Category Archives: Day Trips

Exploring Barton County, KS

This week in Kansas has been so hot! The 100 degree temperatures are great for the wheat harvest. I had a decision to make, stay home and enjoy the climate controlled comfort of home thinking of places to go OR load up and enjoy a day exploring. Load up Wylie!!

We headed west to Barton County, an area known as Post Rock County. This area is approximately 200 miles from the Nebraska border to Dodge City.

Boyd, KS was a station and shipping point for the railroad. All that is left is a grain elevator, a farm and this abandoned station. Was so surprised to see the two gas pumps!

Scales at Boyd Station

On our way to Olmitz we saw this jackrabbit. Our rabbit population is mostly cottontail, but the jack is making a comeback.

Olmitz was established in 1885 mainly by Austrians. It is quiet little town, population 114, the catholic school has closed, kids are bused to Otis, about 6 miles away. This little bar The New Place, was a great stop on a hot day. I will post photos of the beautiful catholic church in the series of Churches of the Prairie, I can’t wait for you to see it, it was SO beautiful!

From Olmitz, we traveled north on the backroad to find ruins of Barton County. The temperature was 103 and we had a few people stop to see if we were okay. Thank you Barton County for checking on “an old grandma and her pup”.

I see so many of these abandoned places and there are some that I would love to refurbish.

Someday I would love to go into one of the cellars! There is a group in the Flint Hills that gives tour of the Kansas stone cellars. Sign me up!

What a beautiful home.

The entrance at one time was quite impressive

This homestead out grew its original stone home and later built on the wood frame addition

This was where the Lutheran church held their Sunday school classes.

Just up the road is this homestead

A little farther north driving along the river bottom and I was thinking “what a great place for a home”, someone else thought that too! The stories these homes could tell.

Cellar at the river bottom home

Churches of the Prairie

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As I travel around the backroads of Kansas, I’m amazed and sometimes saddened by all the churches. Some are closed and in ruins, others are still holding services. This will be a multiple collection of all denominations and will include rural, ghost town churches and small town churches.

St. Catherine’s Catholic Church – Dubuque, KS

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United Methodist Church – Huscher, KS

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Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse – Concordia, KS

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church – Concordia, KS

United Methodist Church – Carneiro, KS

First Baptist Church – Carlton, KS

Butcher Falls, Sedan, KS

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Located in Chautauqua County, KS just off highway 99 near Sedan KS, on the 8,000 acre Red Buffalo Ranch is Butcher Falls.

Water from the Middle Caney Creek flows over rounded limestone rocks – dropping 10 feet, creating a beautiful Kansas waterfall.

The bunk house that is by the creek in the trees is available for rent. What a great place to have a family gathering!! Family – I’m making plans:)

The ranch also has a herd of buffalo, but we didn’t see them today. Another trip is planned in a few weeks to this area!

Weekend in the Flint Hills

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We spent a couple of days in the Flint Hills around Cottonwood Falls, one of my favorite places to be. It was a very cool rainy weekend.

Most of the pastures have been burnt, the grass is so beautiful and green. The tallgrass prairies of the Flint Hills are so beautiful any season.

Cattle of the Flint Hills

Mr. Farmer, we should get some Longhorns!

Clements, KS

In 1862 a post office was established at Silver Creek (not a ghost town, it’s considered an extinct town). The rail road came thru the area in 1871 and in 1881 the post office was moved to Crawfordsville, which was renamed to Clements in 1884.

Double Arch Stone Bridge built in 1887

Abandoned beautiful majestic home. South of Cottonwood Falls

Bushong, Lyon County, KS. In 1880 the railroad constructed a depot in a pasture, a town developed beside the track. Originally called Weeks – it was changed by the railroad crew to Bushong, in honor of a baseball payer, Al “Doc” Bushong. They also named another town in Lyon County after a baseball player, Comiskey. At one time there was over 150 residents calling Bushong home, now there are less than 40. A fire in the 1920’s destroyed a large portion of the town, buildings were never rebuilt. The railroad has abandoned the track and the railbed is now a nature trail.

This building served as a gas station and tavern.

This guy calls Bushong home. He was so beautiful, but noisy!! He didn’t want me getting too close!

Have a Blessed Sunday

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There are so many beautiful abandoned churches, this is St. Joseph’s Church and Cemetery . Built in 1910 and decommissioned as a church in the late 1980’s There is an effort to restore the church and it will then serve as a museum for McDowell Creek area a community center. The Geary County Historical Society and Friends of the St. Joseph’s Church has made many improvements to the beautiful church

The cemetery has burials dating from the 1870’s.

Spray Plane

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I was on my way to Lucas, the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas, it was their city wide garage sale day. Now you could count on one hand the times I’ve gone to a garage sale in the last couple of decades, but it was an excuse to go to Lucas. Guess who I met on the back road today…..

We are on the flight path of a spray plane that is out of a small town north of us. He roars over our house almost daily this time of year. Today I came across him spraying a wheat field, was able to get some photos of him working.

Thanks for the flyby. Be careful up there!!!

My first stop at Lucas. Aunt Gertie’s Art & Antiques, located across the road from The Garden of Eden. Her hours are: Open Friday and Saturday, Maybe Monday – Tuesday – Probably Wednesday – Thursday She is closed Sunday

I purchased a few pieces for my garden art and a beautiful pink vase for the girls (will look so pretty in the chicken house). Great little store.

A few more garage sales stops and girl scouts selling cookies. Then home to plant some flower seeds and put my new garden art in the butterfly garden. I hope you are enjoying your beautiful Saturday.

Deep Creek Waterfall

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I don’t know if he still makes custom boots and saddles, but his sign let me know we were on our way to Deep Creek. I should of stopped, I like custom boots!!

This is Chris Barr’s Cabin

The sign by the road said:

Cabin was found in house when house was torn down in 1962

Refurbished by Zendale Senior Citizens 1992

Deep Creek Waterfall is located at Pillsbury Crossing along Deep Creek. Named for J.H Pillsbury who settled here in 1855. A low water crossing, a drive of 100′ through a few inches of water. It is impassable during high water. The 59 acres were donated to Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks in 1967, it is one of the most scenic areas of the Northern Flint Hills.

Pillsbury Crossing at Deep Creek

Deep Creek Waterfall, yes you are in Kansas!! And yes there were SNAKES!! Okay, I only saw ONE, but I had to look at it more than once to make sure it was still there so that counts for SNAKES. I took a picture of it, but I was SO far away, running the other direction with Wylie in one arm and trying to take the photo. It was just a blur.

Up on the bank on the north side of the falls, a great view of the crossing and falls. There is a short hiking trail, good fishing and during normal flow you can canoe or kayak, no swimming. Camping only by special permit.

Continuing in Lincoln, County

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I have already posted about Lucas but I wanted to get some more photos of the Best Place to Go (Lucas’ public restroom). Lucas is home of the No.2 Restroom In The Country 2014. Constructed in 2008 by a community effort, the building itself is shaped like a toilet. The big roll of toilet paper forms the sidewalk.

As you walk thru the toilet bowl to the entrance, you are able to see somethings that people flush down. Cell phones, glasses, toys (if you zoom in you will see fish, watches, money, keys, alligator?………..you can probably think of some things you’ve lost. I’ve flushed a fish or two and had to………I’m not confessing to anything more!) I like the little dog drinking out of the bowl ewwww, I’m thankful Wylie hasn’t ever done that!!

Bottle wall

Women’s Restroom

Mosaic using broken china

Seashells

Men’s Restroom (Of course I went in!)

Farm Scene

Piano and Dominoes

Hot Wheels mural

What a beautiful place to “go”

Here is a link to the Finalists

Plan a day trip to Lucas, with a population of around 450, know as the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas, Garden of Eden and sit along the Post Rock Scenic Byway. It’s a beautiful part of Kansas.

Lincoln County Again

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Lincoln County is one of my FAVORITE places. It was such a beautiful day, calm day after all the wind we’ve had. I wished you were with us.

Since the grasses haven’t started growing I saw numerous root cellars/storm caves. NO, I didn’t crawl into any of them!!!

All that is left of this home, is a window in the milo stubble.

Ash Grove, KS at one time had a grocery store, lumber yard, blacksmith, hardware store, hotel, church and school.

Limestone arch bridge at Ash Grove

Yard art? or just poor parking?

The wooden frame building was the Pottersburg Church. It was moved to Ash Grove in 1925.

The church bell is still in the bell tower.

Ash Grove school closed in 1966. Can you hear the school bell ringing?

To the south of Ash Grove was the site of Pottersburg.

A woman died near Spillman Creek and was buried in the cemetery. A local man later bought this stone for her.

Continuing south is a place that I came across years ago while exploring with my Mom and Aunt. It is the only place that I have seen that has limestone clothesline post still standing, I was so happy when I came across it again. It is absolutely in the middle of no where. Can’t imagine how awesome it would be living there.

I always loved hanging clothes on the clothesline.

Limestone Double Arch Bridge, no longer used but they preserved it when they re-routed Highway 18.

Faris Cave, Ellsworth County, KS

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I’ve been wanting to make another trip back to Faris Cave, I had been there in the summer and was concerned about snakes so I didn’t explore the area like I wanted. I said then, that I would return in the winter when the snakes were “frozen”. Well, it’s winter, and we haven’t had the cold weather like usual, in fact today it’s in the low 60’s. Perfect day for an adventure to the caves. Hope the snakes are not active!!

Faris Cave is located along the Smoky Hill River, caves that were carved into the sandstone formation by Charles Griffin who came to Kansas in the 1880’s. The 3 small rooms served as his home and a spring house, used to keep things cool. In 1893 the land was sold to Winfield and William Faris. They built a wood frame house close to the caves and used the caves as a spring house, generator room and for a short time as a schoolhouse.

The caves are very isolated, gravel and dirt roads, but it’s definitely worth the trip. As I was standing there thinking about the people who had lived here, I heard silence, only broken by a few chirps from the birds. Amazing place, I hope you can experience it sometime.

(I didn’t see any snakes!!)