Author: kansastrailguide

by

How to Celebrate Earth Day 2015 in Kansas

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970, it went global in 1990and the now annual event is one of the world’s largest civic events. On April 22, people around the world come together to raise awareness, show support for environmental issues, and to help make our planet cleaner and healthier.

From tree planting to clean ups to family fun, here are some ways you can get out and celebrate the 2015 Earth Day in Kansas (and one in Missouri).

April 18 at Sunset Zoo in Manhattan

Richard Renner & his Recycle Cycle will be there (you may have seen him at the Kansas State Fair) roaming the zoo. Plus there will be kid-friendly activities inside the Nature Exploration Center and story time with staff from the Manhattan Public Library, animal encounter tours led by the zoo’s animal ambassadors, and a zoo-wide scavenger hunt with prizes.

If you go:
Zoo open from 9:30am to 5pm; Earth Day activities from Noon to 4:30pm.
$5 adults, $3 children ages 3-12, 2 & under and FOSZ members free.
2333 Oak Street, Manhattan, KS

April 18 at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead in Overland Park

This turn of the century style family farm has plenty of animals along with flower and vegetable gardens, a fishing pond, and a one-room schoolhouse.

And for Earth Day, they’ll be hosting educational and entertaining programs about recycling, gardening, composting, and Kansas wildlife. There will be crafts, activities and events for the whole family.

If you go:
10am to 2pm
13800 Switzer Road, Overland Park
Free Mon.-Thurs.; $2/person Fri.-Sun. & Holidays/under 2 free

April 18 at Dillon Nature Center in Hutchinson

Snap up some good deals on perennial plants from 7:30 to 11:30am. Bird Watching 101 for families is from 8:30 to 9:30am, and you can learn about what birds to look out for on the trails around the nature center.

From 1-2 pm, The Hutchinson Public Library is hosting a “Wiggly Worms for Bookworms” – a story hour and project for kids 3-10.

If you go:
To register for the bird watching and the story telling (both free, but with limited availability), call 620-663-7411.
3002 E. 30th Avenue, Hutchinson, KS

April 22 at Powell Gardens in Kansas City

Free admission to Powell Gardens and free seedlings, while supplies last, to the early arrivals. They’ll also have a rain barrel raffle, guided tours, storytelling for the kiddos, and a display on up cycling.

If you go:
9am to 5pm
1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50, Kingsville, MO

April 22 at Overland Park Arboretum in Overland Park

While not technically for Earth Day, it is held on Earth Day. You can become empowered to be a citizen scientist observer. The National Phenology Network will be holding a workshop to give attendees information on plant life cycles using the Arboretum’s trails and plants.

If you go:
Register online, $7 FOTA members, $10 non-members
8909 W 179th Street, Overland Park, KS

April 23 at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita

Party for the Planet – free admission all day and an environmental fair with hands-on activities and exhibits geared for 3rd to 5th graders.

If you go:
Environmental fair is from 9am to 2pm and zoo open from 8:30am to 5pm.
5555 W Zoo Blvd., Wichita, KS

April 25 in Gardner

Gardner Parks and Recreation is hosting an Arbor and Earth Day event with a group cleanup of the Gardner Greenway Corridor – a paved trail that connects Winwood Park and Brookside Park. Then there’s a free barbecue lunch in the park. You can get in on the drawing for trees, t-shirts, and prizes and watch a tree planting demonstration.

RSVP by April 20 – call 913-856-0936.

If you go:
11am to 1pm at Gardener Greenway Corridor

by

Beach House at Lake Scott open now through Memorial Day

Beach house photo from Friends of Lake Scott

On Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 6pm now until Memorial Day, you can visit the Beach House at Lake Scott State Park.

Out on the western plains of Kansas, Lake Scott was created in the late 1920s, and the Beach House is privately owned and not always open. The Spanish Revival architecture style building was constructed in the 1930s, and you can stop by to get food items, fishing equipment, bait, boat rentals and camping supplies.

There’s also indoor showers if you’ve taken a dip in the lake or to freshen up after the hike around the lake – one of our top 10 Kansas trails.

by

We’ll be at the 2015 Kansas Sampler Festival on May 2 and 3! Come and get a book!

Well, barring a miracle, you won’t be able to get an actual book in hand (shipping delays from dock worker strikes), but you will be able to see a copy and get your order in so you’ll be one of the first ones to read and use Kansas Trail Guide: The Best Hiking, Biking, and Riding in the Sunflower State

You’ll get free shipping and it should ship in the second week of May! Stop by the Kansas Sampler Festival to place your order and check out the book. You’ll also be able to snag some swag – our favorite granola recipes, bookmarks, and stickers – and we can give you recommendations on where to hike, bike, or ride depending on your fitness level, interest, and where you live.

We’ll be in Kansas Products Tent #1 on the west side and it’s May 2 and 3, 2015 in Wamego City Park.

They’ll also have other Kansas products to buy and awesome food to try along with historic performers, children’s activities, and more.

See you there!

KS-Sampler-Festival-Map-2015-(3)FINAL-VERSION

by

Museum of World Treasures in Old Town Wichita

Museum of World Treasures. Photo by Mark Conard

Museum of World Treasures. Photo by Mark Conard

Where is the one place in the world where you can go to find a shrunken head, a mummy, a T-Rex, a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a pitchfork used in The Wizard of Oz? It’s the Museum of World Treasures in Old Town Wichita.

Ivan

Photo from Museum of World Treasures

Founded in 2001, it moved into its current location in the Farm and Art Market in Old Town in 2003. The exhibits showcase an eclectic and impressive range from millions of years of history with the centerpiece on the first floor – Ivan the T-Rex, and one of the most complete T-Rex discoveries in the world.

You can also check out exhibits on the World Wars, European royalty, Kansas paleontology, the Wild West, and more. You’ll definitely leave feeling more cultured than when you went in.

It’s the perfect place to take your kids – it’s not overly large, so you can see the entire museum without getting overwhelmed, and there’s a kids room with dress-up areas and toys and games. Throughout the museum, there are interactive exhibits perfect for kids.

About half of the treasures on exhibit come from the collection of the founders, Dr. Jon and Lorna Kardatzke, and the mix of artifacts is unexpected and delightful.

We went as a family for a birthday party, and the kids got a brief 20-minute themed tour – they learned about Ivan the dinosaur and cave bears! We also managed to time it with one of their Discovery Days.

The last Saturday of the month from 11am to 3pm, there are activity stations with games, crafts, and artifact exploration. Each month is different, and coming up there’s the St. Patrick’s Day Hats event on March 28 and The Greek Olympics on April 25.

They’ve got events for adults too. The Murder at the Museum: Deadwood Saloon event starts at 7pm on April 25, and you can dress up and play a part in the interactive murder mystery entertainment while enjoying snacks and drinks and exploring the museum. Tickets are $30 per adult or $25 for Museum Members. For $10 per child, bring children over 3 years old for an alternative kids program while the adults solve the crime.

If you go:MOWT

Mon-Sat: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sun: Noon – 5 p.m.

Family Day Pass (2 adults/2 children): $28.50
Adult: $8.95
Senior: $7.95Youth: $6.95
Children 3 and under are FREE!

by

To add to your trail book collection – Dirt Work and Wild

Although winter may not be relenting enough to hike, the upside is that there’s no better time to put your feet up, sip some hot chocolate, and enjoy a good trail book.  Here are two of our top picks to add to your trail anthology:

Dirt Work by Christina Byl

While normal hikers appreciate big views, wildflowers in bloom, or clouds drifting overhead, I must admit to spending a slightly inordinate amount of hiking time checking out the trail under my feet.  A good trail can do much to enhance the hiking experience, but the worst are prone to erosion or just generally boring hiking.  Each step of a well-built trail is carefully planned and constructed with a great deal of muscle and sweat.

Dirt Work

Without being on a crew (and I highly recommend the experience), it’s hard to get a sense for the art, science and just plain dirty work that goes into building an excellent trail.  In “Dirt Work”, Christina Byl recounts her journey from a rookie crew member building alpine trails in Glacier National Park to a crew leader calling the shots in the wilderness of Alaska.

Byl has vast experience working on trail crews and she accurately portrays the “work hard, play hard” experience of the traildog life.  The book rolls the dirt and the glory of trail-building into a fascinating and insightful assessment into the proud blue-collar world behind your favorite trail and will leave you yearning to spend a summer cutting tread in the high country.

 

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

With a life unraveling and out of control, Cheryl Strayed undertakes an ambitious hike to try to make sense of it all. wildAnd by rather ambitious I mean she merely sets out to hike the majority of the Pacific Crest Trail.  Solo.  Of course she has scant experience, a pack much too big, and boots painfully too small.  Despite this prescription for epic failure she perseveres and chronicles the drudgery, pain, and elation of life on the long trail in wonderful detail.

In my experience, time in the woods alone brings a sense of perspective and clarity to life, and after months on the trail Strayed works through the crucible and comes out on the other side a truly different person.

by

African-American History and its links to Kansas trails

February is Black History Month, and Kansas has connections to the Civil War and Civil Rights that also tie in with some of our state’s trails.

Bleeding Kansas

In the 1850s and early 1860s, Kansas Territory was in a series of skirmishes with neighboring Missouri. The battles were so intense, they earned the nickname Bleeding Kansas or Bloody Kansas. The focus of these fights was, primarily, slavery. A few months before the Civil War officially began (some say the first shots of the Civil War were at what is now Black Jack Battlefield), Kansas entered the Union as a free state. You can walk along trails through the historic Black Jack Battlefield – featured as a top history trail in our Kansas Trail Guide.

Nicodemus Visitor's Center. Photo by Mark Conard

Nicodemus Visitor’s Center. Photo by Mark Conard

Nicodemus

Kansas was the “promised land” for newly freed slaves, and the town of Nicodemus was created in 1877 as a refuge. It was the first black community west of the Mississippi. While the town’s population fell after the railroad didn’t make it a stop, the community still survives. You can take a self-guided tour of the National Historic Site where some of the original buildings still stand.  From the National Park Service:

The land on which Nicodemus and other black communities stood in Kansas was not the most advantageous for agriculture, and natural drought cycles frustrated efforts to raise crops. Even so, in the decades following the Civil War, this part of the West offered African Americans a chance at a life usually unobtainable in much of the South. The courage and spirit that motivated African Americans to leave their homes and move to the Midwest after the Civil War to places like Nicodemus also helped propel them toward equality of opportunity in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas roughly a century later.

The small town is less than a 15-minute drive from Webster State Park. The Coyote Trail in the park feature signs and interpretive information that can help you learn more about the flora and fauna of the area.

Brown v Board of Education

With Brown v Board of Education, racially segregated public schools became officially determined as unconstitutional. It was clearly a complicated time for race relations, as the Board of Education was pro-segregation, and a group of Topeka parents advocating for their children had to take the issue to the United States Supreme Court. You can visit the Brown v Board of Education site at 1515 SE Monroe Street, Topeka, KS, 66612. This national historic site is free to visit, and it is in the location of the former all black Monroe school. Inside is a series of exhibits on the history of racism, segregation, education, and justice in the state and the country. And it’s the start of the Landon Nature Trail, a 38-mile rail trail that will connect the Shunga Trail in Topeka to the 117-mile Flint Hills Nature Trail.

by

Kansas turns 154 this Thursday – here’s where to celebrate

Kansas Day is January 29, and this year, Kansas turns 154! In its 154th year, you’ll be able to explore via its miles upon miles of trails from prairies to woodlands with our trail guide.

More immediately, from the Kansas tourism site, here are some upcoming Kansas Day events for 2015.

To celebrate Kansas’ 154th birthday, the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka plans a full day of performances and activities to celebrate Kansas’ 154th birthday. Exhibit: The Great Soldier State: Kansas and the Civil War.

Paola’s Kansas Day & Business Expo will feature entertainment, children’s activities, local products, food vendors, and more than 75 business and organization exhibits.

On Sat., Jan. 31, 2015, Burlington’s Coffey County Historical Society & Museum will feature activities for kids, a chili feed, and live and silent auctions.

Kansas Day Celebration at Kauffman Museum in Newton on January 31 is a free event featuring wagon rides, popcorn popping over an open fire, make-it-take-it crafts and much more!

What will you be doing for Kansas Day?

by

Goodbye 2014 and hello 2015!

The manuscript and materials packed up to ship

The manuscript and materials packed up to ship

In 2014, we were finishing up the writing and editing of the trail guidebook. It was the culmination of an enormous amount of work and before we got the final product, it resulted in a few new gray hairs for both of us.

But everyone in the family helped us get it done, and through rounds of editing and writing, from foreword to index – it’s done.

In 2015, we’ll have a finished book that will be on the shelves across the state and, hopefully, at a bookstore near you. It’s surreal and amazing, and we can’t wait for you to read it and get out there and explore the trails of Kansas! You can preorder it on Amazon here: Kansas Trail Guide: The Best Hiking, Biking, and Riding in the Sunflower State

Happy New Year!

The pond at Dillon Nature Center

The pond at Dillon Nature Center

by

10 gifts for the Kansas trail lover in your life

Here are our picks for the best gifts to get for anyone you know who loves to explore Kansas trails!

1. Kansas Trail Guide. You may not be able to get the actual book until March 2015, but you can go ahead and pre-order our Kansas Trail Guide: The Best Hiking, Biking, and Riding in the Sunflower State. From $24.95.

2. Merrell Grassbow Air Trail Running Shoe. This is a trail-running shoe with enough traction to take on the rockier trails of Kansas, but light enough to be comfortable all day. From $99.95.

3. Osprey Stratos 24 Pack. It has a lightweight frame for a total weight of 2 pounds 4 ounces, and it can carry 22 literes/1,343 cubic inches, which makes it a good size for a light day on the trial. The mesh back panel helps keep you cool, and it has 6 total pockets for everything you might need, including a water reservoir pocket, and the adjustable waist belt means you can load it up and still carry it comfortably. Plus, it comes with a rain cover.612

4. The Kansas Sky by Konza Press. The book features photographs of 45 Kansas skies, and as a 5 x 5.5 softcover book, it’s perfect for a stocking stuffer, and all money goes to the Kansas Sampler Foundation. $10.95.

5. Fresh roasted coffee. Get fueled up for the trail with a cup of coffee from Reverie Coffee Roasters in Wichita. You can shop for fresh roasted coffee at their store or online.

6. Outdoor Research Helium II jacket. The wind and rain can kick up quickly out on the prairie, particularly in spring and fall, and you’ll want to have a lightweight waterproof layer to help keep you dry. Plus, Outdoor Research has an “infinite guarantee” on its products. For the Helium II jacket, the women’s weighs 5.5 ounces and the men’s weighs 6.4 ounces. Both pack down to around the size of a granola bar, so they’re easy to bring with you on the trail. From $129.95.

7. Garmin GPS device. Since there’s not always cell-service, you can use a Garmin device to keep track of where you are on the trail, and you can use it to input coordinates from the Kansas Trail Guide to help keep you on track. Our favorite devices are the GPS Map 64s (non-touchscreen) and Oregon 650t (touchscreen).

8. Kelty Pathfinder 3.0. Just because you have a baby or toddler doesn’t mean you have to forego your time on the trail. With the Kelty Pathfinder 3.0 for kids 16 to 40 pounds, you get all kinds of bells and whistles. There’s a hydration compartment for you, a sun hood for baby, and it’s easy to fit the pack for your as well as your kid. It also comes with a zip-off daypack for storing snacks, diapers, and whatever you might need. From $279.95.

9. The Guide to Kansas Birds and Birding Hot Spots. Kansas is on the Central Flyway, a bird migration route, and it’s a great spot for birders. For beginning and moderate level birders, this book has all the information for finding and identifying the state’s birds. It includes types of birds along with maps and a calendar of Kansas bird activity. From $17.25.

10. The Stick – Roller Massager. After a long day on the trail, whether it’s on foot, on a horse, or on a bike, you may end up with sore muscles. To help work them out, you can get a massage, or you can give yourself one with the 24.5 inch roller massager. It helps your muscles recover quickly, and you’ll notice less soreness and stiffness if you use it regularly. From $27.45.