Events

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Symphony in the Flint Hills

Today is the day for ninth annual Symphony in the Flint Hills. Held at Rosalia Ranch in Butler County this year, the Kansas City Symphony will play for 6,000 – 7,000 people amidst the idyllic setting of the Flint Hills.

Tents at this year's Symphony in the Flint Hills

Tents at this year’s Symphony in the Flint Hills

The event celebrates the heritage and ecology of this important ecosystem. Along with the headlining evening show, the event has lectures and presentations on the tallgrass prairie and Flint Hills. There are also prairie walks and covered wagon rides, and after the event, guests are invited to stay and stargaze. For kids, and kids at here, there’s the “Instrument Petting Zoo” where you can play with different instruments.

From the Symphony in the Flint Hills site on just how this unique event came to be:

In 1994, Matfield Green rancher Jane Koger celebrated her birthday by inviting the public to a “Symphony on the Prairie.” More than 3,000 people from far and wide congregated at her Homestead Ranch for a magical union between symphonic music and the prairie landscape.

Ten years after Jane Koger’s legendary birthday concert, Chase, Lyon, Morris and Wabaunsee County leaders founded Symphony in the Flint Hills, Inc. to heighten the appreciation and knowledge of the tallgrass prairie. In 2006, the organization held the first of its annual prairie concerts, a Kansas tradition that now attracts approximately 7,000 attendees from all over the world.

If you missed out this year, put the event on your calendar for next June.

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Photo by Kansas Tourism

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The race is on! 2014 Bike Across Kansas has begun

Well, not a race exactly, more a feat of dedication, strength, and spirit – The annual Bike Across Kansas or BAK event has started! This year’s 555 mile route starts from the southwest corner and heads to the northeast.

We reached out to Stefanie Weaver, the organizations executive director for her thoughts on the event.

bak2014routemap

Kansas Trail Guide: What makes BAK so special?

Weaver: BAK gives people a chance to do something unique, something that now everyone has the chance to do. It brings people of all ages (7-88) and all walks of life together with a common interest of bicycling and enjoying the beauty of the Kansas landscape, towns and people. BAK creates a community all to itself — building relationships and long lasting friendships that create what we call “BAK Moments.”

There are no barriers when bicycling through Kansas that you have on a vehicle. You are totally immersed in the environment.

Kansas Trail Guide: What can people do this year to support the tour?

Weaver: Towns provide BAK riders great support as we pass through or stay overnight. One favorite thing is people making themselves available simply for conversations–about themselves, their communities, etc. Some of the  fondest many are built with the direct involvement of townspeople. Towns often provide nightly entertainment, homemade fundraiser meals, tours of local points of interest, passes to the local pool, and many other amenities that highlight that town’s “personality” and hospitality. Riders are often as interested in sites, sounds, and towns as they are bicycling.

Kansas Trail Guide: What if people are inspired to ride next year, what should they do?

Weaver: BAK registration opens traditionally at midnight on January 29, which is Kansas Day. This year registration filled to capacity on 2 1/2 days.

Kansas Trail Guide: How do you feel the event does for the state and the community?

Weaver: A sense of community–both among its riders and within the tons we stay–is established during BAK. Whether joining up with other riders to make the bicycling trip easier, hanging out at a SAG stop support stop), visiting a local museum or historical site, coming together for the nightly meeting, pitching in to wash dishes in a local cafe, or changing a flat tire, relationship building is constantly taking place.

The towns at which we stay come together to support BAK–ensuring riders have plenty of homemade food to eat, things to do, and and sites to see. It’s the townspeople, the volunteers that make riders feel at home. For many of the small towns, it stretches them, but they never fail. We’ve been told that BAK brings an exciting people-to-people cultural exchange and that created a lasting impression.

Kansas Trail Guide: What are some misconceptions people have about Kansas that get smashed with events like the BAK?

Weaver: The first misconception is that Kansas is flat; however, people quickly realize this is a myth. They also discover hat Kansas is a state with a variety of geography. People are surprised by the beauty of the Gypsum Hills, Smoky Hills, and Flint Hills. Traveling from the southwest to northeast this year, riders will experience Kansas’ variety. Beginning with the high plains of the Cinnamon Grasslands, progressing through Arkansas River Valley, Smoky Hills, Flint Hills, and ending on the Glaciated Region, riders will experience the simple beauty of Kansas.

To all the riders and supporters in this year’s event – have fun, stay safe, and enjoy the ride!

25th anniversary celebration for The Nature Conservancy in Kansas
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25th anniversary celebration for The Nature Conservancy in Kansas

This Saturday, June 7, The Nature Conservancy marks its 25th year of working in Kansas. To celebrate, they’re hosting an anniversary event at Smoky Valley Ranch.

Cretaceous Formations

Cretaceous Formations

If you’ve never been to Smoky Valley Ranch, you should check it out. Yes, it’s seemingly in the middle of nowhere in western Kansas, but it has some of the coolest geologic formations in the state – its Cretaceous formations are unexpected and impressive out on the short grass prairie.

For the anniversary event: “The event’s activities include a driving tour that will feature how the Conservancy’s long-term management makes the ranch into a model of shortgrass prairie conservation. Tour participants will also discuss how the ranch has been a site for several research projects.

Other activities include a hike that will take visitors to scenic and diverse sites on the ranch and presentations about the history of the ranch, including the role of Native Americans and bison.”

Photo by J. Michael Lockhart/USFWS

Photo by J. Michael Lockhart/USFWS

At Smoky Valley Ranch, The Nature Conservancy in Kansas was instrumental in reintroducing the endangered black footed ferret back to Kansas. The organization also helps protect and care for the Tallgrass National Prairie Preserve, one of the world’s last swathes of tallgrass prairie, and for Cheyenne Bottoms, one of the state’s and arguably the country’s most important wetlands along the Central Flyway that’s used for migratory birds.

The Nature Conservancy in Kansas also helps give information and support to landowners who want to work on conservation issues to ensure the health and beauty of the state’s natural wonders.

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Great Migration Rally this Sunday at Cheyenne Bottoms

As the weather warms up, migratory birds begin making their way back to and through Kansas. The state is on the Central Flyway, a migratory route between the Gulf of Mexico and central Canada. Some great spots to check out the birds are wetland and marsh areas, like Baker Wetlands near Lawrence, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge near Sterling, and Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend. Year round, you can check out Baker Wetlands and QNWR on foot with trails featured in the upcoming Kansas trails guidebook, and to explore Cheyenne Bottoms, you can go on a driving tour.

And in celebration of the spring migration, on Sunday, April 13, 2014 from 2pm to 7pm, Fort Hays State University’s Kansas Wetlands Education Center is hosting the Great Migration Rally.

You can see Kansas’ one and only falconer and his rescued Golden Eagle and you can take part in what’s essentially a scavenger hunt. From their website:

Participants start off by drawing a “bird” card, worth so many points. The rarer the species, the more points it is worth.

“Each bird is a species that migrates through Cheyenne Bottoms,” Curtis Wolf, KWEC manager, said.

After beginning their “migration”, driving through Cheyenne Bottoms, participants stop at three different points, picking up situational cards that describe a positive or negative circumstance. The positive cards, such as finding a good food source, add points. The negative cards, such as losing a wetland to development, subtract points. At the migration destination, Barton Community College’s Camp Aldrich, the migrants choose one last card, points are tabulated and those with the highest points win prizes…

…There are also crafts for kids and adults, with kids making a bird feeder to take home. In addition, Bird Bingo, bird tattoos and other activities will be available.

A comfort meal of ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans and biscuits will be served, with Tumnus, a trio from Wichita, providing Celtic and folk tunes.

If you go:

Cost for the event is $5 for adults, $2.50 for children ages 5-12 and free for children under age 5. Proceeds from the event to restoring monarch butterfly habitat, another species that wings its way through Kansas.

Participants are asked to pre-register by calling the KWEC, 1-877-243-9268, or emailing lkpenner@fhsu.edu, by April 6. More information is available at wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu.

Great Migration Rally

 

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State Parks = Free this Saturday!

Plan on getting outdoors this Saturday, as all state parks will offer free admission and a variety of fun activities for visitors!  State parks are always one of the best deals for outdoor recreation, but you can’t beat free admission and activities available for all ages.

Get the party started with fishing derbies for the kids, prize drawings, fun runs, and even an Easter egg hunt at one of the parks.  If you’ve been waiting for spring to get started so that you can get back outside and savor the outdoor experience, there’s no better time than this Saturday to get back out and enjoy the parks.

At the Ottawa trailhead for the Prairie Spirit Trail

At the Ottawa trail head for the Prairie Spirit Trail

Some of the highlights include:

El Dorado State Park – Nature Photography Hike (10:00 a.m.)

Perry Lake – Guided horse trail rides (Wild Horse Campground 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.)

Ottawa Depot – Prairie Spirit Trail – Bike or hike on the trail and enjoy a free lunch!

Tuttle Creek State Park – Nature Bird Hike (9:00 – 11:00 Meet at the park office)

Check out the full schedule of events to find out what is going on at a park near you.

 

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Family Day 2013: Free day at the Flint Hills Discovery Center

Flint Hills Discovery Center

Flint Hills Discovery Center

From noon to 5pm on Sunday, September 29, 2013 at the Flint Hills Discovery Center, there will not only be free admission to all the exhibitions but there will be fun family activities.

The day will include live entertainment, food, games, prizes, arts & crafts, and a brand new exhibition.

The latest temporary exhibit is titled “Looking at the Flint Hills of Kansas Through Artists’ Eyes.” From the website:

In the second-floor gallery Sept. 21, 2013 – Jan. 5, 2014. Looking at the Flint Hills of Kansas Through Artists’ Eyes demonstrates the truism that we all see our tallgrass prairie environment through the lens of personal experience. What differentiates these seasoned, skilled artists is their ability to share those personal visions with the rest of us.

The exhibit includes artists who are Kansas natives and those who immigrated to the Flint Hills from as far away as China—those who depict the Flint Hills in both realistic and abstract styles—and artists as different in age as 40 years. In addition to demonstrating the diversity of visual experience in the Flint Hills, the exhibit also serves as a broad history of the tallgrass prairie as subject matter, beginning with the “father” of plein air – outdoor painting – in the region, Robert Sudlow, to the most contemporary artists basing their work on these local prairie images.

Besides the purely pleasurable aesthetic experience of art depicting the Flint Hills, the growing appreciation of its beauty has helped to heighten our awareness of the need to preserve the endangered tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

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135th Anniversary of the Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork

Cave in Battle Canyon. Photo by Mark Conard.

Cave in Battle Canyon. Photo by Mark Conard.

It’s been 135 years since the Northern Cheyenne and the US Cavalry were both at Punished Woman’s Fork, and this weekend, both will be back.

It was on September 27, 1878, the Northern Cheyenne, on their way back to their homeland, fought their last battle with the US Army in Kansas, a mile south of present day Scott City and Lake Scott State Park along Highway 95. In honor of that historic event, El Quartelejo Museum and Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection are hosting the 135th Battle Canyon Symposium on September 27 and 28, 2013.

For a national historic site, it’s surprisingly unchanged from what it would have been like 135 years ago. That’s part of the beauty of the western prairie. Much has remained unchanged, and the rolling hills and canyons that were the site of such history and bloodshed remain steadfast, silent witnesses to a story that has often been overlooked.

Events

Dedication from 4:00 to 5:30pm on Friday 9/27 at Punished Woman’s Fork National Historic Site. It was at 4:00pm on September 27 that the fighting began at the site.

Following the dedication and at the El Quartelejo Ruins Monument Site in Lake Scott State Park: native song and dance performance by the Northern Cheyenne and a 4th US Cavalry exhibition from 6 to 8:30pm.

Saturday is the big day with the Jerry Thomas Gallery and Collection at El Quartalejo Museum hosting the speakers, including Northern Cheyenne leaders, descendants from the Cheyenne chiefs, and historians.

History

Sent to a Southern Cheyenne Reservation in Oklahoma in 1877, the Northern Cheyenne had little food and there was a measles outbreak, and there was little hope of survival. Dull Knife and Little Wolf, Cheyenne chiefs, took matters into their own hands, and the night of September 9, 1878, with the fires left burning, they led over 300 Cheyenne off the reservation. They were headed back to Yellowstone Country, 1500 miles away.

Rifle pit

Rifle pit. Photo by Mark Conard

By September 13, 1878, troops had found them, and surrender was offered as an option. Dull Knife refused to go back to the reservation, and Cheyenne and army troops began fighting.

A cat and mouse game continued through the next week with the Cheyenne trying to get away and fighting back until they reached “Punished Woman’s Fork” on September 25, 1878.

This was to be the place of their last stand, and it was chosen specifically. The remote canyon had a natural cave at one end where women, children, and the elderly could take shelter, and along the hills and bluffs, rifle pits could be dug to provide cover for the Cheyenne fighters. The US soldiers could be lured into the canyon (now known as Battle Canyon) and ambushed with the landscape acting as an additional weapon for the Cheyenne.

One of the fighters described the incoming soldiers: “A great angry snake of whites come against us in the morning.”

September 27, 1878, those not fighting took shelter in the cave, and the battle began. The Cheyenne ended up backed into Battle Canyon, but they drove the army back and took out Lt. Col. Lewis, Commander of Ford Dodge, Kansas, who’d once said “I will run the Cheyenne to ground or leave my body on the prairie.” He did the latter.

The night of September 27, the US army pulled back to camp, and the Cheyenne again made their escape in the night with their fires left burning and continued heading north.

Nearby trails

The trail around the perimeter of Lake Scott State Park will be one of our top 10 trails in the guidebook. Easy to follow, it’s got some incredible views out over the lake and of the nearby cliffs.

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BBQ, music, and riding: Bike events this weekend

Hikers aren’t the only ones out on the trails. Many of the best trails we’ve found in Kansas have been made for mountain biking. And this weekend, 8/24 and 8/25, there are some great bike races and events going on throughout the state.

Cruise the Blues Mountain Bike Race – 8/23-8/25/2013

Amidst the timber, pastures, and prairie of the Palen Family Farm east of Tipton, the Palen family has built 13 miles of mountain biking trails. These private trails are open to riders this weekend for the 10th annual Cruise the Blues bike race.

5-mile and 9-mile race options are available that can be ridden solo or as a part of a team, and there’s a kid’s race course as well. There will be bbq, live music, and general hilarity throughout the weekend.

From the Cruise the Blues website:

Make it a weekend! We invite you to join us out on the farm Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 23-25th.

Come on out and join us on Friday and Saturday nights with free camping under the big Oak trees on the Palen Family Farm and wake up to a farm fresh breakfast to get your day started right!

Friday night, get your registration check in out of the way early, and join us for a fun bike tour of the farm with Farmer Doug, savor the taste of a Farm Fresh Kansas Style BBQ and take a shot at the short course hot lap night time trial! (Lights will be made available for all riders who need them courtesy Doug Chambers at Golden Belt Bicycles.)

Saturday morning, wake up to a Palen Farm Fresh Breakfast and get ready for a great day of racing.

Stay the night on Saturday and enjoy an evening of fun and festivities, live music (the 5 piece band Gamma Raze will be playing Blues and old time rock and roll), bike games and more. Wake up to another farm fresh breakfast Sunday morning and enjoy open riding on the farm or join a guided ride of the IMBA Epic Designated Trails at Wilson Lake State Park.

Parking and camping is free! Free-wifi and electronic charging stations will be available along with primitive hot showers, washing stations, changing areas and bathroom facilities. RVs welcome!

Click here for registration.

Rock & Roll to Roots – 8/24/2013

The Roots Festival ($15 entry cost) held in the Paola Square brings together bluegrass, bbq, and biking. The Miami County Velo Cycling Club is hosting 10, 30, and 60 mile rides. While registration is closed, you can cheer on participants as they start and finish at Wallace Park on the morning of 8/24.

PedalFest – 8/24/2013

A cross country mountain bike race.

A cross country mountain bike race. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Three leisurely rides through the Wichita countryside for PedalFest will benefit Heartspring, an organization that helps kids with special needs achieve more independence.

Choose from a 50K (31 miles), 100K (62 miles) and Family Ride (5 mile). The 50K and 100K start at 7:30am and the Family Ride starts at 9:30am from Heartspring in Wichita.

Registration is still open Friday until 6pm at Bicycle Pedaler and early Saturday morning at the race start at Heartspring. Registration is $45 for the 50K and $50 for the 100K. The 5-mile Family Ride is $10 per person. For registration, you get food and a t-shirt along with a handful of other perks and freebies.

Shawnee Rotary Bike Rodeo – 8/24/2013

Perfect for kids and for giving parents some peace of mind, this event at the Mill Valley High School (5900 Monticello, Shawnee) is all about staying safe while having fun on your bike. From 9am to noon, kids who plan to ride their bikes to school can learn safety training, and get a certificate after completing a skills course. Freebies include: t-shirt, bike helmet, bike helmet fitting, and bike inspections.

Tour de Shawnee – 8/25/2013

This annual event, now in its 24th year, gives participants the choice between a 12-mile and a 25.75-mile route through bike-friendly Shawnee. For $30, you get a t-shirt, breakfast, and lunch. Along the way, there will be snacks, drinks, and vehicle support, including medical assistance and bike repair. You also get the satisfaction of knowing that you’re participating in an event that benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The tour will start and end at Power Play Family Entertainment Center, Shawnee Mission Parkway and Pflumm.

Fill out a registration form and drop it off at the Shawnee Civic Centre, 13817 Johnson Drive.

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150 years later: Live tweet of Quantrill’s 1863 Raid

August 21, 1863. The border skirmishes that had been happening between pro-slavery Missouri and anti-slavery Kansas since the 1850s escalated with the burning and slaughter some 180 men in Lawrence.

Led by former Lawrence school teacher and outlaw William Quantrill in a well-planned attack, 400 men rode from Missouri to Lawrence in the morning hours. Much of the town burned and nearly 200 people were killed, some in front of their families. It wasn’t an entirely unprovoked attack. Lawrence had been a gathering place for “Jayhawkers” and other pro-Union fighters, and they’d crossed the border themselves in the past to attack Missouri towns.

And 150 years to the day of this horrific and historic event, the city of Lawrence has organized a unique event: a Community Twitter Project where community members have been given identities of those involved in the battle and will “live” tweet the event starting early on August 21. The tweets have already started, giving some background to those key players in the event. Check out the tweets here or follow #QR1863.

If you’re in the Lawrence area, you can learn more about the raid with the self-guided tour.

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“Float Your Boat” – Cardboard boat races today at Milford Lake

From the 2009 race

From the 2009 race

If you’re around Milford Lake at all today (Saturday, August 17), if you head down to the south boat ramp, you’ll be able to check out the cardboard boat races. From noon to 4pm, you can watch (or participate!) in the “Float Your Boat” race where participants ride in boats made entirely from cardboard and duct tape. If you want to whip up your own creation that can hold two people, there are cash prizes available!