Map of the Day 4 route across Kansas from Topeka through the Flint Hills and Salina to Burlington, Colorado

5575 Miles · Monday, July 6th, 2009

Day 4: Kansas

There is a little one-room schoolhouse at the edge of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, located in the Flint Hills region of Kansas.

Rolling green prairie under a blue sky scattered with white clouds

The preserve protects a nationally significant example of the once-vast tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Of the 400,000 square miles (1,000,000 km²) of tallgrass prairie that once covered the North American continent, less than 4% remains, primarily in the Flint Hills.

The following pictures were taken on a beautiful sunny day, when the sky offered us a spectacular show of little puffy white clouds. The temperature was very high, but under the shade of the trees it was comfortable and the view gave us a sense of pure perfection.

The tallgrass prairie stretching to the horizon under streaked clouds

Old fence posts and barbed wire in the prairie grass

A small pond in the open prairie beneath puffy clouds

Small white clouds over a flat green horizon

While I was enjoying taking pictures of the landscape, Yasuko took the second camera and had some fun taking pictures of the beautiful wildflowers that covered the fields around us.

Francesco crouching with his camera on a grassy slope above a pond

The fine spokes of a seed head, close up

A round seed head glowing against a dark background

Francesco photographing from a hillside above farmland

An orange butterfly resting on dry grass

Tall grasses and a thin tree against the light

Yasuko walking along a prairie path under a blue sky

There is a very peaceful atmosphere in the prairie. Time stops when you enter the tallgrass preserve and all you can see is the gorgeous sky above you. There are no limits to the view and it feels like you could touch those popcorn clouds floating above your head. What an amazing place to spend the morning. I would recommend it to anyone.

Towering white clouds above a green prairie ridge

On our way to Cottonwood Falls, we crossed US-50 in Strong City, a small town named after William Barstow Strong, former president of the Santa Fe Railway. The railroad depot is trimmed in native cut limestone and was built in 1912.

A red truck in front of the old railroad depot in Strong City

If you happen to drive through the legendary Flint Hills, you have to pay a visit to a very nice lady. Her name is Emma Chase and she owns a lovely café and gift shop in Cottonwood Falls, the Emma Chase Cafe. Enjoy a bison burger with fries and chat a bit with Emma. She is a very interesting lady with a charismatic personality.

Emma Chase smiling behind the counter of her café

After the delicious lunch at Emma's restaurant, we resumed our drive across the entire state of Kansas, first by driving northwest to reach I-70, and then all the way to Burlington, CO, which we reached by dinner time, a few minutes before a huge storm swept the high plains, cooling down the night.

Clouds filling a vast sky over flat green plains

A straight empty road across the plains under heavy clouds