved significant amounts of dirt roads to get to each site,
and since it had started raining again, I elected to head straight back to the farm.
I thought I would just try to photograph various things I saw on the way back.
Did take a few here in Ness City, but as you can see in the last photo, the rain increased dramatically,
and for the next few hours I was driving constantly through the rain.
At least I got to help a little with some projects at the farm the next day.
203 miles for a total of 935.
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8/11
Driving home to Oklahoma
after working on the farm for a few hours.
241 miles, for a final trip total of 1,176 miles.
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Didn't want to give up on my adventures in KS, so 2 weeks later I headed back north.
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8/23
From Claremore, OK to Cedar Bluff Overlook (south of WaKeeney, KS)
Stops today...
1st11st • Pawhuska Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Pawhuska, OK
2nd • The old Scott Rice building, Wichita, KS
3rd • The Kansas Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, KS
4th • The Geographic Center of Kansas, Bushton, KS
5th • Castle Rock, KS
489 miles for the first day.
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8/24
From Cedar Bluff Overlook, KS to Black Mesa, OK
Stops today...
1st11st • Cedar Bluff Overlook, KS
2nd • Monument Rocks, KS
3rd • Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, KS
4th • Point of Rocks, Cimarron National Grassland, KS
5th • 3 Points - KS, OK, & CO
6th• Preston Boundary Monument at OK-CO-NM Tripoint
7th • Black Mesa, OK
486 miles for a total for the second leg of 975.
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8/25
From Black Mesa, OK to Claremore, OK
Stops today...
1st11st • Sunrise between Black Mesa, OK and Boise City, OK
2nd • Big Basin Prairie Preserve, KS
3rd • St. Jacob's Well, KS
4th • Gyp Hills Scenic Drive, KS
549 miles for a total for the second leg of 1,524.
Total for both trips... 2,700 miles!!!
That's a lot of driving for basically 2 weekends!
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