Our 10th county was Labette, in Southeast Kansas, home to the city of Parsons. We quickly found Forest Park, Parson’s largest park. Right away, the boys noticed the small railroad tracks that traversed the park. It was the Kiwanis Pancake Special Train’s tracks, and was not in operation when we were visiting. According to Parson’s … More County #10: Labette
In late September, Topeca Coffee hosted a Specialty Coffee Association qualifying coffee competition in Tulsa. Since Andy was planning on helping out with the competition, we decided it would make a great family mini-vacation. And we were right! The Oklahoma Aquarium was our first stop on Saturday morning. It was fantastic. I was skeptical that an … More On the Road: Tulsa
When we hit the city of Harper in Harper County, we were starving. We decided to follow the advice of the Kansas Guidebook 2, and try the Fence Post Supper Club. They had an outstanding chicken fried steak, frog legs and mountain oysters! After dining, we ventured over to the city park, Harper Community Park. … More County #9: Harper
Medicine Lodge is the county seat of Barber County and the home of famous prohibition icon Carry Nation. On our way into Medicine Lodge, I turned on the Criminal podcast (episode 73) so the boys could hear the history of Carry Nation and her smashing adventures. The boys were transfixed and couldn’t wait to see … More County #8: Barber
Comanche County was next on our list. We hit the county seat, the town of Coldwater, hungry and hot. We quenched our thirst and hunger at this great pizza place called Dave’s Pizza Oven, which is right off of the main drag. It was great! The pizza was tasty and they had a room of … More County #7: Comanche
Clark County is home to the Big Basin Prairie Preserve, a beautiful native prairie with two large circular depressions or ‘sinkholes’ in the earth: Big Basin and Little Basin. We ventured in to Little Basin, which is where St. Jacob’s Well is located, a pond that is said to never have gone dry. One … More County #6: Clark
We had so much fun in Meade County, I decided to break it up into two posts. Fowler, a small town of about 600 people, has a fantastic park and a rare and unusual swimming pool. The pool is an oval shape and the deep section is in the middle, complete with diving platform. I’ve … More County #5: Meade (Part 2 – Fowler)
On our recent southwest Kansas trip, we traveled through and stayed in the town of Meade which is in Meade County. They have a lovely city park with WPA-built shelter house, restrooms and playgrounds. They have a section of retro/old-school playground equipment which the boys gravitated to before hitting the more modern playset. I think … More County #5: Meade
Montezuma, a small town in south central Gray County, has a brand new park with parts still under construction. Weston was in heaven with all the climbing equipment, while I enjoyed tetherball! Just outside of town, you can visit the Gray County Wind Farm and see a windmill up close! It was breathtaking!
We found a hidden gem of a playground in Sublette, located in Haskell County. This town with a population of 1,407 has probably the best park we’ve found on our adventures! We loved the rubber (pour-in-place) safety surface and that there was a miniature coordinating version for smaller kids. They also had a few of … More County #3: Haskell
