Off the Beaten Path on the High Plains

 June 20, 2022

Since leaving Springfield, Illinois, we drove across Missouri and Kansas.  Our route through Missouri took us the same way we traveled last summer.  We couldn't visit the covered bridge then because of flooding, so we made a point to visit it this time.

 

A stop near Kansas City to have breakfast with a former student of Brian's, Leah, was a nice diversion.

Hamilton, Missouri boasts of being the "Quilting Capital of the World and we learned it is the hometown of J.C. Penney.

World's largest spool of thread in front of the Missouri Quilt Museum.

The museum was closed so we didn't get to visit.

Half of the local library was devoted to James Cash Penney.

Wamego, Kansas is the home of the Oz Museum so we walked around a bit and took a stroll down an alley with scenes from the book and a yellow-painted brick walkway.

"Dorothy's House" with striped legs sticking out under the right side

For the past several years, Kris has kept a "Points of Interest" notebook by her chair in our den and when she comes across places she wants to visit while looking at social media posts and printed material, she jots them down.  At times, this notebook helps us to decide which route to take through a state.  Here is her page for Kansas:

This is how we ended up stopping in Wilson, Kansas and driving the Post Rock Scenic Byway to Lucas, Kansas.

World's largest Czech egg in Wilson

Also in Wilson, historic round jailhouse constructed of limestone:

Seen along the Post Rock Scenic Byway:

Pioneers quarried local limestone to use for fenceposts because wood was scarce

on the treeless plains.

Some posts had carvings

    As we entered Lucas, we saw signs claiming it to be the "Grassroots Art Center of Kansas."  We stopped to see the "World's Largest Collection of World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things." We were surprised to learn that we have visited some of the things in person.  Another unique place in town is "Garden of Eden"  created by Samuel Dinsmoor using concrete to depict Biblical scenes.

The quirkiest attraction in Lucas even won an award - the public restroom built in the shape of a toilet, honest!

concrete roll of TP

Mosaics inside and out

On the restroom wall

A few years ago, we came across the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum only to find it closed.  We routed ourselves through the town of La Crosse and found it open.  Next door, the Post Rock Museum that we didn't even notice before.  Knowledgeable docents on site were great.

A sampling of the 2,400 different kinds of wire labeled with patent numbers.

Bird nest made from barbed wire

On a more reflective note, we are early risers and typically get up before sunrise and are on the road after making coffee.  We really enjoy cruising back roads in the cool of the morning with the van windows down.  One morning, we ventured a mile down a gravel road and found the site of St. Patrick's Mission Church which was demolished by tornado in 2008.  This open air chapel was so serene that we lingered for a while before moving on.