Kansas Flint Hills Traveling Exhibit - Update

The Traveling Exhibit opens in Goodland for a month, starting tomorrow, May 1. Check the front page of the Kansas Flint Hills website or travelks.com for more information about the Traveling Exhibit of photos from National Geographic's April 2007 issue.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

The 19th Kansas Sampler Festival

The 19th Kansas Sampler Festival is Sat and Sun, May 3 and 4, in Concordia's City Park, starting at 10 a.m. each day. More than 145 Kansas communities will have booths - be sure to stop by the Kansas Flint Hills booth and say "Hi!" to our good folks there - a be reminded of all the great places to visit.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

SculptureWalk Winfield - May 3rd Opening

The opening of SculptureWalk Winfield is scheduled for Saturday, May3, at 11 a.m.If you would like to get the ArtWorks 360, Inc., Newsletter, contact Dallas Jordan <daljordan@netscape.com> - the April 2008 issue, just out, has details on the ScultureWalk Winfield, for example.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge - Hartford

Located a few miles east and south of Emporia, the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge consists of 18,500 acres located on the upstream portion of John Redmond Reservoir, in both Lyon and Coffey Counties.Turkey image from the website above.

The Refuge provides excellent habitat for a variety of birds. April and May are the best months for observing passerines (perching birds mostly small and living near the ground). See link for list of birds to be seen and when.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Prairie Chickens - Birding follow-up

A recent Kansas City Star article online discusses the fate of prairie chickens. This is just one story, but has some interesting descriptions and expresses some important concerns. There may be dissenting views, of course, so take each story in context.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Kansas Birding Festival - Reminder

The Kansas Birding Festival in Wakefield is this weekend, April 25-27, 2008. April is the best time for birding, and this are is rich in birding opportunities: Combine Milford Lake, the wetlands and the native prairie.
See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

National Tourism Week, May 10-18, 2008

"Discover Great American Traditions" fits well for the Kansas Flint Hills at the theme of National Tourism Week, May 10-18, 2008.


National Tourism Week is a collective effort to promote tourism throughout the nation through customized events in communities across the nation. The goal is to enhance the economy and recognize the cultural and social benefits achieved through travel to those communities.

Where will you be visiting??

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Elk Falls Pottery

Had another great visit with Steve and Jane Fry at Elk Fall Pottery (620-329-4425) this afternoon. They create quality handcrafted stoneware from native Kansas clays. We get the gray mugs made with the Flint Hills Tourism Coalition, Inc. logo on them.


To this point, we only give out the mugs for work done for the Coalition. We are considering putting them on sale, on the website, in a few months. Stay tuned.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Kansas Flint Hills Travel Website

Today, I ask my readers a favor. When you are looking at our http://kansasflinthills.travel/ website, planning your next visit or trip... PLEASE, if you find any errors, let me know at: billsmith2003@gmail.com.We are starting a new tourist season, people are making plans. Errors can be killers. It is also VERY difficult to keep the website current. We have dozens of folks "in charge" of keeping it current, but even they are not going catch everything, get everything listed... as hard as we try.

THANKS for your assistance!

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

2008 State Historic Preservation Conference

At the Spring Flint Hills Heritage Conference on Friday, we were reminded that preservation and conservation are important elements of the National Heritage Area Movement. With this in mind, today we will discuss the upcoming 2008 State Historic Preservation Conference in nearby Hutchinson, Kansas, April 24-26, 2008. The Theme this year is "Past-O-Rama: Green Light for Preservation." Check it out!

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Women of the Flint Hills

View the Kansas Flint Hills through the eyes of 26 women artists at the Strecker-Nelson Gallery in Manhattan now through May 31. The link lists the 26 women artists and shows samples of their works. Check it out.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Friends of Konza Prairie Wildflower Walk

From the Manhattan News (Dennis Toll, Tourism Sales Manager):

Springtime means wildflowers are blooming in the prairie. The Kansas Flint Hills and the tallgrass prairie are home to hundreds of species of native flowers and now is the perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy th show.


On Sunday, June 8, the Konza Prairie Biological Station is offering the perfect opportunity to discover the natural beauty of the region at its annual Friends of the Konza Prairie Wildflower Walk (image from their website, thank you very much!) Hope you can attend!! ;-)

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Spring Kansas Flint Hills Heritage Conference

It is still not too late to come to the Heritage Conference this Friday, April 18. Registration form is on the www.kansasflinthills.travel website - or, just come by the Rock Springs 4-H Center early Friday morning - we will welcome your presence! $45 gets you great speakers, morning and afternoon snack breaks, and a great lunch! Come and enjoy!


See you at the Spring Kansas Flint Hills Heritage Conference! ;-)

21st Annual Tulip Festival - Wamego

The City Park is the site of the 21st Annual Tulip Festival, Apr 19-20, 2008, in Wamego, KS. Wamego is in full bloom for this long standing festival the features hand-craft artisans, entertainers, food and fun for all ages. Last year, more than 15,000 people attended the festival.


See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Indian Pay Station and Museum

Check out the Indian Pay Station and Museum in St. Mary's.

St. Mary's Mission was the Pottawatomie Tribal headquarters and service center until the tribal lands were greatly reduced in about 1867.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Kansas Waterfall Roadtrips

"Kansas Waterfall Roadtrips" is a neat article in the LJWorld Reader Blog. From time to time we like to feature our readers, other writers and bloggers. Check this one out. It is written by Linda Hanney; we look forward to seeing more of your perspectives, Linda! Good job!

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Cowley County Railroad Heritage Days - Apr 19-20

The first annual Cowley County Railroad Heritage Days will be held in Wilson Park in Arkansas City on April 19-20. A Railroader's Reunion in scheduled as part of the activities. Check it out.

For other related events around Cowley county on the weekend, check here.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Pelicans at Lake Wabaunsee

The pelicans have arrived at Lake Wabaunsee (WB):

Photo Courtesy of Linda Craghead

Linda is kept informed about the fun happenings at the lake by George Brown, a Lake WB resident, who happens to be her former high school principal from South Central Kansas (Harper County). A quote from George Brown regarding the pelicans:

They come in the spring and fall on their way to migration territory. They send a scout a week ahead of time. When you see one, you know that others will be coming within a week or ten days. They usually stay a couple of days to rest up. Sometimes just overnight. Just one of the benefits of the Lake!

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Strecker-Nelson Gallery: Lisa Grossman Exhibit

These are the last few days to see the Lisa Grossman exhibit at the Strecker-Nelson Gallery in Manhattan.

Read the Topeka Capital-Journal Calendar article about the exhibit here.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Beef Fest Approaches

The deadline to enter cattle in the 2008 Flint Hills Beef Fest Cattle Contest is rapidly approaching. This was a headline in the Emporia Gazette. Check it out.

This is the 22nd year for the Flint Hills Beef Fest, a celebration of the Kansas Flint Hill grass cattle industry. It is also a good place to get to learn, first hand, what this industry is all about.

See you in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)

Prairie Fire Festival, Chase County

This is Prairie Fire Festival week in Chase County, Kansas. Check out the website.

There are events each evening during the week, and all day activities on Saturday.

Flint Hills Spring Heritage - 18 Apr 2008

Be sure to get your registration in for the Spring Heritage Conference to be held at the Rock Springs 4-H Center south of Junction City in Geary County.
Go to: http://www.kansasflinthills.travel/ and locate the link to the registration form in the lower left corner of the front page, under the map.

Sessions will focus on:
What is a the Heritage of the Flint Hills?
The Heritage Area Movement in America: What does it mean for me?
Heritage Areas... Who decides what?
Heritage Areas... A process not a product
Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area... How did they make it happen?

... and an open discussion.This is where we find out about and openly discuss the pros and the cons of working toward designation of the Kansas Flint Hills as a National Heritage Area. Whether you now think you are for it or against it, you need to be at this Spring Heritage Conference to get the factual information to make an informed decision - and to have your voice be heard.

See you at the Spring Heritage Conference - in the Kansas Flint Hills! ;-)