The Red Hills

Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette:

THE RED HILLS

THE RED HILLS in South Central Kansas may be the most color-rich region of the state.

Running between the county seats of Barber and Comanche counties is the Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway, one of nine scenic byways in Kansas.

This byway through the Red/Gypsum Hills is 42 miles long, from Medicine Lodge to Coldwater. There are a couple of turnouts along the highway where you can stop to view the hills. But if you really want to feel the heartbeat of the land, you can leave the highway and wander on some of the red dirt roads in Barber County.

Turning onto a side road immerses you in the landscape. As you step out of your car, a deep breath fills you with the fragrances of Kansas — the welcoming weedy smell of summertime.

Dark greens and sage greens contrast with the deep red earth. White gypsum streaks the red mesas and buttes. Add a blue sky for background, some passing clouds and well, it’s just hard to beat this place if you’re looking for simple and natural beauty.

The solitude here reminds me of Chase County’s back roads. In the Gypsum Hills, you may hear singing insects, chirping birds and spot a band of curious deer. The mesas, the cedars, the red sand roads begin to take you over. You may not want to leave.

A trip to the Red Hills is a three- to four-hour journey from Emporia. Dave and I took off early one Friday evening, jumped on the Kansas Turnpike, trusting that there would be a motel in Medicine Lodge.

After passing through Wichita, we encountered small communities I’d never heard of: Schulte, Clonmel, Suppesville. Kansas continues to surprise me — there’s always something “new” to discover.

At dusk, we passed through Harper, a town with a red fish atop the water tower and a 1909 fountain in the middle of Main Street.

We did find a motel in Medicine Lodge. And, as we left it about 7:30 the next morning, Dave said, “If we were National Geographic photographers, we’d have been in the field two hours ago.”

Alas, we are not with National Geographic, but rather just two people who needed sleep and a shower. But, to use what was left of the angled morning light, Dave and I skipped breakfast and headed for the hills.

We photographed the rugged red terrain south of U.S. 160. As the sun climbed in the sky, clouds moved in, eclipsing the morning rays. So we headed west down the highway.

A welcome sign read: “Coldwater — the way life should be.”

There’s a hospital here in this town of 774, and a swimming pool. Dave said, “Coldwater Swimming Pool — that doesn’t sound too inviting.”

“What’s the best thing about Coldwater?” I asked our waitress when we stopped for a late breakfast at the Timberwolf Café.

“It’s quiet,” she said. “And everybody knows everybody. If you need help, you can ask. It’s not like in a big city where people say ‘I don’t have time to help.’”

There is a warm hometown feel in Coldwater. As Dave and I walked around on a Saturday morning, folks waved as they drove past and people on the sidewalks easily engaged in conversations with us.

As I contemplated the possibilities that could be inside a storefront called the Coldwater Pleasure Club, a guy stepped out of the nearby post office. “Hey, what’s in the Pleasure Club?” I asked, pointing to the building.

“Oh, that’s a place where men play dominoes and pool and cards,” he said. “Yeah, I grew up in Protection (15 miles away) and when we came to Coldwater when I was a kid, I wondered the same thing. But that’s what it is.”

Coldwater has the Chief, a restored 1928 theater. There’s the Comanche County Courthouse with pots of petunias and geraniums at the front door, and Heritage Park which honors those who died for our country during wartime and peacetime.

After Dave and I walked through a partially-renovated hotel, petted a sweet young cat, and photographed the grain elevators, it was time to head east and see what else we could find in South Central Kansas.

Copyright 2009 ~ Cheryl Unruh