Road Side Attractions

After taking off early from the rest area on Colorado, we headed into Kansas.



In case you have never been in Kansas, let me tell you ...


1 - It's very windy!





2- They have GREAT rest areas!!!





They have all kinds of literature and the people that work there are very helpful. They have free coffee, free WiFi, AND they have RV dump stations! They also let you camp for a 24 hour period at the rest area. WOW!



So right inside the border we stopped in for free coffee and a map. I spotted some literature for a cool roadside attraction. I have always wanted to stop at "the world's largest" whatever... so we headed out! Instead of traveling east on I-70, we went a little north and then went east on Hwy 24.


The road itself was very scenic and, except for when you went through the little towns that were along the route, the speed limit kept you truckin' along at 65 MPH. There were historical monuments and markers all along the route. We didn't stop at everything, but did catch a few of them.


In Studley, KS we saw the Cottonwood Ranch. Very cool looking building and a nice piece of history. For more info -


http://www.kshs.org/places/cottonwood/index.htm


We stopped at a historical site and park in Nicodemus, KS. Nicodemus was extolled as "the largest colored colony in America". It is very rich in African American history. There was also the St. Francis hotel. More information can be found here -

http://www.kshs.org/portraits/nicodemus.htm







They also had a very nice park that both the boys and the dogs enjoyed!






We went through Alton, KS... which is a tiny "blink and you miss it" town where Russell Stover (of Russell Stover Candies) was born.



Then we hit the purpose of our detour, Cawker City. Cawker City hosts... are you ready?????????????








THE WORLD'S LARGEST BALL OF SISAL TWINE




Woo Hoo!! I was so excited! It was pretty cool. We of course had to take all kinds of photos!





Check it out here (a site I hope I can find more things on) -http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/8543



The stores weren't open on Main Street (it was Sunday) but they have a twine path painted on the sidewalk for you to follow. All the shops and public buildings in Cawker City have copies of famous paintings... and each of them has a ball of twine "hidden" somewhere in the painting. We walked around and saw the painting (and took photos of our favorites) before leaving town and heading back to I-70







With all the excitement of seeing "The World's Largest Ball of Sisal Twine", I decided to call it a day and find a campground.

One more note before ending the blog on our first day in Kansas... the campground manager came around letting us know of a tornado watch in the area.

WELCOME TO KANSAS!