Redlands City Art

Back to my day in Redlands for a moment. Lots of beautiful things to see (besides the clocks, the library, and the Lincoln Memorial Shrine.

Here is the newly-restored Millard Sheets mosaic titled “Redlands Heritage.” The building was originally a Home Savings and Loan, but now there is a restaurant in that space.

Like other streets with umbrellas which decorate (as this one in Zürich), Redlands has Umbrella Alley with cute shops and other artworks.

There are also many murals throughout the downtown. I spotted this one in an empty lot near the freeway.

Iron Gates Around Town

Along the Thompson Creek Trail

At the Pomona College Farm

At the CUCC Memorial Garden

Do you know of others? Name them in the comments below!

Kansas Through the Windshield

My friend did all the driving for our Kansas roadtrip which gave me the opportunity to admire the view and snap some shots.

Chase County, Kansas

Chase County, pop. 2,572, boasts a few famous things: crash site of Knute Rockne, the subject of William Least Heat-Moon’s PrairyErth, and the county of the afore-blogged Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. It is also home to Camp Wood where I went one summer as a child.

The county seat is Cottonwood Falls.

Nearby are some lovely places for photos, including: Chase Lake Falls,

not much water now, but other pictures are more impressive

the Clements Stone Arch Bridge,

and the Cedar Point Mill.

Flint Hills

East of Lindsborg sit the Flint Hills, and the Flint Hills Scenic Byway. We started our drive at the northern point in Council Grove. It is the county seat of Morris County. The Bowers Community Center caught my eye. It is the former Baptist Church and has its own Facebook page.

This fading mural is what I imagined I might want to photograph in rural Kansas.

We spent over three hours in this town, and I’ll put up more photos on claremontography’s Instagram.

Along the Scenic Byway is the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. It is free to enter, and the 10-minute movie in the visitor center is worth watching. Some day I will devote a day to walking the trails here, and it should be prettier when more flowers are blooming – soon!

Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse

Big Kansas Roadtrip

On our way to Lucas, we stopped in Wilson, pop. 835. Of course we had to see the World’s Largest Czech Egg (the World’s Largest Ball of Twine was a little out of our way and wasn’t guaranteed to look as pretty as this egg).

It was only after I came home and looked at my photos did I discover that the train tracks in Wilson are one of the “most haunted places in Kansas.” They do make a great photo-op, though.

In Wilson we learned that we were two weeks early for the Big Kansas Road Trip. This website proves that we had done our homework of places to visit. However, we left so many undone, that it would be worth returning some day.

Mushroom Rock State Park, one of Kansas’ 8 Wonders of Geology, is not far away. As we pulled into the parking lot (which was empty), we wondered if the detour was worth it. It was.

While many of the rocks are visible from the parking lot, there are more if you walk around.

For dinner after seeing these (and Lucas), we drove to Sylvan Grove, pop 291. Just two weeks before the trip, I heard this story on NPR about the Fly Boy Brewery & Eats. I knew we had to taste their wares. With locally-sourced beef, I had the special – meatloaf. It was not your mother’s meatloaf you remember from childhood. This was delicious!

Lucas: The Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas

In 2012 our book club read The Last Cattle Drive by Robert Day. It’s a modern-day western about a cattle drive across Kansas in the 1970s. One of the places mentioned is S. P. Dinsmoor’s The Garden of Eden in Lucas. I’ve been wanting to visit it ever since, so it was on top of my list for this trip.

Dinsmoor, a retired Civil War vet and farmer, built this house of cement in the early 1900s. He surrounded the house with cement sculptures based on Bible stories and his political views.

Although it was smaller than I had imagined, it did not disappoint.

What I didn’t know was that Lucas, pop. 332, is the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas. There is much more to see in this town. Including, a giant public toilet with amazing mosaics,

A fork sculpture garden,

and decorated utility poles, among other things.

I suppose we could have spent all day here, if we had only known. But now you do.

Lindsborg, Kansas

After our fill of Wichita, we chose Lindsborg (Little Sweden) as our home base for the next three days. One of the first things you notice in downtown Lindsborg are all the painted Dala Horses. There are 31 of these throughout the city of 3,800 people.

Atlas Obscura recommends the Swedish phone booth.

I had not seen this video of the Maypole mural, otherwise I would have known how to take a selfie with it.

A few miles out of town on the highest of surrounding hills is the Coronado Heights castle. This structure was built in the 30s by the WPA.

Those who say that Kansas is as flat as a pancake must eat some pretty lumpy pancakes. Here are some picnic tables at Coronado Heights with a view.

Keeper of the Plains

Before the pandemic, maybe 5 years before, an idea crept into my mind. I would like to take a road trip through Kansas, my birth state, and find hidden gems to photograph. I knew that Mr. Claremontography would probably not enjoy such a venture.

During the pandemic I reconnected on Zoom with childhood friends from Wichita. We were the few in our class who escaped the prairies. One friend said we should have a reunion. Aha! I suggested this dream of mine, and all said, “I’m In!” Then there was sabbatical. Then there were plans for the road trip for last fall which ended up being rescheduled.

Finally! The day had come. The week lay before us. It only made sense to start in Wichita because there is an airport. Also, we had to visit our old neighborhood and elementary, jr. high and high schools. After that trip down memory land, the top of my list of sights was The Keeper of the Plains.

This 44-foot tall steel sculpture standing at the point where the Big and Little Arkansas rivers merge in downtown Wichita was created by Native American Artist Blackbear Bosin (1921-1980). People will know you are from Kansas if you pronounce the rivers as Ar-kansas and not like the state next door.

The Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago: AKA The 606

We were lucky to have great weather for our trip to Chicago. I read about a relatively new elevated park/walk/bikeway that runs through Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park. Officially it’s called The Bloomingdale Trail, but its nickname, the 606, comes from the Chicago area code.

Having walked the High Line in NYC and the Promenade Plantée in Paris, we are fans of revitalized former rail lines.

For fortification before our stroll, we got our caffeine buzz at Ipsento Coffee which is about ⅓ of the way in from the eastern end of the trail. I can highly recommend the coffee here.

Near this point along the trail, the EL tracks cross over.

Along the 2.7-mile trail are several pieces of street art.

Near one end is this art:

Halfway through is this sign.

Here is one view from the trail. There are more photos at claremontography’s Instagram.

Though not as picturesque as the other two trails, we did get to visit neighborhoods that we had not yet seen.

For a time-lapse video of the entire trail, click here.