The Flint Hills and the Tall Grass Prairie of Kansas

We had planned on staying in Wyoming till the fifteenth, but as usual weather changed our plans and so on Wednesday, October third we winterized the fifth wheel, locked up the place and headed east for Kansas. A large snowstorm and high winds had most of our state in its sights.

Our hope was to make it to Cheyenne on the first day, but we only made it as far as Rawlins. The next day we fought crosswinds and drove over the highest pass on interstate 80, 8600 feet, and spent the next night in Kearney, Nebraska.

From there we turned south and arrived at our friend’s house in Wichita, Kansas. For the next two days, we sat at their home and rested while the wind continued to blast the prairie. On Friday it abated somewhat, and Bob and Nancy suggested we might like to see the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve.

It was about sixty miles from their house and I was a little skeptical about going there, but once we arrived my doubts vanished and we realized that our friends had found an unexpected gem of a place, (as we have traveled for the past twelve years it is often the unexpected places that make the most lasting impressions).

The park headquarters provided us with a great explanation of exactly what a tall grass prairie is, and you can appreciate how tall the grasses are when you consider our friend Bob is six feet two! Another display showed the root depth and the roots were actually deeper than the top of the grass.

The next display told of how the limestone rocks on the surface had given the area its name, “The Flint Hills”, and how it blocked any plowing of the original prairie. One of the layers was named the Funston Limestone and it also provide the main building material of the settlers.

The largest place built was the Spring Hill farm and Stock Ranch. The ranch area had not only a huge stone barn and house, but also a chicken coop, ice house, smoke house, and a limestone privy!

If that was not enough the fences were all formed by stacked limestone and over thirty miles of rock fence were eventually built, (the land had to be fenced for the homestead to be claimed).

The house even contained a stone spring room where a cold-water spring kept their perishables from spoiling! The roof of the barn required five thousand pounds of tin rooking. Talk about a project! I simply can not comprehend how much work was involved.

Of course, the wind was blowing, and the temperatures had only warmed up to the lower fifties, so we didn’t take a walk down any of the trails. We do hope to visit the prairie again in the spring when we can have the opportunity to study some of the grass species, (there were few trees back then as the prairie fires kept them in check and also kept out any invasive species.

We finished the day by having a great meal of home style fried chicken in the nearby town. It had been an excellent adventure, (I am a little afraid to step on a scale when we get down to Texas). Thanks Bob and Nancy for spotting and sharing their find with us. Clear skies