We're making an escape soon to the Tallgrass Prairie of central Kansas. Our research for the trip took us to this wonderful National Geographic article, Splendor of the Grass. The article features the annual prairie fires that consume the grasses early each spring, spurring renewal.
The beautiful photos accompanying the piece have us psyched about our escape. We just had to share the beautiful photos as we head into the weekend. Check them out in this gallery.
Two of our favorites are shown here. Up top shows an incredible birds-eye-view in the spring and the lower photo is of the tallgrass on an autumn evening. The color in each is so vivid and varied - opposite ends of the spectrum all in the course of a year. (All photos by Jim Richardson)
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
The World's Ugliest Condo: The Big Bathroom Reveal 
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Homesteaders' Cocktail Recipe: Lovage Simple Syrup
Comments (10)
Oh, Regina, are you in for a treat! The Flint Hills are one of the most beautiful places on earth! And can I say that you are the first person I've ever met to voluntarily go on vacation to my home state -- I hope you set a trend. (Though August can be brutal in KS. Be prepared for heat and dead grass. And gorgeous sunsets.)
I don't know if it's that close, but if you are in the vicinity you should really check out the Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas. A very strange and memorable place to visit.
Delight! I grew up here and it is simply gorgeous!
If you're spending time in Manhattan, Kansas (I'm a k-state alumnus) I have some lovely recommendations.
Aggieville is located at the intersection of Bluemont and Manhattan Avenues. Here you will find a number of locally owned businesses. Acme Gift, the Dusty Bookshelf, and Thread are all fantastic finds - located on Moro Street. [if you meet the owners in any of these 3 - tell them that Nicole sent you] You find good coffee and treats at Bluestem Bistro and Radina's Coffee house. For a meal, try Coco Bolo's, So Long Saloon or Rock-A-Belly Deli. Not in Aggieville but also worth your dime are Harry's on Poyntz or 4 Olives on Anderson Avenue.
Pillsbury Crossing provides some water relief from the heat, as well.
I just got a little homesick.
Colellis, me too. Just not for Manhattan, which I don't know very well. I keep thinking about thunderstorms and the view when you reach the crest of some of those hills on I-70. I've never felt claustrophobic or anxious in cities or wooded areas, but I'm so relaxed when I'm in that open space I could almost think I was. For some more wonderful photos of the prairie, search Etsy for JaredKS -- he's based out of Fort Riley.
I just moved to Manhattan KS from San Francisco a couple of months ago while the bf finishes his PhD at K-State (the distance thing was killin' us). He's been here for quite some time but has been horrible about exploring, so I've been discovering the area on my own. Nicole, thanks for the recommendations, and Jenny, I am intrigued by the Garden of Eden!
Regina - also worth seeing in Manhattan if you make it here is the Strecker-Nelson gallery which, I am told, is one of the oldest art galleries in Kansas. It's at 406 1/2 Poyntz Ave. There is a cafe downstairs and the gallery is on the second level. It's quite large and showcases a diverse array of art. The prairie is indeed gorgeous. The bf and I frequently pack a picnic and drive to a scenic lookout on I-70 to watch the sunset over the hills. The sky here is just amazing, with gorgeous cloud formations (I've never taken so many pictures of clouds in my life), and I am so loving the thunderstorms. I echo the warning about the heat - it's been brutal here the past couple of weeks, but the worst is hopefully over as we are blessedly cool today (only in the high 80s).
I am a KSU alum as well, and too have never heard of anyone going there voluntarily for vacation. Might I ask what it is that set you on your journey to our home state?
We live in Phoenix now and I miss the lovely green prairie daily... talk about brutal.
Kansas is awesome; enjoy yourself.
Looking over those pictures of the prairie burn I was suddenly driving down I-35 with the smell of a Kansas spring.
Subtract the moments when one finds himself downwind from a pig farm and that is a wonderful scene.
If you go to Lucas to the Garden of Eden don't miss the Grassroots Arts Center. It features amazing works of self-taught artists. You will love it -- guaranteed.
Other places in the area worth visiting are Mass St. in Lawrence, KS. and Pryde's Olde Westport, a fantastic kitchen store in Kansas City, MO that's been covered in AT before.
If you go to the Garden of Eden, you MUST pick up one of the souvenir books they have (sell? I can't recall) there. Very high on the unintentional comedy scale.