It’s time to abandon the idea that Kansas is little more than a 423-mile-long, east-west ribbon of Interstate 70 to be endured on the way to the Rockies.
If you trade the interstate highway for a daylong (or longer) north-south trek into the rolling hill country from Wichita to Manhattan — the eastern part of the state “where the buffalo roam” — you’ll discover countless natural, historical and human-assisted wonders well worth a side trip.
Wichita: You could spend several days exploring Kansas’ largest city, but 24 hours is enough time to get a decent dose of prairie history while keeping the kids entertained.
Start the day with a walk through the prairie grass at the Great Plains Nature Center northeast of downtown. Spotting birds, deer and turtles rise with the sun is simultaneously peaceful and exciting.
Head to Old Town for breakfast at the kitschy Donut Whole on Douglas Avenue. Children get a kick out of the giant chicken on the roof, the throwback vibe and whimsical doughnuts — like the Sunrise Citrus Crunch covered with Fruity Pebbles — while adults savor coffee made from locally roasted beans.
Continue south to the Kansas Aviation Museum, and find out why Wichita is known as the Air Capital of the World. Long home to Cessna and Learjet, among others, Wichita still manufactures nearly half of the planet’s general aviation planes.
Grab lunch before you hit Wichita’s Museums on the River campus. Start with Exploration Place for hands-on math and science experiences in aviation and geography. Travel back in time at Old Cowtown Museum, a restored Midwest cattle town with docents in period dress. The Wichita Art Museum, Mid-America All-Indian Center and Botanica gardens are all within walking distance.
Stop everything at dusk, and meander over to the Douglas Street Bridge at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers. Browse the displays illustrating the area’s Native American heritage while you wait for the nightly Keeper of the Plains fire-lighting ceremony to begin at 9 p.m. in spring and summer, 7 p.m. the rest of the year. For 15 minutes each night, fire pots shoot flames from the base of a 44-foot-tall steel sculpture by renowned Native American artist Blackbear Bosin.
Get a good night’s sleep at the Old Town Hotel before you plunge into the prairie.
Flint Hills: Tallgrass prairie once covered 170 million acres of North America. Today, only 4 percent of that ecosystem remains. Most of it is in eastern Kansas’ Flint Hills, formed 250 million years ago when receding shallow seas left layers of flint and shale near the surface of the soil.
The small towns dotting the Flint Hills terrain are rich in history and homey charm. Council Grove, at the crossroads of the Santa Fe Trail and Flint Hills Scenic Byway, boasts 24 registered historic sites.
Agritourism is a big draw, with almost 90 Flint Hills farms and homesteads providing guests with food, lodging and authentic prairie experiences, such as hunting, ranch chores, picking produce and working cattle drives (www.travelks.com/flint-hills/todo/science-agriculture.
Spring is the season for prairie burns, when controlled blazes rejuvenate the grass to make it tender for grazing cattle and bison. Tourists feast on the fires’ spectacular visuals.
Manhattan: Living up to a direct comparison to New York might seem like a delusion for a city of fewer than 60,000 people, but feisty Manhattan is putting its money where its dreams are in a big way. From the sparkling Flint Hills Discovery Center to the funky Aggieville district, Manhattan captivates visitors at a fraction of the cost of its East Coast namesake.
The discovery center at the edge of downtown opened in 2012 chockablock with interactive exhibits devoted to Flint Hills science, history and ecology. Its brightly colored children’s exhibits are world-class.
Go fishing, play golf, paddle a kayak, swim, hike, ride a horse or just hang out at Tuttle Creek State Park, a 1,200-acre recreation area 13 miles north of town. It’s the gateway to Tuttle Creek, the second largest body of water in Kansas with 100 miles of shoreline.
Commune with nature closer to civilization at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, whose trails weave through 8,600 acres of tallgrass prairie thick with plant life, bison, white-tailed deer and quail. Or take a leisurely ride around town on Manhattan’s extensive network of bike paths, which allegedly can get you anywhere in town in 30 minutes or less.
No trip here would be complete without a visit to Kansas State University and Aggieville, stomping ground for Big 12 party animals and the oldest shopping area in Kansas.
End your stay with dinner and a relaxing stroll through downtown Manhattan’s eclectic mix of restaurants, stores and historic buildings.
After all, what’s the rush? The Rockies aren’t going anywhere.
Karen Torme Olson is a freelance writer.
Symphony in the Flint Hills
For one day in June, music flows across the tallgrass prairie for Symphony in the Flint Hills (www.symphonyintheflinthills.org. That’s when a Flint Hills landowner opens his property to host an outdoor festival that brings together 10,000 people whose common purpose is prairie preservation. Symphonygoers hike or ride open wagons through rocky pastures for a mile or more to get to the venue with its billowy white tents, art exhibits, food and conservation talks. People of all ages stand knee-deep in wildflowers to listen to botanists explain pollination. They chow down on barbecue, watch a mini cattle drive, and listen to an open-air performance by the Kansas City Symphony that traditionally ends with the audience belting out “Home on the Range.” There are no fireworks, no fancy costumes. Just the sound of music floating on the wind, a glowing sunset and a crowd of concertgoers saluting the land. Tickets for this year’s June 11 event at South Clements pasture in Chase County went on sale this month; 816-471-0400, www.kcsymphony.org.
— Karen Torme Olson
