I kinda dreaded this part of the trip. For the most part we have planned out our trip so that our drive time is no more than 4.5 hours; except for the first two segments of our journey. The first part, Utah to Colorado, wasn't bad because we had the mountains. I was not looking forward to today's drive to Kansas because we all know what that means...a whole lot of prairie. Vast open stretches that go on forever. But you know what? I was pleasantly surprised when the drive was pretty fun and actually beautiful (sorry Kansas lovers).
To break up the 7.5 hour drive, we made a few different stops. The first was the "Big Easel". It's a huge, 80ft tall art installation to look like an easel holding a Van Gogh Painting in the town of Goodland... so pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It was a great time to stretch our legs, walk around a bit and, of course, take a few pictures!I was impressed with the size and loved that this city added a little art to attract tourists. We for sure got caught in that trap, and there was another guy near us taking pics too. I'm generally really curious what he was doing because he had a piece of paper with some writing on it that I couldn't see. He had the paper and easel in view of the camera. Some secret message that I will never know... I hate the feeling of not knowing. Maybe he was proclaiming his love to his girlfriend and Van Gogh was the man to help him out. The next break was in Oakley where the Statue of Buffalo Bill stands. The thing was massive! Just look at the picture!The museum was closed being a Sunday and all but they had a stand with information about Buffalo Bill's famous western show and a little history behind him and the area. To be honest, I had only really heard the name. I didn't know that much about him, but now I am an expert so feel free to ask any questions regarding his life. Just Kidding. Please don't do that or I may be embarrassed with the little information I actually retained ha. Our last stop of the trip was one we almost passed up, Zack had found this cool cathedral online but thought it was in Oklahoma. Luckily we saw it in the distance and pulled off the road to take a look.Dubbed "The Cathedral of the Plains", it turned out to be a 100+ year old cathedral built by German immigrants. I guess their American Dream was moving to Kansas! It makes perfect sense for people who just wanted their own land to farm and to be left alone. The doors were open so we had a chance to sit inside for a moment and enjoy the beauty of the stained glass and other intricate designs adorning the walls, but let's talk about the stained glass for a moment. There were at least 30+ intricate pieces covering the walls and depicting moments from Christ's life and various saints caring for His children. I just loved how it was around sunset when we came in so there was soft lighting outside contrasting the dim light inside the church, which made the glass really light up! It's almost like they were LED powered. It was gorgeous.This was my favorite stop of the day by far. The Church is nestled in a quiet town, which is impressive that these people wanted a beautiful place to worship so they built one. I can only imagine the time and money it must have taken to make the cathedral what it is today. Kansas has surprised me. Even in winter, when the grass is dead and the farms are waiting for the growing season, the plains were beautiful. It made me appreciate how vast the US is. There is so much land and amazing things to see. These stops slowed us down a bit while en route to our final destination for the night in Wichita, but it was worth it. We enjoyed the journey so much more when we strayed from the Freeway a bit. Second leg of the journey: Colorado to Kansas. 9 hours, 535 miles.
