Exploring Kansas

Our family is attempting to travel to all 50 states through creative road trips. We prefer to choose a route which may have several destination stops throughout the trip. This often results in spending a short amount of time in one city. We love to get the flavor of the place that we are visiting by experiencing dining experiences, seeing a well-known icon from that area or simply experiencing the understated charm of that particular area.

This post shares about our time in Kansas. We enjoyed our stops in Kansas and found it to be a very welcoming state.

We left Indiana to head to Kansas. We made a quick stop in St. Louis. It was lunch time and we wanted to see the arch. The arch is now a national park and my girls were eager to get a stamp for their NPS Passport books. We had lunch at Hi-Pointe Drive-In which was a fun burger stop. Hi-Pointe also has Excel Sodas which we don't see much in Indiana so it was fun to try something new. From Hi-Pointe, we walked to the arch. We didn't travel up the arch as there was a long wait. But, we got a classic family selfie and toured the "Old Courthouse" which sits directly across from the arch. The architecture was beautiful! This courthouse is significant as it is where the Dred Scott freedom suit took place. We have been to St. Louis several times, but it has been a few years. St. Louis is definitely a fun city to explore and we plan to be back when we have more time.

After this stop, it was back on the road again. Our next destination was Kansas City for the evening. We arrived in Kansas City around 5 in the evening. My girls had been interested in checking out Country Club Plaza for some shopping. We were too busy bargain hunting to snap a picture. After snagging some clearance items from Altar'd State, we were ready for dinner. When in Kansas City, barbeque seems to be the obvious choice. We made reservations at Jack Stack Barbecue and we were so glad that we did. Our waiter told us that we couldn't miss the "burnt ends" while in Kansas City. He was right! We ordered a variety of items to share amongst us. We enjoyed everything. In fact, my favorite was the jalapeno cornbread.

After our bellies were full, we called it a night. We stayed nearby at the Hampton Inn and Suites Kansas City- Country Club Plaza. We enjoyed the location of this hotel as it was close to Country Club Plaza as well as the restaurant.

The next morning, we began our drive to Wichita. The drive from Kansas City to Wichita is approximately three hours. Topeka was our first stop along the way. We were interested in visiting the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Park. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter the site and visit the museum as it was closed at the time of our visit. However, we were able to snap a picture. We also found a large, vibrant mural called "A New Day" across the street depicting the history of the civil rights movement.

After this stop, we followed the recommendation to take the Flint Hills Scenic Byway which allowed us to see the Kansas prairies. Along the way, we stopped at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. This offered the opportunity to explore more about the history of the area. There was a historic home to tour called the Spring Hill Ranch House. A tour of the home offered insight into what early ranch homes were like. We were informed that the preserve does have a herd of bison. However, they were not visible to us on our visit.

After this stop, we had a lunch consisting of light snacks in the car. (We had all had a big breakfast at the hotel so no one was very hungry.) We were also anxious to get to our next stop! We wanted to see Tulipfest at Botanica in Wichita. We arrived at Botanica and were greeted with beautiful flowers in the entryway. We continued on among all the beautiful spring blooms. My teen and tween were very impressed with the children's garden- even fun for big kids! Our entire family enjoyed the ping pong table in the gardens as well as a rest on the bench swings. My girls also went on a twirl on the carousel. We had a wonderful visit on a beautiful spring afternoon. I would highly recommend visiting. Another thing to consider is whether a membership package might make sense for your family. We opted for the family membership. The membership cost us less than it would have cost to purchase the general admission and Tulipfest tickets. And added surprise bonus was that they gave us free Tulipfest tickets for being a new member. The membership saved us about $20 on this trip alone. And, a membership at Botanica offers reciprocity to other gardens across the country through the American Horticulture Society Reciprocity Network. Our membership to Botanica allowed us to check out two other gardens on this road trip at no cost. The total cost savings was about $180 total!

But, back to the breathtaking blooms! The pictures don't do it justice.

After we left Botanica, we went to check in at our hotel. We stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview Wichita. We realized everyone was hungry and we were arriving during Drury's Kickback. If you have never experienced a Drury Kickback menu, it is a great money-saver and one of the reasons that we love Drury. Each evening they offer evening drinks and snacks from 5:30-7. We don't always take advantage of it when the timing doesn't work out or there is a restaurant we want to try. But, when able, we enjoy taking part in Kickback. It is described as snacks, but is plenty of food to make a meal- especially for children.

After having dinner, we wanted to explore downtown Wichita. We had heard about Galery Alley and wanted to explore the artwork there. It was a short stop, but we loved the art. While there, we treated ourselves to gelato at 11:11 Coquetry Maison which was just a couple of blocks away. The gelato was delicious and the decor was so cute.

After our treat, we headed to the see the lighting of the Keeper of the Plains. We had read that the Keeper of the Plains is an iconic sculpture in Wichita believed to be on sacred ground. The sculpture was created by a Native American artist named Blackbear Bosin. At nightfall, the ring of fire is lit and burns for 15 minutes. Wichita has invested in improvements which added pedestrian bridges and walkways along the river. It is a beautiful part of the city. We found parking near Exploration Place and walked across the pedestrian bridge to await the lighting. We viewed the lighting from the side of the river. There was Native American music playing and the lighting was a really great experience to watch. I would highly recommend this experience!

Keeper of the Plains

There is also a strange, bronze troll if you or your children want to go on a hunt. He is located near the Westar Power building under a storm grate. You can view him by looking down into the storm grate from the top or you can also see him from the river side by peeking in at ground level. He is said to be the "Keeper of the Drains."

After the lighting, we headed back to get some rest before moving on to our next leg of our trip. We traveled from Wichita to Oklahoma City for more adventures.

Read about our entire road trip on this post: 50 State Journey-The Midwest to the Wild West.

Follow along for more multi-destination trips at Middle of the Road Mindset.