"K" is for KANSAS

I was hardly waiting to celebrate Ms. Jenny's Alphabe Thursday! Having made a recent visit to Kansas last week with Nick to look at his favorite college, the Kansas Wesleyan University, I thought I would devote my post today to Kansas.
When I was a small child my older sister was a married woman. She and her husband and kids lived in Kansas at Fort Riley. My dad would pile us into the car and we would make that long journey to visit them many times while they were living on the Army base there. I thought the open fields and miles and miles of farms were boring. Today I have a totally different outlook! I love Kansas! It is a refreshing breathe of air compared to the hustle and bustle of the big city where I live. So say hello to Kansas while I share my thoughts, some google images and my own personal photos here.

A Kansas map  showing the states bordering it. Colorado to the West, Nebraska on the North, Missouri on the East and Oklahoma on the South.

A Kansas prairie with a beautiful windmill. Look at that beautiful blue sky! My Sweets loves windmills. It is a reminder of his youth and spending his summers on his grandparents farm in Holly, Colorado.

A Kansas postcard with the state bird (Western Meadowlark), state flower (Sunflower) and pretty photos of Kansas.

A black and white photo of a Kansas school house. I think this is so pretty and peaceful.
Kansas was a territory before becoming a state on January 29, 1861 (34th). The state has a variety of religions preferences but  is 86 percent Christian and when traveling to Salina last week we saw lots of signs on the road making references to Christ. It was so refreshing because our world seems so out of control with so  much going on and so many untruths filling our society.
I grew up on Topeka street when I was a kid and Topeka is the state capital of Kansas. I love these little facts and like to match state capitals with states. I know, it is kinda nerdy! But fun! Lots of fun!
Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states producing high yields of wheat, sorghum and sunflowers.
Vivian Vance who played Lucy's sidekick Ethel Mertz was born in Kansas along with c/w singer Martina McBride and Cassandra "Elvira Mistress of the Night" Peterson. film comedian and director Buster Keaton was a native of the state of Kansas.
Some fun facts about Kansas:
1. Dodge City, Kansas is the windest city in the U.S.
2. Kansas won the award for the most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design in 1981.
3. At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.
4. 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".
5. Amelia Earhart, the first woman  granted a pilot's license by the National Aeronautics Associate and the
    first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean  was from Atchison.
6. Smith County is the  geographical center of the 48 contiguous states.
7. Kansas inventors include Almon Stowger 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.
8. The first woman mayor in the United States was Susan Modora  Salter.  She was elected to office in
     Argonia in 1887.
9. A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 a mile long and holds 46 million bushels of  in its 1,000 bins.
10. Dwight D. Eisenhower,  from Abiliene was the 34th president of the United States .

These are a few of my photos from our road trip last week:

A misty, snowy road to Kansas outside the Colorado border.

Some rain and wind battering the plains.

A late shot of the Welcome to Kansas sign!

The college Nick really loved, the Kansas Wesleyan University.

A little snow covering the ground outside the school.

The school was established in 1886. The campus was so beautiful.

This fountain/waterfall outside the Administration building was delightful even though it was 32 degrees outside when we first arrived!

This is Yote! He is the school mascot for the KWU Coyotes! This beautiful bronze statue stands outside one of the buildings on campus and the coach told us everyone rubs his nose on their way to taking tests!

This is the plaque next to Yote describing him and his fellow coyotes.

The library building on campus. It was a lovely tour and if I could have a miracle occur in our lives we would be able to send Nick there. It was a safe and serene place. We truly enjoyed our Kansas visit.