Road Trip Through the Flint Hills of Kansas

[Nathan Hershley]

            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 underbrush would let me go and set up my tripod and camera and using a neutral density filter set about photographing the second largest of the falls in the morning sunlight as it crept through the trees. The steam rose from the shallow pool making it look like a ghost in the photos.  The water felt like ice as it seeped into my boot as I stepped further into the pool to get a better angle. It took several minutes to find an angle that was not corrupted by the flares from the sun or the “ghost” that the steam implanted on my photo.

Photos can be seen here Kansas Gallery

            The middle level water fall, perhaps the most photographed, was crashing down through the rocks. The roar was substantially louder than the previous falls as the water fell from about fifteen feet as it washed over the protruding rocks and crashed to the ones below. I was not satisfied with the shots I was getting from the distance I was, so I carefully navigated across the slippery clay surface that bordered the pool below the waterfall. After a few missteps and nearly falling into the pool, I managed to reach the bottom of the fall and it was an excellent place to be. Despite being only a couple of feet from where the water was splashing down, I only had one drop get on my lens. For awhile, there were none of life’s burdens on my shoulders while exploring the waterfalls. That place is really peaceful first thing in the morning.

            The sun was crawling higher into the sky as I finally reached the top, and smallest, waterfall. One side was draped in dark shadows while the other reflected brightly from the large pieces of limestone that were strewn about. This was anticlimactic compared to the previous waterfall.

            The waterfalls are fed by the Chase County State Lake that sits amongst the Flint Hills just west of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. Cottonwood Falls is home to the Chase County courthouse whose claim to fame is that it is the oldest operating courthouse in Kansas. Built in 1873 by John G. Haskell, it was built in an Italian Renaissance Revival style and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Self guided tours are available during normal business hours and guided tours are available on most weekends.

            Cottonwood Falls is also home to the Historic Bridge and the All Veterans Memorial which displays one of my favorite helicopters, the UH-1 Iroquois and a battle tank from the Vietnam War. The memorial honors Chase County residents that have served in wars throughout the history of the United States. On one side of the History Bridge there stands a lone American flag, flapping slightly in the breeze, the roar of the man-made waterfall was interrupted by the sound of a chainsaw as an unknown man was cutting parts of driftwood. I assumed, since there was a large amount of driftwood gathered under the bridge that he was trying to break it up so it would flow further down the Cottonwood River.

            The All Veterans Memorial is located at the back of Swope Park. The first feature you will notice is the UH-1 Iroquois perched upon two posts. You can read more about the history of this helicopter <here>. There are slabs giving all of the names of Chase county residents that had fought in every major war that the United States was involved in. A solemn memorial to those served.

Photos can be seen here Kansas Gallery

            Next stop was the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve just a little north of Cottonwood Falls on Highway 177. Explore the house and outbuildings of an 1881 ranch that were built using locally quarried limestone. The limestone blocks use in construction of the buildings weighs in at 160 pounds per square foot. There are several miles of trails that will take you through the 10,894 acres of rolling hills and prairie grass and if you are lucky you will experience some of the wildlife the Preserve has to offer, such as bats, coyote, fox, weasel, and possibly a rattlesnake.