By Spur of the moment.
That’s how we operate around here.
When Dave and I got home from work Friday afternoon, we began to discuss weekend plans and in less than 30 minutes we were packed and on the turnpike southbound.
Usually we just take day trips, but this was a longer adventure and we wanted to be in place in the morning rather than drive 3-4 hours to get there.
We saw so much on this trip that it seemed as if we were gone for several days instead of just 26 hours.
So, many photos were taken (yay, I have a fresh batch), fun was had, fresh ground explored.
We hit one “new” physiographic region, four courthouses were photographed, stopped in a dozen or so small towns, and today we even ran into one Congressman, Rep. Jerry Moran, who seemed to actually remember me – he mentioned meeting me at a town hall meeting 3.5 years ago in Madison.
I don’t keep up that much with politics, though I do usually read or at least scan the weekly e-mail updates from Moran. Sometimes I’d rather he vote a different way on a matter, but overall I’m impressed with this guy and his dedication and commitment to Kansas.
Rather than sitting around at home on his time off from Congress, Moran does annual listening tours in which he visits every single one of the 69 counties in his district. Now I personally enjoy driving around Kansas, but just thinking about that task sounds physically and emotionally exhausting to me, and he’s done it for 13 years. On his listening tours, he doesn’t give speeches, he listens, he answers questions. In 2010, he’ll be running for the U.S. Senate.
Anyway, back to my usual non-political chatter – There were so many neat things on this trip, I just want to blurt it all out, but I guess it’s better to parcel out the photos and write a column or two about the trip instead.
The Red Hills. Barber County.
Wow, that is a gorgeous landscape, Cheryl.
Very pretty down there. Like part of the SouthWest, sort of.
Those beautiful Red Hills are also now home to some striking man-made vertical structures.
As to whether these artificial art pieces add to the beauty of the Hills, you can judge for yourself by viewing the photos at http://www.barbercounty.net/flatridgewindproject.html .
I would like to see David point his camera at them for his visual interpretation…
I’m afraid I take the unpopular view.
Although I think there is terrain where those don’t belong, I have yet to see them that they didn’t impress me.
There’s a huge windmill farm down on I-40, I think in Texas. That is flat, unremarkable land (except that ALL the land is remarkable really), and those windmills are majestic, man made art pieces, IMHO.
They’ve been in parts of California for years, and I remember driving out a highway and going through a windfarm that was on both sides of the highway. Breathtaking.
Janet
I think most people would think that that is not typically Kansas terrain…but we who are here know better!
And, now, I know why you missed the watermelon spitting contest at the Farmer’s Market this morning–or, well, the watermelon rolling (but the age limit was 4) or the watermelon eating contest. –or the farmers selling corn in a flat 9 minutes. It was a beautiful, gorgeous day at the market.
I always want bigger pictures of the landscapes…bigger! Bigger, I say! Well, I should more properly say “larger,” I suppose. 😉
Kris, yeah I know, sometimes the pics aren’t “bigger enough.” But, I only have about 550 pixels of width to work with on this blog. 🙁
Looks like a wind farm is going up in east Lyon County. Maybe they’ll let me climb to the top of one of them? In the meantime, I think we need to document the area as it is now. Whatever the benefits of wind generation, the landscape will be altered for the rest of our lives.
Windmills weren’t the only man-made vertical structures out there. We also saw this striking figure on top of one of the hills. My guess is it was around 25 feet high. I don’t know the artist’s name. http://www.prairiepathways.com/red_hills_sculpture.html