Kansas

6/03/2024 07:24:00 PM

Kansas

A Dala horse

Location: Lindsborg & Greensburg
When: Early May
Miles traveled: 828mi to get here from OH and 732.5 while here.
Price of gas: 2.99
Interest: Big Well Museum
High point: Northern lights!!!
Low point: Twice paying for campground electricity only to discover 30 amp outlets which I cannot use.

Environment: Not 100% flat, low hills, few trees, many small towns, prairie grass lands and cattle ranching.

One thing learned: I cannot eat a whole jar of olives.

Lindsborg, Kansas is best visited during a festival or town wide event. Otherwise, this small town is not super exciting to visit. Nicknamed Little Sweden, the town's heritage can be seen in the many Dala horses around town and by visiting the store Hemslojd, which offers many Swedish gifts, clothes, kitchen gadgets, and hand painted Dala horses. Dala horses are a popular handicraft and souvenir that has been around before the 1800's. They were first carved from furniture-making wood scraps as children's toys by woodsmen or soldiers on long winter evenings. The Dala horse gained popularity in mid-1900's when the National Crafts Union displayed some at an exposition. I enjoyed watching the employees paint the horses and one showed me their traditional two colors on one brush technique and how it is used to paint flowers.

East of Lindsborg is Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The prairie grass is tallest in the Fall and can grow up to 5 feet tall if it receives enough rainfall. When I visited, the grass came up to mid calf. Some type of grass roots can grow 15 feet deep! The National Preserve was a nice introduction to grass prairies which I saw more of in Nebraska and South Dakota.

In Greensburg, a few hours west, the Big Well Museum tells of the well's history, a 2007 tornado, and how Greensburg came to use 100% renewable energy 100% of the time. 109' deep and 32' diameter, the well has a spiral staircase the descends most of the way down into it and also upwards into a second story lookout with 360 degree view pointing out the major buildings of the town. Visitors can throw coins into the well and make a wish. Once a year the coins are collected and redistributed as souvenirs. I hope the removal of a wish coin does not disrupt the wish. That sounds like bad karma. I did not make a wish, but saw classes of first and second graders making wishes. The well was dug, in part, to attract steam engine trains, which require a steady and large supply of water and had started building railroads out west. The well was used as the main access to their aquifer water for 44 years. Today the city uses three smaller wells, and the Big Well is a museum.

Big Well, ground level

Looking at the bottom of the well

On May 4, 2007 a EF5 tornado with wind speeds of 210 mph, cutting a path 1.7 miles wide went through Greensburg. 95% of the town was destroyed and 12 people died. Afterwards the towns people considered what to do; should they stay and rebuild or to leave and move elsewhere. Those that stayed came together and decided to put the "green" in Greensburg. Rebuilt houses and businesses were built using sustainable and energy efficient practices. All electricity used in the city is wind energy and rainwater is collected for use in irrigation and as grey water in toilets. Being in those buildings, visitors would not find them lacking in anyway. I hope more cities and new developments learn from Greensburg's example and build with care of the environment in mind.

Red haze in the center

My high point in Kansas happened while I was in Lindsborg. I received a text from my sister that they could see the Northern Lights in Southern Indiana, and I hurried to look outside for myself. I could see a dark red haze that covered much of the sky and occasionally lighter greenish shimmering wisps! My pictures aren't that great and only show the red haze. However, it was amazing and awesome to see the Northern Lights when so far away from Alaska and the North! I hope you were able to see them too, the weekend of May 10th, 2024.

(This concludes the written part of the Kansas blog post.)