Apparently, Kansas Itself Is A World Of Treasure

.A few days ago I wrote that a visit to the World of Treasures in Wichita, Kansas was one of the ten places within driving distance I wanted to visit this year.

That posting was evidently read by a few people living in Kansas, or had lived in Kansas at one time, and all of them emailed me ideas of other places that would be worth my while to visit in Kansas. 

Among  them are:

The Kaw Region Art Park near Topeka, Kansas, which features Truckhenge, Boathenge, and Beer Bottle City, all of which were created by Ron Lessman, at first as a response to a court order to clean up his property, which was strewn with old rusting trucks, buses, and the like.

The Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas. When a place boasts 2,500 Wizard of Oz related items on display, and has a restaurant nearby that goes by the name of Toto's Tacos, well, there's not much anyone can do to stop me from paying a visit.

Kracht's Castle Island near Junction City, Kansas. Built by Don Kracht on an island in a middle of a pond. Mr Kracht is a retired teacher, and apparently this Castle has been his labor of love since the late 1980's.

Strataca in Hutchinson, Kansas. This is an underground salt museum - as in, 650 feet underground. It is located in a salt mine and is the only salt mine in the U.S. that allows tourist access. So yeah, gotta go there.

The Garden Of Eden in Lucas, Kansas. Another retired teacher with a creative bent, Samuel Dinsmoor (1843 - 1932) lived in a rather large log cabin that he built out of limestone, not logs, and he surrounded that home with a sculpture garden that features over 200 concrete sculptures he created that pretty much spell out his beliefs as a member of the Populist movement, and his religious convictions.   

The Paul Boyer Museum of Animated Carvings in Belleville, Kansas. Paul Boyer was a man who created animated sculptures - hand carved wooden sculptures that feature motors and mechanics that make them move. He built them all by hand, from scratch. This is a must see.