Earlier this month, I took part in the Big Kansas Road Trip, an event that encourages travelers to visit different parts of the state each year.
This year, the Big Kansas Road Trip was held in Smith, Republic, and Jewell counties, which are located in North Central Kansas, along the Kansas-Nebraska border.
The Kansas Sampler Foundation organizes the annual event to educate Kansans about their state and promote exploration to help sustain Kansas communities.
The event highlights easy-to-miss hidden gems in rural Kansas.
I first learned about the Big Kansas Road Trip when I worked as a reporter at the Salina Journal. I wrote an article about the upcoming 2019 Big Kansas Road Trip in Cheyenne, Sherman, and Wallace counties, in northwest Kansas. Those counties are located along the Kansas-Colorado border.
I didn’t have time to attend and cover the event that year.
But last year, in 2022, the article helped motivate me to travel to western Kansas.
During that trip, I visited the Fort Wallace Museum, and the Memory Bank, a combination coffee shop and antique store. Both the museum and the Memory Bank are located in the city of Wallace and Wallace County.
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| The Fort Wallace Museum features a replica of a giant Plesiosaur fossil that was discovered by a Fort Wallace surgeon in 1867. |
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| The Memory Bank is a combination coffee shop and antique store in Wallace, Kansas. The business is located in a former bank. |
I also visited several attractions outside the counties included in the 2019 Big Kansas Road Trip, including Prairie Dog State Park, near Norton, Kansas, and the Dane G. Hansen Museum in Logan, Kansas.
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| Dane Hansen was a successful businessman from Northwest Kansas. In his will, Hansen created a charity, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, that continues to provide grants and scholarships. The Dane Hansen Museum displays Hansen's extensive collection of Republican political buttons. |
You can see more pictures from my 2022 trip to Western Kansas across several twitter threads.
During the trip, I also captured photos and videos at Coronado Heights, which I used to create a video about the scenic park.
Coronado Heights is located in Saline County, in central Kansas.
This year's big roadtrip
This year, I participated in the Big Kansas Road Trip, during the actual event, for the first time.
On Friday, May 5, I visited the Vintage Wedding Shed, Sharon Rust’s impressive collection of wedding dresses from 1900 to 2000, located just outside Kensington.
In Smith Center, I ate at Jiffy Burger, a 1950s-themed diner.
Also in Smith Center, I visited the Ingleboro Mansion, where I ate pie on the porch and listened to a poetry reading, before viewing the mansion’s many beautiful decorations.
Over the years, the mansion has served as a hospital, nursing home, restaurant, and bed-and-breakfast, which it is today.
Many babies were born at the mansion when it served as a hospital. The mansion even has a separate guest book for people who were born there.
I visited Foxy Finds, a thrift store in Smith Center, which had many fascinating items on display.
I also stopped to view a miniature statue of liberty in Smith County.
On Saturday, May 6, I visited Courtland, Kansas, where I participated in a Yoga class.
I completed a trivia questionnaire about several locations in town by reading about their history.
Irrigation Ales, a craft brewery, featured interesting murals, including two detailed maps.
I also listed to live music performed by a local band.
That evening, I traveled Formoso, where I skated at their skating rink alongside many other visitors, including lots of joyful children.
I created a video using the many photos I took during the 2023 Big Kansas Road Trip.
I also recorded video of the local band, “Short Notice: Final Notice,” as they performed “Can’t You See” by The Marshall Tucker Band and “Wear My Ring” by Bart Crow.
You can find these videos on my “Slices of Life” playlist, which also includes videos from my trips last year to Wamego’s Fourth of July celebration and Kansas City PrideFest.
Next year, the Big Kansas Road Trip will be held in Ellsworth County, Lincoln County, and the community of Lucas, in Russell County. These counties are located in central Kansas.
You can learn more about the Big Kansas Road Trip at bigkansasroadtrip.com.
