My friend Sue Forbes and I drove to Emporia, Kansas a few weeks ago to attend the Symphony in the Flint Hills held in the Tallgrass Prairie. Unfortunately, due to the horrific thunderstorms on the Friday before the Symphony, it was rescheduled for the rain date Sunday, June 16, 2019. But thunderstorms rolled through on Saturday night and the hosts finally had to cancel the day’s events including the Flint Hills Symphony.
But like all good adventurers, we made the most of our time in Kansas. Luckily, the rain occurred only in the evenings, so we were free to roam the countryside in search of all we could see, but especially the wildflowers. During the next couple of posts, I’m going to try to share our adventure with you. The prairie flowers were awesome!
Kansas Hospitality
Arriving in Emporia on Friday evening, June 14th, we ate at a local restaurant called the Radius Brewing Co. It was a 30 minute wait for a table, so we found two seats at the bar next to a lovely elderly couple from Kansas. We had a nice chat with them while waiting for our food. Upon departing, the couple told us to enjoy the symphony for them since they no longer were able to attend. They liked the fact we were from the land of the Packers and wished us well. And, to our surprise, they secretly paid for our meals as a way of treating us to Kansas’ hospitality. We do not know, of course, how to contact this delightful couple to thank them, but we are so thankful for their hospitality and so grateful for their good wishes. It helped immensely to make up for not getting to see the Symphony.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
This national preserve is a joint endeavor between The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service which protects 4% (10,894 acres) of the once 170 million acres of North American prairie. The Tallgrass Prairie Visitor’s Center includes access to many of the buildings which formerly made up the historic Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch.
Scenic Drives
There are a number of scenic drives in Kansas. We chose to do the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway and the Native Stone Scenic Byway. All provided us with great opportunities to sightsee and to take photos of unbelievably beautiful wildflowers.
Stay tuned for the awsome show!
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