Motoring Monday: Arikaree Breaks

With its deep ravines and gullies, the Arikaree Breaks in northern Cheyenne County are much different than the nearby plains. The breaks are a rugged landscape of canyons that were formed by sand, silt and clay particles deposited by wind during the past few million years.

The breaks are 36 miles long by about three miles wide. There are two species of sage that grow in the breaks that grow no other place in Kansas and 16 native plants that are listed as "rare" in Kansas.

Along the self-guided tour that can be found here, visitors will see the Republican River bridge, Horse Thief Cave, Hackberry Creek, iron sculptures, Three Corners tri-state point and more.

Throwback Thursday

We're going back to August 2012 when a Kansas road became a runway.

 

While it didn’t go down the street under its own power, a KC-135E Stratotanker from the Kansas Air National Guard took a trip along Topeka Boulevard to its new home at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard at Forbes Field in Topeka. 

 

Planning the route was tricky as the jet weighs 60 tons, is 136 feet long, has a 130-foot wingspan and is 38 feet high. This jet was one of the first assigned to the 190th Air Refueling Group in 1977. It was used in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and flew more 10,000 hours on deployments before its final mission in 2007. KDOT and others assisted in traffic control.

Where does your school rank on license plate sales?

Fan bases are known for obsessing about where there team ranks on a list.  One list you may not of thought about is how your alma mater ranks in terms of license plates sold, but we've tracked that down for you.

The Kansas Department of Revenue offers more than 30 distinctive license plates that offers something for everyone from college fans to animal lovers. So what plate is most popular in Kansas?

Here are the top 5 sellers according to the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Number 1: Kansas State University (8,041 plates sold)

Number 2: Breast Cancer Awareness (4,396 plates sold)

Number 3: University of Kansas (4,305 plates sold)

Number 4: Pittsburg State University (3,001 plates sold)

 

Number 5: Wichita State University (2,886 plates sold)

For a complete list of distinctive plates available, visit www.ksrevenue.org/dmv-plates.html or your local county treasurer’s office.

Tracks are for trains not photos

While the school year has started, many seniors are preparing themselves for what happens after graduation, this includes college applications, picking out stationary, and taking the perfect senior picture. While it’s fun to scout new locations to have senior pictures taken, there is a place that should not be used as a setting: Train tracks.

Train tracks are a very dangerous and should not be taken likely. Trains cannot stop quickly to avoid people or vehicles on the tracks and optical illusions make it hard to determine a train’s distance and speed.  You can’t assume they are abandoned or inactive either, especially on private property. In fact, not only is it unsafe but it’s also illegal. Trespassing is a crime and your school is within their right to reject photos for publication if they are taken in the commission of a crime.

Julie LaCombe of Kansas Operation Lifesaver explains it this way, “If we saw a child playing on an airport runway, where planes can be moving 150 miles an hour when landing, we would lose our collective minds and stop it right now. Why then would we place a loved one on rails, where hundreds of people actually die unintentionally every year?”

Motoring Monday: World's Largest Hand Dug Well

Built more than 127 years ago, the World’s Largest Hand Dug Well is 109 feet deep and 32 feet in diameter. The well, located in Greensburg, took nearly a year to build. Construction began in 1887 and cost about $45,000. 

According to the big well website, the stone used for the well casing was brought in wagons from the Medicine River 12 miles south of Greensburg, over roads that were little better than cattle trails. Dirt from the well was hauled away by the same wagons which had slatted beds. By opening the slats and dumping the dirt in low spots, streets and roads to the quarry were leveled.

The well served the city until 1932 and was opened as a historic attraction in 1937. The May 4, 2007, tornado did little damage to the well but destroyed the gift shop and visitor’s center. It was closed until 2012 when the new museum opened.

Find out more at http://www.bigwell.org/.