Valkommen!
It’s time to get serious about moving north so leaving the Hutchinson area the road goes east on Highway 50 for 15 miles to Newton where we take a left and head north on Interstate 135. This is stereotypical central Kansas, intensively farmed with lots of trees along creeks and/or fields as windbreaks.
In the spring of 1869 a group of immigrants from the Varmland area of Sweden settled in central Kansas and founded the town of Lindsborg, supported by an organization from Chicago that was specifically established to support Swedish settlers in the midwest. Today about 3,500 people live in the town which has embraced its’ heritage and preserved the village atmosphere as a tourist attraction. The small downtown area is about 5 miles off Interstate 135 between Wichita and Salina and has been meticulously maintained in the spirit of the early 1900’s.
Walking down the street amongst the restaurants, stores and offices I suddenly pass a storefront that requires a second look. What is the Analoly Karpov International School of Chess doing in the middle of “Little Sweden” Kansas? Old timers will remember a time when chess matches between the US and communist Russia were front page news during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended chess faded from the international press but continues on as a high-stakes game within an elite international circle. Champion Analoty Karpov was visiting the US in 2002 looking for a quiet place to train for an upcoming match when a friend suggested Lindsborg. He toured the area and the rest, as they say, is history. He trained in Lindsborg and decided to establish his first US chess school in the city. Students come from all over the world to study chess behind this unassuming storefront in downtown Lindsborg. One of the other distinguishing characteristics of Lindsborg is that the downtown area is overrun with Dala horses. A Dala horse is a traditional carved, painted wooden horse statue originating in Sweden. Lindsborg adopted the Dala as a symbol in the early 1960’s and they are located up and down Main Street.
Lindsborg is clearly a tourist destination for nearby Wichita, a place where people go on weekends to hang out in the restaurants, shop in the galleries, etc. Those of you entranced by the “cute” little horses can pick one up at the local handicraft store, where you can also watch them being made. The process is actually pretty simple. The horse is carved from a block of wood and then painted with a traditional design. As befits its’ status as a premier tourist destination, simplicity does not come cheap. This is a picture of the smallest Dala horse in the store with my thumb next to it to provide a perspective for size. Note that the price is $27.50. I managed to overcome my enthusiasm for “cuteness” and was more than satisfied with just a picture, not a purchase…
The bulk of Lindsborg, including the housing, was constructed in the early 1900’s. The neighborhoods around downtown have survived virtually intact as the housing stock in town has been relatively stable. I could have reams of pictures of blocks of carefully maintained homes, but was satisfied with a representative sample. Not all of the homes are grand mansions, even the cottages remain in period.
Returning back to I-135 the road continues north and the first hints that change is in the air appear on the western horizon. For the first time in many miles, small hills begin to appear. The Smoky Hills roll through north central Kansas north and west of Salina and while no one will mistake this “bumps” for Mt. McKinley, they are a welcome relief from the monotony of the plains. Interstate 135 ends at Salina and continues on north as Highway 81. Our next stop is a brief detour to the town of Minneapolis (yes, Minneapolis, Kansas, NOT Minnesota) and Rock City, an attraction that has inspired numerous billboards around southern Kansas. In the spirit of “why not?” a side trip to Minneapolis is in order.
Rock City and Minneapolis
Leaving the freeway a short drive on a narrow country road leads to a large sign for Rock City and so we head up a dirt road into the hills. A short time later the sign for Rock City appears and I’m a bit puzzled. Clearly home-made and not particularly well, it points down a gravel drive to a ramshackle cottage. “In for a dime, in for a dollar” comes to mind and so in we go. This turns out to be one of those few occasions on this trip when a side trip is somewhat of a bust! “Rock City” consists of about an acre on the side of a small hill where odd rock formations are sprinkled across the landscape. Since I took the effort to go, you get to take the effort to look at the pictures. Curious, but not worth the $3 entry fee. Make of them what you will!
Just down the hill from Rock City is the small town of Minneapolis, Kansas. Population two thousand, it reminds me of the quintessential small Kansas town so I decide to take some pictures and then promise not to show another one while I am in Kansas!!! There is a certain “sameness” to these towns as they were all settled at approximately the same time, populated by my “peeps” (pale, Anglo-Saxon, blue-eyes, blond hair), dominated by a grain elevator on the edge of town, and experienced a period of economic well-being in the early 1900’s that allowed the building of at least a few substantial homes in the community. So, sit back and enjoy small-town Kansas!
Just east of the six block downtown area there is a block of large restored homes. Even in a small town like Minneapolis prosperity was on display.
Getting back on Highway 81 we head north into Nebraska and cross the Little Blue River, This is the first contact with the Oregon Trail, a route that we will follow all the way to Casper, Wyoming. Pioneers came up the Little Blue River from Missouri on their way to the Platte River in Nebraska, which they would then follow for the next 500 miles. The rolling hills of north Kansas give away to the cornfields of Nebraska.
Next up: The #1 attraction in Nebraska (and, before you snicker, there IS a #1 attraction in Nebraska, and it’s man-made, and I have to say that I was astonished when I experienced it…)
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