Summer In Kansas

Once again, I am taking a small break from documenting my travels. In this post, I wish to tell you about our summer. Desmond was able to return from France with us and since he is a teacher, we were thrilled to have most of July and August together! 

It was delightful to have our son at home. We all tried to make the most of his time here by seeing lots of friends and relatives, eating out at Desmond's favorite restaurants, shopping, and taking a few day trips. We visited both of Desmond's grandmothers regularly. Desmond and I often cooked together, which is always fun. He made noodle bowls on a couple of occasions, and they were so delicious that we will be making them at home on a regular basis!

One of Desmond's delicious
noodle bowls.

We visited Botanica in Wichita, which is a lovely botanical garden that has grown and improved over the past several years and is definitely worth visiting again and again. It's a peaceful and beautiful place.

I love the colors in this scene at Botanica in Wichita, KS.

The dragon wall in the Asian garden at Botanica.

Craig and Desmond entering
 the Children's garden at Botanica.

One day, we drove up to Cottonwood Falls. We had lunch in town and then headed toward the lake and waterfalls. The lake was nearly deserted and the day was warm. The path to approach the falls took us directly across the spillway. The scenery was beautiful, and as we made our way down along the trail through a wooded area, we listened for the sound of the waterfalls. Alas, due to lack of rain, there wasn't much to see when we reached our destination. Had we been there in the spring, the falls would have been quite a sight! We really weren't very disappointed. The scenery and the small trickles of water made a peaceful and lovely tableau.

This pic was shot from the spillway at the lake.

We saw many beautiful  wildflowers, dragonflies, and birds. The falls step down in a long series of natural rock terraces. (When I was a child, I often visited a similar place with my cousins where we cooled off by sitting on the "water stairs".) There were fish in the deeper pools, and tiny schools of minnows darting about in the shallows.

We attended, with Marjorie, the Threshing Days parade and festival in the tiny town of Goessel, Kansas. The festival and the museums there highlight the importance of farming and the role of the Mennonites who immigrated to this country, bringing with them the Turkey Red wheat. Desmond was able to view photos and other items in the museum that were brought from Europe by his ancestors. There were plenty of tractors and harvesters on display, many of which were over 100 years old and still running! A lunch was served, which consisted of several traditional dishes such as verinika, German rope sausage, borscht, tender zwieback, bierocks, and more. 

Craig, Marjorie, and Des wait for the parade to begin.

I was fascinated with this old steam tractor.

This candle mold was brought to Kansas
 by Mennonites fleeing Russia.

August 21, just one day after my birthday, was the solar eclipse! Desmond hadn't planned his visit to America to coincide with the eclipse, but we were all very glad it had worked out that way. In order to view it in totality, we needed to drive to the northeast part of the state. The forecast was bleak for that entire area. I was willing to stay at home and at least be able to see a partial eclipse, but both Des and Craig were urging me to agree to a road trip for this rare event.  

We drove in light rain for much of the journey.  Desmond had created a playlist of songs which featured the sun or the moon. As we listened to the music, the three of us were in high spirits despite the cloudy skies. We had packed snacks and a picnic lunch because we anticipated crowds wherever we happened to end up. As Craig was driving north, I began to search the weather map on my phone and it looked as if little Marysville, Kansas would be our best bet for clear skies. We arrived in time to settle down on our picnic blanket and enjoy lunch in the shade before moving the blanket to a grassy slope where we could lie back and watch the show. There were a few fluffy clouds which soon disappeared. Every now and then, some high, thin clouds veiled the sun just a bit and then floated away. We knew we were in for a treat.

The park wasn't overcrowded, and everyone there was in a high state of anticipation. Children were laughing and running through the grass or playing on the wonderful playground equipment in a shaded area of the park. We donned our NASA-approved eyewear and looked to the sky as the eclipse began, taking frequent breaks to look away. As the great moment approached, everyone in the park grew silent. Then, when the sun disappeared, cheering and applause and exclamations of wonder were heard throughout the entire park! It was a phenomenal event and was a thrill we will never forget!

Craig and Desmond viewing the eclipse.

It was a wonderful summer, and of course it went by all too quickly. Before we knew it, we were seeing Desmond off at the airport. I'm sure he was ready to return to his life in France. We all had made some wonderful memories together and look forward to our next trip to France.