...Elephant Rock.
In 2005, Dearest Sister and I determined to spend a bit of time together. Living far enough apart, we were prevented from driving to one’s home, or the other, for a weekend’s visit. We found a little bitty town closee enough to half way between where we both lived that had a nice bed and breakfast, some antique store fame, a few museums with pioneer history, and a famous geologic feature called Elephant Rock. We love us some good antiquing, pioneer history-ing, and famous geologic features, and we set out to meet each other for a weekend of chatting, laughing, munching, walking, shopping for antiques, and seeing what we could see in north central Kansas.
Saturday morning dawned clear and crisp, as is the nature of September mornings in that part of Kansas. After a very good breakfast, we inquired of the innkeeper as to how to find this much mentioned Elephant Rock, which guided many lost pioneers back onto the well-traveled trails west. Well, he didn’t know 'right off'. He asked someone else, and this other person thought maybe “it told on the back of one of these here post cards”.
Hmmm…Dearest Sister and I exchanged glances, but undaunted, we persisted. This was a place named in literature professing the attractions of the area. We wanted to see it!
Armed with the postcard and some other vague-ish directions, we set out. How hard could it be? We were Kansans! Hardy pioneer stock! This is relatively flat land, few trees, fewer towns, and roads that cross every mile. We followed the directions down the highway, north, then west some more, then back south through what is almost a ghost town, then west again…and driving between some plowed fields…where it should have been.
And sure enough. That’s where it was. On private property, in the middle of a field, behind a barbed wire fence. We drove past, then back. Stopped the car (like there was any traffic!), pointed, and looked at each other questioningly. Yep, it sure does look like an elephant. And the above photo was as close as we could get.
As I said, Dearest Sister and I are native to this state, and very familiar with small town’s somewhat dubious claims to fame, but this raised…or lowered…the bar a bit.
Saturday morning dawned clear and crisp, as is the nature of September mornings in that part of Kansas. After a very good breakfast, we inquired of the innkeeper as to how to find this much mentioned Elephant Rock, which guided many lost pioneers back onto the well-traveled trails west. Well, he didn’t know 'right off'. He asked someone else, and this other person thought maybe “it told on the back of one of these here post cards”.
Hmmm…Dearest Sister and I exchanged glances, but undaunted, we persisted. This was a place named in literature professing the attractions of the area. We wanted to see it!
Armed with the postcard and some other vague-ish directions, we set out. How hard could it be? We were Kansans! Hardy pioneer stock! This is relatively flat land, few trees, fewer towns, and roads that cross every mile. We followed the directions down the highway, north, then west some more, then back south through what is almost a ghost town, then west again…and driving between some plowed fields…where it should have been.
And sure enough. That’s where it was. On private property, in the middle of a field, behind a barbed wire fence. We drove past, then back. Stopped the car (like there was any traffic!), pointed, and looked at each other questioningly. Yep, it sure does look like an elephant. And the above photo was as close as we could get.
As I said, Dearest Sister and I are native to this state, and very familiar with small town’s somewhat dubious claims to fame, but this raised…or lowered…the bar a bit.
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