Native Stone & Buffalo

Looking north from K-4, near the headwaters of the East Branch of Mill Creek in Kansas

Waterfall discovery from Landon Trail to Mount Mitchell by way of Native Stone Scenic Byway

Thunderstorms invading Kansas City seemed reason enough for escaping the confines of concrete, steel, and manicured lawns to once again review the lonesome prairie south and west of Topeka in Kansas.

A crayfish wandering the gravel road near Overbrook, Kansas

After passing through a torrential downpour in the south part of town, the sun began to peek through in places and dryer conditions prevailed. While encouraging for this excursion, it was not so reassuring to the local residents, who continued their quest for higher ground.

Mural in Overbrook

The trailhead for the Landon Nature Trail near Overbrook turned into a quest of its own. The situation is not identified, and exists only as a path of neck-high growth leading through a tree line between two farm fields. Conditions were certainly not conducive to exploring that avenue further.

Former Missouri-Pacific Train Trestle on the Landon Nature Trail

Diverting course to an alternate intersection of the trail, discovered while reviewing coordinates for the primary objective of Swissvale Falls, proved a fool’s errand. Access to the trail was blocked from the west by a swollen Camp Creek, but circling around from the east found the trail more identifiable. It remained mostly unassailable though. The state of affairs between poison ivy and rushing waters eliminated any desire to continue the search.

Top: Schoolhouse near Overbrook / Left: KSU vs KU Mural in Scranton / Right: “Freash” Eggs in Burlingame

Various small towns further down the road produced a few amusements worth pondering. Indeed, one instance required serious consideration of past spelling lessons. The local schoolhouse probably should have remained in use.

Sante Fe Trail Marker west of Burlingame, Kansas

This former Santa Fe Trail route abruptly ended just west of Burlingame, forcing a detour around a pending bridge replacement. There had been sufficient warning, which was duly ignored. One must sometimes assess the situation personally, and the navigator found an acceptable replacement for pointless backtracking anyway.

Small herd of Buffalo near Eskridge, Kansas

In no time, a herd of Buffalo stared at us in wonder at our own wonder of their sudden materializing. Most of them passively grazed without so much as noticing our existence, especially the new calves, clearly obsessed with the fresh grasses all around. An older bull and a few of the younger only glared back in obvious contempt of our ill-mannered intrusion on their breakfast.

Left: Waugh Bank Building / Top: Sutton Food Store (native stone) / Bottom: Tiles above Entry at Waugh Bank Building

Down the road from the great herd, Eskridge stood tall and proud, but mostly devoid of any sort of life. Unique stone architecture abounds, the significance of which did not become apparent until later at separate roadside park. It seems that most of the masonry in this region comes directly from the surrounding land.

Kansas Highway 4, west of Eskridge

Skies continued to unfold a beautiful day on the Native Stone Scenic Byway. Conversation led to one thing and then another. It was just about the time talk wandered to describing the particular circumstances typically surrounding an appearance of falls, the very topic of discussion unexpectedly materialized.

Lake Wabaunsee Falls, Kansas

A couple of hundred meters below the spillway for Lake Wabaunsee, water splashed across a limestone creek bed, dropped a meter or so and passed under the road, hurrying away for an appointment with the East Branch of Mill Creek. Very little space is afforded for parking more than one vehicle to observe this phenomenon, but traffic and general lack of population left ample opportunity for this expedition to trample the area thoroughly.

Kansas Native Stone Scenic Byway

A small rest area hosted a sign explaining the purpose of the billions of miles of stone fences witnessed along this route. Lacking basic services taken for granted in the current era, one had to do something in their free time, especially if the government was willing to pay for the rock stacking hobby.

An old homestead near Alma, Kansas

Some were inventive with their use of stone, building elegant entrances to their abode. It was too late for this homesteader though . They fenced him in and he was never heard from again.

Waterfalls at Alma City Reservoir in Kansas

The waterfalls at the Alma Reservoir turned out a total bust. It was surprising, considering the amount of rain that had been hammering the countryside in the last week, and the earlier downpour. A few resident cottonmouths scattered in various directions on the hike down to observe the trickle of water percolating through the ground into a few murky pools of water.

Railroad Park in Alma, Kansas

Alma waited just up the road with fuel for our transport and body. On her skirts, a tiny historical park greeted passers-by with a display of abandoned properties from the glory days in the eastern Kansas prairie. All but one were shuttered tight, and the amount of dust that had settled within the millinery suggested clients were few and far between.

Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie

A little farther up the prairie, a monument stands on a lonely hilltop once sacred to the Native Americans of this area. Captain William Mitch claimed it and the surrounding land for his own during the Kansas territory period, much to their dismay. He helped establish the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony here. The relatively famous abolitionists from Connecticut helped stop the advancement of pro-slavery forces with support form John Brown. It is a good vantage point for such an endeavor, though they probably cooked under the summer sun of the prairie.

White Chapel School of Pottawatomie County District 51 in Wamego City Park, Kansas

The clock permitted one last brief pause for reflection in Wamego City Park. Signs of life were returning in the wake of the recent masked hysteria. The buildings remained closed, but people were out enjoying the day, and the playground no longer banned children from swinging as high as they could.