A Different Type of Adventure - Kansas

You can have yourself quite a different type of adventure, starting out in Minneapolis, Kansas, and ending up in Wilson, Kansas, spending the day seeing different sites. There’s no other area where you’ll find sandstone concretions, the largest ball of twine, the center of the United States, and movie memorabilia.

Starting off at Rock City Park, you can view the 200 sandstone concretions that were formed many years ago, with some of them being as large as houses. This is a national registered natural landmark that covers an area the size of two regulation size football fields. Moving north, you’ll find yourself in Cawker City, home to the World’s Largest Ball of Sisal Twine. It weighs nearly two tons, has a forty foot circumference, and stretched out, would cover more than seven million feet. Along with the Ball of Sisal Twine are a collection of humorous paintings which are takeoffs of American classics, but that include the ball of twine, such as “American Gothic (With Twine Ball)“ and “The Scream (with Twine Ball).”

Driving along to Lebanon, you’ll find the center of the continental United States, marked by a pyramid stone. Continuing on to Lucas, you can visit the Garden of Eden. Instead of finding Adam and Eve and forbidden apples here, you’ll find a world-renowned place of grassroots sculpture and architecture. Samuel Perry Dinsmoor created these sculptures and cabin home using concrete and native post rock. Also in Lucas is the World’s Largest Collection of World’s Smallest Version of World’s Largest Things. Confused? It’s a large collection of miniature versions of roadside monuments.

Traveling on the Post Rock Scenic Byway, and coming to Wilson, is said to be one of the prettiest drives in the state. The byway is named for the limestone rocks that are used here as fence posts. As this takes you to the end of your day, you can spend the night in the Historic Midland Hotel, recognized by Bed and Breakfast Inns Online as the most distinctive hotel between Kansas City and Denver. Each room here has been restored to match the way it was originally meant to be back in 1899.

While at the hotel, be sure to visit the collection of “Paper Moon” memorabilia. Some of the scenes from this 1970s movie, starring Ryan O’Neal and his daughter, Tatum O’Neal, were filmed here in the hotel. There are two dining areas in the hotel, sure to fit your needs, and the Drummer’s Tavern Lodge is located in the basement. Because of the many Czechoslovakians in the Wilson area, the menu in the dining rooms here have several Czech and Bohemian dishes.

A Different Type of Adventure - Kansas  

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