Whenever I mentioned that our road trip route was taking us through Kansas, people always said, “there’s nothing out there! You’ll get bored really fast!” To my surprise, I found the landscape fascinating. Growing up in the southeast, there moments of unhindered views of the horizon are fleeting. Trees or buildings line the streets everywhere you drive! Coming into Kansas, I was completely amazed that I could see for miles and miles.
One of my best friends, Eleanor, lived in Manhattan, KS for a while. Ashley and I made it a point to visit her on our road trip! We spent a few days with her exploring Manhattan, Aggieville, and a little bit of Kansas City. To my surprise, it wasn’t all flat, and the scenery was beautiful! We had the best time exploring the Konza Prarie and Flint Hills, visiting the Tuttle Creek Dam and watching an amazing sunset, and trying our hands at painting in Aggieville. If you go to Kansas, make sure you visit this side of the state!
To give you an idea of our itinerary, our first day was spent stopping to see an overlook of the Konza Prairie and the Flint Hills. After that, we went to Kansas City to some cute art shops and of course to eat some BBQ, we visited the Hallmark Visitor Center, and then we finished the day back in Manhattan at the Tuttle Creek Dam. The next day we took a walk on the Konza Prairie (make sure you bring water if you go!) and then went to Aggieville and visited a bookstore, a donut shop, and some other local shops. We finished the day taking a painting class that Eleanor taught! The last day we headed out towards Colorado! I hope you enjoy the photos from this part of our trip!
THE KONZA PRARIE AND THE FLINT HILLS
Some of our views from the prairie reminded me of Middle Earth!
Ran into this little guy along the way!
Ran into this purple piano on the side of the road. It wasn’t working. đ
TUTTLE CREEK DAM
Of course, I had to take some portraits of Eleanor since I rarely get to see her!
These people were jet skiing at the perfect time!
I will never forget this sunset. Easily in my top 5 of best sunsets I have ever seen. There was a not a cloud in the sky, and the calm waters of the dam made it so serene.
AGGIEVILLE
Make sure you stop at Aggieville Donuts!
That concluded our time in Kansas! Our next stop… Colorado!
Of course, when we saw the sign for the World’s Greatest Easel, we had to stop!
