For the last couple of days Neil has been able to live out his Kansas expectations ( Dodge City/Gunsmoke/Wyatt Earp etc) but today it was my turn!
When we left Dodge this morning the cloud hung very low and made for an eerie drive for the first hour or so past yet another huge wind farm.
We had another long flat straight drive east across the state but later in the morning we turned north onto the Flint Hill Scenic Byway. This meandered through rolling hillls of high grass prairie which was liberally scattered with sunflowers ( the Kansas state flower). The small towns and homes on this stretch looked more prosperous and tidier than some of the scruffier small towns in the wild west of Kansas.
We have noticed several times along the roads, large black metal sculptures of classic western characters in profile. This one of a trail wagon was perched on a hillside miles from any residence. I have no idea who erects then but they are very effective.
Eventually we pulled into the pretty town of Wamego for my treat, a visit to the OZ Museum, which has a HUGE array of memorabilia about the Wizard of Oz. If we’d had time I could have re-watched the movie as they have it playing on constant loop in their small theatre.
Just a short walk down the road we dropped into the Oz Winery where they produce a range of wines inspired by the Wizard or Oz legend. I tasted the “Blue Gingham Dress” Sauvignon Blanc which was really rather nice!
We walked around to the town park looking for the short section of “Yellow brick Road” that was mentioned in the brochure but this was one part of the town that wasn’t being maintained, the yellow was distinctly beige! However the park itself was pretty and the houses around the park were the quintessential American clapboard home with a nice front porch decorated with American flags. here’s a short video of our drive through the park. Click here for the link if you’re reading this via email.
From there it was a short drive to Manhattan ( Kansas… not New York!) where we’re booked in to the Holiday Inn for the night. Manhattan is a college town, the main campus of Kansas State University is here and you can’t walk anywhere in the town without stumbling over purple “Kansas State Wildcats” flags and banners. We saw several people in town wearing their purple t-shirts and learned that the Wildcats were playing Stanford university this morning ( in California!) but, unfortunately, the Wildcats lost. College football is a REALLY big deal here!
Tomorrow we’re off east again to another new state.