Monday, October 20, 2008

Welcome to Kansas!

If your dropping by today and are not familiar with Blogs Around The World...let me introduce you!

BATW is a site that spotlights different states/countries/locations on a daily basis and if you are lucky enough to be chosen (like ME!) then you get to talk about the great place where you live! It's so interesting to check in daily and see where you'll learn about next! Debbie and Darcy are so fun and humorous as our 'pilots', they even like to do surprise layovers spotlight unexpected bloggers!!

Now...let me introduce myself, my name is Trish and I am a single mother of two awesome children. My son Kyler is 12 and my daughter Miranda is 9. They keep me busy but I wouldn't have it any other way!!

We live smack in the middle of the Midwest in Kansas. Kansas's birthday is January 29, 1861 and was the 34th state.
If you see Overland Park on this map, we live about 25 miles south of there in a small town.


I love love love our state flower, the sunflower.

Topeka is the state capital. A couple of years ago I went with my son on a class field trip to the capital. See the tip top of it? Um yea on the tour, you get to go all the way UP TO THE TOP of it and go on the OUTSIDE of it on this little walk way around it!!!

Here are a couple of shots (with my camera phone) of the walk way up to the twisty stairs which lead to the outside walkway. Lordy...I can handle most things but that was a tad scary!!


Now when you live in Kansas...you will find either Wildcat fans or Jayhawk fans.

Kansas State is in Manhattan. University of Kansas is in Lawrence.

You'll see a lot of these license plates as well LOL

Speaking of sports, we have a pretty cool layout of professional sports. Even though they are technically in Missouri, I'm still going to mention them!!! The Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals stadiums are located right next to each other.


Now as I was looking for other fun and interesting facts, I came across this website that I am going to steal the information from cuz it cracked me up!! I'll link back to everything that I can!!

Kansas Facts and Trivia

  • A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38' in circumference and weighs more than 16,750 pounds and is still growing.

  • A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins.

  • South of Ashland the Rock Island Bridge is the longest railroad bridge of its kind. It measures 1,200 feet long and is 100 feet above the Cimarron River.

  • At Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, waterbeds for horses are used in surgery.

  • Kansas won the award for most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design issued in 1981.

  • Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States.

  • At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.

  • The first woman mayor in the United States was Susan Madora Salter. She was elected to office in Argonia in 1887.

  • The first black woman to win an Academy Award was Kansan Hattie McDaniel. She won the award for her role in "Gone with the Wind."

  • Kansas inventors include Almon Strowger of El Dorado who invented the dial telephone in 1889; William Purvis and Charles Wilson of Goodland who invented the helicopter in 1909; and Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville who invented the first frozen carbonated drink machine in 1961.

  • Smith County is the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states.

  • Amelia Earhart, first woman granted a pilot's license by the National Aeronautics Associate and first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean was from Atchison.

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower from Abilene was the 34th President of the United States.

  • Silent comedian Buster Keaton, of early film success, was from Piqua, Kansas.

  • The three largest herds of buffalo (correctly called bison) in Kansas are located on public lands at the Maxwell Game Preserve (McPherson), Big Basin (Ashland), and Buffalo Game Preserve (Garden City).

  • Fort Riley, between Junction City and Manhattan, was the cradle of the United States Cavalry for 83 years.

  • George Custer formed the famed 7th Cavalry there in 1866. Ten years later, at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the 7th was virtually wiped out. The only Cavalry survivor was a horse named Comanche.

  • Wyatt Earp, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok and William B. "Bat" Masterson were three of the legendary lawmen who kept the peace in rowdy frontier towns like Abilene, Dodge City, Ellsworth, Hays, and Wichita.

  • The public swimming pool at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City occupies half a city block and holds 2 1/2 million gallons of water. Cedar

  • Crest is the name of the governor's mansion in Topeka, the state capital.

  • Barton County is the only Kansas County that is named for a woman; the famous volunteer Civil War nurse Clara Barton.

  • The Arkansas River may be the only river whose pronunciation changes as it crosses state lines. In Kansas, it is called the Arkansas (ahr-KAN-zuhs). On both sides of Kansas (Colorado and Oklahoma), it is called the Arkansaw.

  • Civil War veteran S.P. Dinsmoor used over 100 tons of concrete to build the Garden of Eden in Lucas. Even the flag above the mausoleum is made of concrete.

  • Handel's Messiah has been presented in Lindsborgeach at Easter since 1889.

  • A monument to the first Christian martyr on United States Territory stands along Highway 56 near Lyons.

  • Father Juan de Padilla came to the region with the explorer Coronado in 1541.

  • Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built above some of the richest salt deposits in the world. Salt is still actively mined, processed and shipped from Hutchinson.

  • There are 27 Walnut Creeks in the state.

  • There are more than 600 incorporated towns in the state.

  • Morton County sells the most trout fishing stamps of all the Kansas counties.

  • Fire Station No. 4 in Lawrence, originally a stone barn constructed in 1858, was a station site on the Underground Railroad.

  • The Hugoton Gas Field is the largest natural gas field in the United States. It underlies all or parts of 10 southwestern Kansas counties as well as parts of Oklahoma and Texas. The gas field underlies almost 8,500 square miles, an area nearly 5 times as large as the state of Rhode Island.

  • The Kansas Speleological Society has catalogued at least 528 caves in 37 Kansas counties. Commanche County has at least 128 caves and Barber County has at least 117 caves.

  • Kansas has the largest population of wild grouse in North America. The grouse is commonly called the prairie chicken.

  • Milford Reservoir with over 16,000 acres of water is the state's largest lake. The reservoir is located northwest of Junction City.

  • The Geodetic Center of North America is about 40 miles south of Lebanon at Meades Ranch. It is the beginning point of reference for land surveying in North America. When a surveyor checks a property line, he or she is checking the position of property in relation to Meade's Ranch in northwest Kansas. In Italy the city of Milan is 300 miles northwest of Rome. In Kansas, Milan is less than 25 miles northwest of Rome, in Sumner County.

  • Between 1854 and 1866, 34 steamboats paddled up the Kaw River (Kansas River). One made it as far west as Fort Riley.

  • In 1990 Kansas wheat farmers produced enough wheat to make 33 billion loaves of bread, or enough to provide each person on earth with 6 loaves.

  • Holy Cross Shrine in Pfeifer, was known as the 2 Cent Church because the building was built using a 2 cent donation on each bushel of wheat sold by members of the church.

  • Kansas produced a record 492.2 million bushels of wheat in 1997, enough to make 35.9 billion loaves of bread.

  • The American Institute of Baking is located in Manhattan.

  • A 30 foot tall statue of Johnny Kaw stands in Manhattan. The statue represents the importance of the Kansas wheat farmer.

  • The graham cracker was named after the Reverend Sylvester Graham (1794-1851). He was a Presbyterian minister who strongly believed in eating whole wheat flour products.

  • The rocks at Rock City are huge sandstone concretions. In an area about the size of two football fields, 200 rocks, some as large as houses, dot the landscape. There is no other place in the world where there are so many concretions of such giant size.

  • George Washington Carver, the famous botanical scientist who discovered more than 300 products made from the peanut, graduated from high school in Minneapolis in 1885.

  • The First United Methodist Church in Hutchinson was built in 1874 during the time of the grasshopper plagues. The grasshoppers came during the construction of the churches foundation but the pastor continued with the work. As a result, thousands of grasshoppers are mixed into the mortar of the original building's foundation.

  • A hailstone weighing more than one and a half pounds once fell on Coffeyville.

  • The Oregon Trail passed thru six states, including Kansas. There were no Indian attacks reported on the Oregon Trail as the travelers passed through the state.

  • Russell Springs located in Logan County is known as the Cow Chip Capital of Kansas.

  • The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Wichita.

  • Sumner County is known as The Wheat Capital of the World.

Well I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog and please stop back by any time :)

83 comments:

Frizzy said...

Gosh darn it you've gone and done it. You made me homesick for KC. KC, MO/KC KS what's the difference. I miss it and my mom is hopping a flight in the morning and heading your way. I SOOOO COULD HAVE MET Y'ALL IN PERSON during your BATW day. R U As Bummed as I am?

Alicia @ Oh2122 said...

Hiya Kansas!

That sunflower is the perkiest thing I have seen all day. I am so bummed that they're out of season here now.

Happy BATW day!

Anonymous said...

against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie!!?!! i can't imagine. i'm sure tourism has improved greatly in kansas since that law was changed!!

Jennifer P. said...

Happy BATW day! I have loved all things Kansas as a result of one of the first blogs I ever followed (Meg Duerksen at Whatever). Thank you for educating me a little more---especially about all your famous Kasas-ites! Wowie-wow :)!

Elena said...

YIKES! Those stairs made my stomach flip flop just looking at them. I've never been to Kansas so thank you for sharing fun facts today.

Just Lisa said...

Great tour! I love all the random trivia!

Have fun on your BATW day!

Lynda said...

Beautiful looking blog... and loads of things I didn't know I needed to know... well done!

Anonymous said...

I'm here Maverick! Who knew so much happened in Kansas? I found it really interesting that the 2 stadiums were right next door to each other. Huh?

illahee said...

congrats for the BATW spotlight! thanks for the tour

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great tour.. I wonder why on earth it would have been illegal to serve cherry pie with ice cream?!

MsTypo said...

Happy BATW day! Thanks for the tour of Kansas!! :)

Joyfulsister said...

Wow.. Thanks for this amazing tour!!! I enjoyed every part of it you did a great job and you are a great tour guide *smile*..

Aloha Lorie

Betty said...

Wow. That are a lot of facts! Very interesting state you live in!

Happy BATW day!

Keeper of the Skies Wife said...

Hi from Arkansas!

Never knew that about the river. Interesting.

Enjoy your BATW day.

Great tour.

Stacey Cannon said...

Wow! Your post soooo made me miss home! I'm from Oklahoma, but spent a lot of time in Kansas for baseball tourney's and other events. That tour would have freaked me out!!! Those pictures were crazy! :) Oh - and I love the sunflowers too! They are so cheerful! And the waterbeds for horses! Who would have thought to give a horse a waterbed??!! :)

Nonnas News said...

What a great post about your wonderful state of Kansas!! I really enjoyed reading it. I'm here from BATW and Texas.

Becky W said...

great tour of Kansas. I have only been as far as Kansas City - for a Royals/Yankee game. I hope you enjoy your BATW day! Have fun!

Aunt Julie said...

Love the tour! The thing I particularly LOVE about Kansas, this football season, anyway, is that Jordy Nelson played at K-State and now is a starring wide receiver with my Green Bay Packers! Who Hoo!! You're the hostess with the mostess--thanks so much for hosting our BATW group. Isn't Debbie the Best?

Kori said...

Kansas has some pretty awesome things going on. Great post. Happy BATW day!

Anonymous said...

That was great! I love sunflowers!

Debbie said...

I read it all...every word. Because Kansas is one of those states in the middle of the country that I again knew nothing about! Thanks Trish..that was very interesting...that whole Arkansas vs Arkansaw thing is so funny. I'ts like sibling rivalry or an inanimate object. Love it.

Tiffany said...

Great tour of Kansas! You have a fun blog!

Amy said...

Visiting via BATW! LOve your blog, so cute, thanks for the tour :D

Desi said...

WOO! I love facts and trivia, that was the best!!!

Jess said...

Whoa whoa whoa!

Were are the facts about the Lions Den? The belt buckle give aways?! These are all valuable pieces of the states information!

Caution/Lisa said...

Thanks for the tour. You do make Kansas look good. Those kids of yours are beautiful!

Joy said...

I love your girlie background/template on your blog. I never knew that graham cracker fact. I'll never forget it either. Hopefully in some trivial pursuit game it will come in handy one day. Your post was fun to read. Your kids are the same age as mine. I have 2 girls though. So I totally relate to the 12 yr old 9 yr old stage. Your vacation picture were beautiful. I kept scrolling. :)
Hugs from Texas, via BATW,
Love, Joy

Unknown said...

Wow... Kansas is more amazing than I would have ever known! Thanks for sharing all the info with us!

Julie said...

wow, that was a fun tour, thanks for all those fun facts!

taratoons said...

Wow! What a great tour! I loved all of your facts about your state. I hop you have a great BATW day!

Lynda said...

Wow! Now THAT was a tour! Greetings from Texas and BATW - thanks for a great time in KS.

Anonymous said...

What a great tour! You're like the kid in class who always does the A+ reports.... Now I'm afraid that if/when I get picked, my Georgia tour will not compare.

Seriously, you really gave me some ideas for a visit to Kansas the next time we're in your area. (My parents live in southern MO.)
Thanks!

Mindy said...

WOW I learned a bunch about Kansas. I also really like the sunflower. We have tons of them here in Montana as well! It was very nice to meet you =)

Lump said...

oooh what a great site! I'm going to check it out. :)

My2Gs said...

Love your site and thanks for introducing me to Kansas :)

Anonymous said...

Ooooohh..I loved your post and all the info. I've traveled thu Kanas a few times and ya'll have the most friendly people.
It's been fun visiting your blog.. Come visit me in Texas.. :)
Happy BATW..

Kimberlee said...

that was great!! I loved all the historical facts! congrats on you BATW!!

Amy Kay said...

I used to live in Oklahoma and would travel into Kansas often. Thank you for the tour. I learned a lot that I didn't know. I'm visiting from Georgia via BATW. Congrats on your spotlight today.
hugs, Amy ;)

Shell said...

Happy BATW day. Thanks for the lovely tour of Kansas.

Anonymous said...

I didn't realize you were my Northern neighbor! My husband's family lives in a suburb of KC on the Missouri side-Parkville. I'm going through that area All the time!

Breanne said...

Love your layout...and you give a great tour.

Ashley said...

Congratulations on your feature and thanks for the tour!!! BTW - your vacation looks absolutely amazing! I'm glad your family had a great time!

The Hultman's said...

Wow, what a great tour. I think ya'll may have the best state flower out there!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for that great tour of Kansas.

heidi said...

Wow! That's a lot of Kansas information. LOL I love your son's name.

Have a day!

Susie said...

Congratulations on your BATW feature. I hope that you are enjoying your day in the sun.

My MIL is from Oakley Kansas and we go there every other summer for a family reunion. Everytime we pass a sign for Manhattan, I tell my husband that he must have take a wrong turn at Albuquerque:-) Hee, hee, hee.

Wendy said...

Congrads on your BATW day! Thanks for the tour of Kansas. What a rich history your state has. I can tell you love it!

Beautiful blog...

April said...

Hi There!

I stumbled on your blog and can't even remember how I got here!! Anyway, it's funny because I've been thinking about joining BATW and that's what your post was about. It was fun to learn about your homestate of Kansas! Sounds like a great place to live!

Have a terrific rest of the day!

Aubrey said...

Wow-zuh! You sure gave a fantastic tour of your state!
I had to laugh at the ice cream/cherry pie law! I'm sure all of our states, at one time or another, had something quirky like that!

Have a great BATW day!

Melissa B. said...

I went to school at the University of Missouri, so I know A LOT about Kansas! Thanks so much for the tour...Isn't BATW wonderful? Debbie's a Great Gal!

Darcy @ m3b said...

Ya' know I love this when I have to type:

rxspuvvs

as word verification just to leave ya' a message.

*waves from iowa*

Thanks for the shout out! I am a huge fan of Kansas, esp the KC are which has a great downtown and shopping district.

I'm not far from you - straight up I35!

Darcy
(aka The Janitor)

Heathahlee said...

Great post! Man, you couldn't have paid me to walk up those stairs! : ) I have only driven through Kansas to get to Colorado from Mississippi...I know it would be a beautiful place to visit!

Tracy P. said...

Hi Trish! I almost didn't recognize you in your new digs over here--very fun! No wonder so many people want to get the heck outta Dodge--I do not love wind! But I would love to hear Handel's Messiah every Easter!

Lady Dorothy said...

No ice cream on cherry pie, huh?

I learned a bunch of new stuff about Kansas today! Thanks for the tour!

Sooz said...

That was a great tour, thanks so much! Happy BATW day!

Rebecca said...

Ok, the "Goose talk to me" thing is hillarious! Thanks for the tour!

Dawn said...

Hi from Louisiana! I enjoyed the tour!!

lynn said...

Happy BATW day! Great tour, lots of info. I'd love to visit someday. I have a friend who lives in KS.

Gombojav Tribe said...

Well, wasn't that entertaining! WOW!

Daja

PS Your blog is adorable!!

EmmaP said...

thanks for the tour of Kansas! love the pics, btw. Also - loved the previous posts - those deer are so beautiful!

wendy said...

Way cool! :) Enjoyed the tour. Maybe someday I'll go to Kansas in person!

CaraBee said...

Wow! I grew up in Kansas and didn't know much of the stuff on your list. So interesting, thanks!!

Trish said...

I Love the Kansas state flower too! i can't remember if I've ever been there but it looks beautiful!

Thanks for the tour and enjoy your BATW day!

Melissa Lester said...

I feel right at home here in your pretty pink blog! Thanks for telling us about Kansas. I never really knew much about it. I think I would be a little freaked out to make that trek to the top of your capitol also! But I guess it's nice to do it once and cross it off your list of things to do in Kansas. Congrats on your BATW day!

Jen said...

thanks so much for the tour. I totally learned a ton about Kansas.

Bug said...

Oh how I miss that area! Thanks for sharing so many great things about Kansas!

Tamie said...

that was A LOT of info about kansas. it brought back a lot of memories for me. especially when you metion Lebanon---the pronunceation of a few different towns/cities down there in the south isn't what you would think by looking at it--Lebanon being one (the other would be nevada, MO)
what a delight...and i think that i would have vomited while going up those stairs at the state capitol...you're a much braver woman than i am!

jori-o said...

Wow, thanks for the tour!! What a lot of great info. And I love your blog...talk to me Goose! Totally made me giggle!

Michelle said...

Oh how fun! So you didn't specify... are you a Jayhawk or a Wildcats fan?

And how do people in Kansas feel about rooting for teams technically outside their borders -- is it ok that Kansas City isn't really in Kansas?

And that capitol trip? That would have TOTALLY freaked me out. Kudos to you for being able to do it.

Tabitha Blue said...

Congrats on your BATW day!!! That is awesome!! Such great facts about Kansas and I LOVE the sunflower too!! :)

Anonymous said...

Kansas sure has a lot of interesting trivia, which by the way, I'm an addict of. I loves me some trivia. And now I have some stuff about Kansas floating around in my big 'ol brain. I've never visited there before, but you sure have made it look like a fun place to visit.
Thanks so much for the tour, I really enjoyed myself.

sassy stephanie said...

Oooooh I love that fire station barn thing! That is so cool. Looks very charming.

Veronica said...

Wow who knew there was so much trivia about Kansas! I really liked your photos and I enjoyed the tour!

"The Queen in Residence" said...

I love that there is a cow pie capitol. What crazy things people think is cool. Loved the tour and welcome back. I enjoyed the tour of Colorado too. What a great trip.

Anonymous said...

Phew that's a lot of facts about Kansas. I learned heaps. Thanks for the tour. HOpe you enjoyed your BATW day.

Bramblemoon Farm said...

WOW, my head is spinning from all that cool Kansas Knowledge. SOOOO much stuff I didn't know! Thanks so much for the great tour:)

Vicki said...

"Talk to me Goose": my husband would love you!

We just moved from Warrensburg, MO which is about an hour east of Overland Park. OP was one of my go to shopping places! And we loved watching the Royals (lose) and the Chiefs play!!! It was great to have the stadiums so close. On our way back from Colorado earlier this year we stopped in Lebanon, KS, the center of the continental US. It was a long drive, but fun an worth it.

I do have to say that I'm a Mizzou fan, seeing that I actually did live in Missouri...sorry! Thanks for the tour!

Shannon said...

Sorry I'm late for the tour... and it was a great one!

NO WAY would I be able to climb to the top of the capital building... let alone go walk around the top outside! I shudder just thinking about it!!! (don't like heights)


And I am not a football/ basketball/ any other sport fan... but I think KU's Rock Chalk Jayhawk chant is the coolest one I've ever heard!

Our Two Blessings From Above said...

Interesting!

Laural Out Loud said...

The house divided license plate is a hoot! Great tour!

Sarah said...

Sorry a little late. I really enjoyed the the tour. KS has a lot of really cool history I never knew.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I'm late to your BATW party!!! I enjoyed my tour of your state....I'm sure I've driven through it...but alas, I have not spent real time there. I have spent a lot of time in Kansas City, MO though....so I was close!!!!

Those pics of the inside of the capital are scary!!!

Ronnica said...

Okay, I'm late, but Kansas is my home state, so you have to give me grace.

I've been to the capital 2x, but they wouldn't let us up to the top. I think they renovated that, cuz that's kinda cool!

Thanks for doing our state proud!