Motoring Monday - Bird watching across Kansas

The Wetlands & Wildlife National Scenic Byway in Barton, Stafford and Reno counties
in central Kansas has lots of areas to watch birds.

Bird watching is a big pastime in Kansas. The state has two important stopover sites for migrating birds and has recorded more than 460 bird species, making it the 16^th most popular bird state in the country, according to the Audubon website.

The top two places to see birds includes the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. The spring and fall migration times are especially good for seeing a variety of birds pass through the state.

The Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area is
the largest wetland in the interior U.S.

The Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area is a central flyaway for millions of birds. This Kansas wetland area is the largest in the interior U.S. with 41,000 acres. Some 320 species of birds frequent Cheyenne Bottoms, including the Bald Eagle, Whooping Crane, Peregrine Falcon, Least Tern and Piping Plover.

The Quivira National Wildlife Refuge includes more than 22,000 acres and is managed primarily to provide migratory birds with food, water and shelter. More than 300 species of birds have been seen on the refuge at different times of the year.

According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, there are lots of great spots to watch birds. The top 10 locations are:

1 - Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area

2 - Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

3 - Cimarron National Grassland

4 - Baker Wetlands Research and Natural Area

5 - Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway

6 - Historic Lake Scott State Park and Wildlife Area

7 - Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area

8 - Konza Prairie Biological Station

9 - Toronto Reservoir, Cross Timbers State Park and Toronto Wildlife Area

10 - Wilson Reservoir, State Park and Wildlife Area

State parks are also great places to see birds. According to KDWPT, in the late winter, Lovewell Reservoir, State Park and Wildlife Area can host up to one million snow geese in flocks large enough to be seen on weather radar.

 

Motoring Monday - Great Mural Wall of Topeka

Check out the Great Mural Wall in Topeka on Fillmore Street and Western
Avenue between 19^th and 20^th streets and also 20^th Street.

Residents of the capital city of Kansas decided to give a little color to some blank walls. According to the Atlas Obscura, the Great Mural Wall of Topeka project honors the cultural history and ongoing spirit of residents and their neighborhoods. The mural is featured on a wall surrounding a former water reservoir, which is owned by the city of Topeka Water Division.

Inspired by Great Wall of Los Angeles, the goal of the project was to beautify the Chesney Park Neighborhood, lift up community spirit and discourage graffiti. In 2007, the first installment of the mural was created. The project then became a community-wide effort supported by volunteers, donations and organizations.  The mural currently features nine separate murals that showcase the history of Topeka. 

Other murals created over the past decade discuss important topics such as Brown v. the Board of Education, animals in need of protection, how Topeka got its name and even women’s rights.

The Great Mural of Topeka can be found on Fillmore Street and Western Avenue between 19^th and 20^th streets and also 20^th Street. The lead artists who created the mural are Dave Lowenstein, KT Walsh and Ashley Jane Laird and various community assistants.

Motoring Monday: Go take a hike - at Elk City State Park

Lots of beautiful scenery at Elk City State Park.

Elk City State Park is a hiker’s delight. This park on the eastern shores of the beautiful Elk City Reservoir adjoins 12,000 acres of wildlife habitat. Its network of hiking trails is nationally recognized.

Hikers can take an easy but scenic trek through woodlands on the Post Oak Trail or make their way along limestone bluffs and through rocky passages on the Table Mound Hiking Trail. The 15-mile Elk River Hiking Trail takes a winding course, starting at the Elk City dam and ending at the Elk River Bridge south of the town of Elk City. There’s also the four-mile Eagle Rock Mountain Bike Trail for the cycling crowd.

The park, lake and wildlife area are located five miles northwest of Independence and one mile north of U.S. 160. The lake is a regional favorite for water sports and fishing. Elk City State Park also has a swimming beach, campsites and playgrounds.

Motoring Monday: Wellington glass museum is colorful, nostalgic

The NDGA National Glass Museum in Wellington features American-made glassware from the late 1800s through midcentury modern.

 A display of Depression-era fishbowls
at the glass museum in Wellington.

At the NDGA National Glass Museum in Wellington, visitors can witness more than every color and shape in antique/vintage glassware.

You might hear someone say something like, “My grandmother had those same drinking glasses!” When visitors see the old glass, it brings back memories, says Pam Meyer, president of the National Depression Glass Association (NDGA) and spokeswoman for the Wellington museum.

“It makes you smile” to hear visitors get nostalgic, Meyer says.

The museum -- at 117 S. Washington, in the heart of Wellington -- is accessible from Interstate 35 and U.S. 160. And it’s free, although donations are accepted.

A display of glass insulators
at the glass museum in Wellington.
Photos courtesy of NDGA National
Glass Museum.

What can you see?  Not only Depression glass from the 1930s but also glassware from the late 1800s and early 1900s to midcentury modern. The collection includes machine-made and hands-on glass. There’s an etched goblet that passed through 75 hands as it was produced. It’s all American-made.

There’s plenty of kitchenware. You can also check out molds and tools used to make glass. And there are antique fruit jars and glass insulators.

Museum hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment. If visitors reach the museum outside those hours, they can call a number listed on the museum door, at a reasonable hour.

Motoring Monday - Historic churches of Ellis County




St. Fidelis Church in Victoria. Below is a photo of inside.

Known as the German Capital of Kansas, it should be no surprise that Ellis County is home to more native limestone German Catholic churches than any other county in Kansas.

As German settlers began arriving in the region in the mid-1870s, they brought their strong religious and family beliefs to what was a wild and sometimes dangerous area. Soon after constructing their homes, the settlers began to build churches for worship services in their communities. Many of the churches share similar features in their artistic Gothic style and prominent stained-glass windows, but each has its own unique characteristics and history.



Perhaps the most recognized church in Ellis County is the Basilica of St. Fidelis in Victoria. Dubbed “The Cathedral of the Plains” by William Jennings Bryan in 1912, St. Fidelis is the largest of the county’s historic churches. The church was constructed over a period from 1908 to 1911 of native limestone quarried near Victoria. Its most prominent feature, the 141-foot tall twin bell towers, can be seen from miles around. St. Fidelis was named to the National Register of Historical Places in 1971 and decreed as a Minor Basilica by Pope Francis in 2014, one of only 78 in the United States and the only one in Kansas.





St. Ann's Church in Walker.
Below is a historical photo of the inside.



In nearby Walker, construction on St. Ann’s began in 1904 and was completed the following year. Each communicant was asked to quarry, haul and furnish 10 loads of stone for the church’s construction. Though smaller than some of the other churches, St. Ann’s features natural dark wood altars and beautiful stained-glass windows.



St. Catherine Church in the town of Catharine - the town was
named after Catharine the Great and the church was
named after St. Catherine. Below is a photo of inside the church.

One of the oldest churches in the county, St. Catherine in the town of Catharine was dedicated on Oct. 6, 1892. Its native limestone was quarried and hauled from as far as 15 miles away along the Smoky Hill River and parishioners provided much of the labor for construction. As the community grew in prosperity, the church was able to obtain furnishings and add statues, crosses, vestments, angels and other items to make it a beautiful place to worship.



The other historic German Catholic churches of Ellis County include Our Lady Help of Christians in Antonino, St. Mary’s in Ellis, St. Joseph in Hays, St. Francis of Assisi in Munjor, Holy Cross in Pfeifer, St. Anthony’s in Schoenchen, and St. Boniface in Vincent. For more information on the churches, visit www.visithays.com/163/Churches.