It surely was one of the greatest trips anyone could ever take, a deep dive into exploring this great state.

We met Kansans in their environment, in grocery stores, in mechanic shops, and in their homes. More than once, a farmer driving down the road in his tractor stopped to see if we needed anything.

Marlene Deters, organist at the beautiful St. Mary’s Church in St. Benedict, left her canning to come play “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for us. Tim Rues and Paul Bahnmaier held a mock debate in Lecompton’s Constitution Hall arguing the free state or slave state side for a proposed constitution so we could feel what it was like. Terry Tietjens played piano in Abilene’s Seelye Mansion for us. And there’s nothing like a Jim Gray tour of the Smoky Hills or finding Patrick Haire at work in his 19th-century woodworking shop in Humboldt.

We received priceless information from city clerks, folks in the courthouse, museum curators, and “guys on the bench.” We stopped in numerous barber and beauty shops, and always stopped in post offices. Sometimes we addressed an entire cafe or sale barn since we were obviously strangers in town, and they wanted to know what we were doing.

From restaurant kitchens to ghosts

We were invited into restaurant kitchens, and were introduced to several ghosts. We found out where the liquor stash is kept in Cuba, and discovered the Prohibition gravestone in, well, we promised we wouldn’t tell. We were taken into attics and clock towers in courthouses and churches and found only one bridge too scary to cross.

We ate and ate and ate. Three meals a day, three restaurants, always the locally owned ones. In one county we ate two hamburgers within an hour in two different towns—because we were told, “you have to!” And although it was over 100 degrees with a 45-mile-per-hour wind, we were still amazed by the Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts on the prairie close to Howell.

It was always the conversation with local folks that provided the highlight of any day, although sometimes the sheer beauty of grasses, wildflowers, hills, and expanse was beyond description.

You will have different experiences than we did, but yours will be special, too. Explore with a purpose, ask questions of the locals, and keep your heart open. Use this online resource as your starting point and have fun making memories.