Kansas Konnections – More Fun Times in Kansas

This is the last of my recent travel series. Don’t worry, there will be plenty more travels coming soon, meaning lots more fun and adventures as well. 🙂

When we were in Kansas, we both stayed with our Nephew Jared and his family the first night, then Larry went to Hays to visit with his siblings and help set up for the party. I stayed over another night.

On the first night, there was a little local town BBQ taking place in Pratt, and we all went and enjoyed the festivities. There was so much good food, and a little local church band was playing. There was even a bubble machine all the kids had fun with too.

Lexi and I are very close, so it gave us time to play and take in more sights. Then we both left for Hays on Sunday, for the party. Lexi took me all around, showing me different places and different things. One of the places we went was to the little town of Yoder, which is an Amish town. When we got there, things were closing up for the day, so we didn’t get to see as much as we were hoping to.

These curiosities caught my eye.

All of these were named.

This one really made me laugh. Larry’s brother Randy has a close friend named Gordon, who is also a friend of ours. We were going to see him at Ollie’s party. I had to show him a picture of this guy , also named Gordon. 🙂 He too got a kick out of it.

We also went to visit with Lexi’s friend, whose dog had puppies. How could we resist playing with adorable puppies, right?! But we couldn’t stay long. There was a bad storm brewing and we were trying to avoid it. But we got stuck right in the eye of the storm instead. It was a BAD storm too. It was like a tornado, with the heavy winds and the heavy rains. We pulled over and got under some protection from the wind and rain, only to see trees toppling in front of us, and trucks and trailers being overturned and telephone poles crashing down. It was a little scary, to say the least, but we pulled through, no worse for the wear. We made it back home safe and sound.

Once we got back to Jared and Lexi’s house, we stayed in for the rest of the day. Lexi and I got creative and started making some snowmen. I have a feeling these will find their way to loved ones as part of their Christmas gif this year. 🙂

I have seen most of Kansas now, and the western and southern parts are almost all farmland. Farming, agriculture, cattle ranching and the oil industry are the major industries in Kansas.

Here are some of the other fun things we saw during our Kansas travels. Across the street from where Ollie’s party was taking place, there was a very creative gentleman displaying his fun and whimsical handmade crafts. He was so friendly, and invited us in to show us a lot of his other creations too, including an operating train he build to take kids out for a ride.

After the party and all the visiting, there were more stops along the way, again, going to places we have never been to before, seeing things we had never seen before. Once place was Nicodemus.

Not only is Nicodemus famous in the bible, and one of our cat’s names, but it is also a pretty important place in Kansas and U.S. history as well. (We actually named our cat after the town of Nicodemus. We name all of our animals after names of places from their place of origin. Nicodemus or Nicky as we call her, and her brother Otis, are both Kansas kitties, both named after Kansas towns. We visited Otis too, but there wasn’t much there).

Nicodemus, Kansas was created after the Civil War. It was the first town that was created as an all Black town, where the African Americans and freed slaves could go and prosper. Formerly enslaved African Americans left Kentucky at the end of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period to experience freedom in the “Promised Land” of Kansas.

Nicodemus represents the involvement of African Americans in the westward expansion and settlement of the Great Plains. It is the oldest and only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River. An all-black outpost on the frontier, this “unsettled” land offered a chance for black farmers and their families to start anew. Today, a few people and buildings remain from the original township, a testament to the resolve of the people of Nicodemus to build a new life on the prairie. Between the end of the Civil War and the 1880’s, many courageous black settlers sought better lives, better land, and better opportunities in the heartland. Despite being much smaller today than it was one hundred years ago, Nicodemus remains an enduring monument to African American westward migration. Desperately seeking opportunities that simply did not exist in the South, former slaves moved west with hope. For some, the long march ended in newly platted Nicodemus, Kansas. They built houses, businesses, clubs, churches, and schools and were able to participate in political and commercial life in ways previously denied to them.

The uniform of the Buffalo Soldiers from the Union Army during the Civil War.

Other sights we saw along the way. Not only is Kansas a farming, agricultural and oil state, but they are also religious and support their military.

But don’t be fooled. Kansas also has its fair share of eclectics too. 🙂 Kansas, just like anywhere else, Kansas is a mix of all kinds of people, with many different influences.

Hope you had fun on our travels too. There is always something new to see and something new to learn. Never stop being adventurous or curious. Learn something new everyday. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.