The Beauty of Kansas

On July 7th we went on a day trip to explore some fun sites in Kansas. We left from our home in Wichita, KS to our first destination, Coronado Heights, outside of Lindsborg, KS. Coronado Heights is a stone castle/picnic area that was built by the WPA in 1936. The location got its' name by being the alleged place Francisco Vasquez de Coronado quit his search for the legendary 7 cities of gold. The area is beautiful, and well worth the drive out there.

Look at these views from the top of the castle!

Personally I felt that these were the stairs of death when you have two one year olds. They were very steep and uneven. I thought these were the worst stairs I have ever climbed up or down, and I have been to the Great Wall!

 

The second place we traveled to was Mushroom Rock State Park outside of Marquette, KS. It's called this because of the natural mushroom shaped limestone and sandstone formations throughout the park. It is a very small park (only 5 acres), but it is definitely worth the visit. This park has been a popular location even back with the Native Americans and pioneers. The rocks are covered with graffiti from visitors dating back over a century.

If you've been paying attention you will notice that my kids are representing Kyle and I's alma maters, Wichita State University and Emporia State University.

 

Then we ate lunch, and drove to our third destination, Castle Rock and the Badlands. They are 15 miles south of Quinter, KS. The terrain in this area is very rough, and you have to be very careful driving on paths that are more like off roading than paths.
Castle Rock view from above:

View of the Badlands from above.

Ares taking in the beauty around him :)

Castle Rock

 Side note about Castle Rock, it is covered with cow patties so step carefully!

The Badlands!

Who knew there were such beautiful rock formations in Kansas! We are so lucky to have been able to witness such natural beauties in our home state!

After this we decided to head home. On the way home though I stopped in Victoria, KS to see St. Fidelis Church, or as it is better known as, The Cathedral of the Plains. The Cathedral of the Plains is not actually a Cathedral because it is not a seat of a bishop, but rather it got its' name from William Jennings Bryan (a famous politician) when he had visited it in 1912. The church is gorgeous! I wish we could have gone to mass there was no way we could have made it there on time, even if it had been the first place on our list.

After our short visit here, we ate dinner at Montana Mike's in Hays, KS. The food was delicious, and I loved our waitress, she was so friendly! Plus we had lively conversation with another one of the guests there. It's days like this where I am proud I'm from Kansas :)