It has been a long-standing rule that when traveling through Kansas, it is best to do so at night because there is a common thought that there is nothing to see, but I believe I can prove that notion wrong. We had three days, two kids, and a small budget to drive out to one of Kansas’s geographic wonders and back again, finding new places along the way to explore.



The seven-hour drive from Kansas City was always too much to tackle so I had put Monument…

As with most of our family weekend trips, we were up well before the sun. The aroma of coffee filled the back of the house as I went to the kitchen to begin making sandwiches for the day. It was a broad menu to choose from, Nutella or peanut butter. Chips and snacks were put in a plastic bag and drinks were piled into a medium cooler. Everyone was looking forward to…

            The ground was still saturated from the storms that had plagued the area the day before. It did not take long before my boots and pant legs from the knees down were wet and my legs getting cold. The early morning air was barely above the freezing point as we made our way across the lake dam and down the short trail that leads to the three level waterfall. I decided to head further down the trail to start with the bottom falls and then work my way up. I went as far as the…