The road
from Pittsburg, Kansas, to Westminster, Colorado, is one we drive regularly because of family. The route
takes us through four states: Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. On our
last trip and visits to the twin national monuments on the North
Platte River Valley in Nebraska, we stumbled upon four roadside attractions and another four after them. They made our last go-through slower (four days instead of two) but much more exciting.
The Blue Sky Sculpture in Newton,
Kansas
About 30 minutes north of Wichita, Kansas on I-135 there is a stunning sculpture considered one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Art. The Blue Sky Sculpture is at the Centennial Park in Newton, Kansas. Made of cobalt-glazed tiles, it is fluid and eye-catching, exhibiting unobstructed movement toward the natural sky.
Mennonite Heritage And Agricultural
Museum in Goessel, Kansas
Less than 30
minutes north of the sculpture is a museum that tells the story of the
Mennonites, Russian emigrants who settled near present-day Goessel,
Kansas in 1874. They brought with them a winter wheat variety called Turkey Red that became the foundation of the Kansas and Great
Plains agricultural economy because it produces flour containing more protein. The part of the museum called the Turkey Red Wheat PalaceMuseum showcases farming mechanization from the
1800s to the mid-1960s.
The World’s Largest Ball of Twine in
Cawker City, Kansas
Cawker City, Kansas is two hours
northwest, after I 135 turns into Highway 81 and then,
further west, into Highway 24. That’s where you will find the world’s
largest ball of twine with a total length of more than 7 million feet. The tradition was started in 1953. When we stopped to admire the ball, a car pulled up
and two ladies gave us 20 yards of twine to add to it. More length is added every August during a
“Twine-a-thon.”
Giant Van Gogh Painting in Goodland,
Kansas
Three hours
later and further west, you will see, right from your car on Highway
24, a 24×32-foot reproduction of Van
Gogh’s “Three Sunflowers in A Vase.” It rests on an 80-foot steel easel, much like a painting in Manitoba, Canada, and another in
Emerald, Australia. The Giant Van Gogh painting is even more of a spectacle in the dark.
Scotts Bluff National Monument in Scottsbluff,
Nebraska (please see headline photo)
This was
what took us off our direct route. From Goodland, Kansas, we went
north to I- 80 and then northwest on 1-26 to visit the 3,000-acre national monument. It preserves overland trail remnants on mixed-grass
prairie amid towering bluffs that were important landmarks to wagons that once carried
over 250,000 emigrants westward between 1843 and
1869. “It was good to set foot on such historically significant land.”
Chimney Rock National Historic Site
in Bayard, Nebraska
Just 30
minutes northwest, also in the same North Platte River Valley,
there is another prominent geological rock formation standing 4,228 feet high. It also served as an important
landmark along the trails of those westward emigrants. Since we visited during the fall, both national monuments were lovelier with autumnal colors.
Big Boots in Cheyenne, Wyoming
Back on
I 135, less than two hours southwest, is Cheyenne, Wyoming. There was a giant
eight-foot-tall (from heel to top of the pull tabs) and eight-foot-long (from
pointy toe to the back of the heel) boot at the small visitors’ kiosk inside the railway station. And we found out that there were 19 others, painted by various artists in 2005 to showcase the history of the city. They are hosted by different businesses. We launched a hunt and felt a feeling of accomplishment after taking the photo of the 20th boot!
Downtown Fort Collins, Colorado
Less than an
hour south of Cheyenne on Interstate 25 is Fort Collins, Colorado. When we walked
the streets downtown, the buildings, especially the Old Firehouse Bookstore,
looked so familiar, like deja vu. Understandably because it was Fort Collins’
Harper Goff who helped Walt Disney sketch up plans for Disney’s Main Street
U.S.A. Old Town Square in Fort Collins served as his inspiration.
Pianos About Town in Fort Collins,
Colorado
My husband noticed an artsy piano in Fort Collins’s Jazz Alley. Later, we
saw a few more. They were all part of “Pianos About Town,” a
collaborative project hosted by the city and supported by a number of organizations that
combine music and visual art. The pianos were painted at the Old Town Square, then distributed throughout the city. During winter, they are moved to several indoor locations.
Buffalo Bill’s Grave in Lookout Mountain
Park, Colorado
Lookout Mountain Park, part of the Denver Mountain Parks system, is about one
and a half hours south of Fort Collins. And there, you will find the Buffalo Bill Museum and
Grave where William F. Cody is buried. He was born in 1846 and nicknamed Buffalo Bill because of
his skill as a buffalo hunter. It overlooks the Great Plains and the Rockies.
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