For many years now we've been scanning interesting articles and travel routes into our computer. Sometimes we look at them, more often they are forgotten. This particular occasion Eloise suggested we have a look in our archives for an interesting looking route West from Lansing. Lo and behold, an article stating that U.S. Hwy 36, which runs parallel to the northern Kansas border, is "A Drive Through History". It runs for about 400 miles. It begins at the wide Missouri River, is edged by fertile fields and glides past the yucca-studded Kansas High Plains in the west. It looked like it would provide a welcome break from interstate travel, like on I-70. We looked over the article taken from an October 1998 issue of Family Motor Coach Association. I told you, we kept things awhile! We were hopeful that the weather in June would be cooperative, and so far it has not been so bad. Lots of rain and of course humidity, but not the unbearable kind that we've experienced in the mid-west on other occasions. Actually, US 36 begins in Troy, but our blog begins in Atchison, where we headquartered at it's city park on Warnock Lake.
Here's our parking spot.
Eloise is checking out the park rules at Wornack near the camp is a tribute to Amelia Earhart in the form of a "Forest of Friendship". Trees from all over the world grow here. No citrus though! Eloise remarks how beautiful it would be in the fall! This picture shows a statue of Amelia in a beautiful setting
Pictures of the Wornock Lake. Geese inhabit the area of course, so watch your step!
Near the campground is a memorial to Amelia Earnhart. It was a "Forest of Friendship" Here is a statue to her memory.
Notice how the caretakers have to carve out the sides of the sidewalk to put in the donor names, then cement them in. To us it seemed a little silly, why not just add them to the side of the existing walk?
In honor of these Astronauts who perished serving their country in space on the shuttle columbia.
Each tree has its own marble name plate like this Puerto Rico Smoke Tree. Notice how in the next picture the blossoms appear smokey!
This is the Amelia birthplace. The day following our visit here we decided to see if we could do some geocaching. One of the caches was a vertual I guess you would call it. It was to give the date the house was built.
On our day trip from the Wornock campground, we first visited the town of Troy, located as we said in the northeast corner of the state. Troy is situated amid a beautiful variety of landscapes. Its attractive city square is the Doniphan County Courthouse, a three-story Romanesque structure made of native limestone and brick. And on the south lawn is the 27 foot high Tall Oak Indian Monument. The sculpture was created from a burr oak log that was 67 inches in diameter.
Farther down the road is the city of Hiawatha. Every city seems to need something to make it special. Hiawatha has the oldest Halloween parade in the nation! During the mid-19th century, Kansas became a crossroads for gold seekers, traders, freighters, and pioneers. But some men looked no farther than the rich glacial plains to live their lives. It brought Kentucky born John Davis to the area and left his own unique mark. After settling in Brown County in 1878, John married a local girl, Sarah, and moved to a 260 acre farm just to the north of Hiawatha.
He worked hard and lived frugally. The childless couple amassed a good deal of money. After Sarah’s death in 1930, Joyhn began a memorial project that caused a stir in the small community.
He created an elaborate memorial that consists of a 52 ton stone canopy supported by stone pillars set over Sarah’s grave. Posed beneath the canopy and near it are 11 life-size stone figures that depict the couple during various stages of their lives. The fact that Mr. Davis spent between $100K to $200K in this manner did not please his neighbors, especially when the town needed a hospital. “They hate me”, Mr Davis said, “but it’s my money, and I spent it the way I pleased.” Ultimately his memorial has greatly benefited the community, as thousands of visitors now stop to view it. The Davis Memorial is at Mount Hope Cemetery on Iowa Street in Hiawatha.
Coming back from the memorial we stopped in at an outdoor Agriculture museum that was closed that day. We walked the grounds anyway, because it seemed to have a lot of interesting things and there wasn’t really much of a barrier to going in! That row of windmills is longer than it looks. It seemed that they went for a mile. They weren’t just windmills though, there were some really old wind generators. In town, you can take a walking tour of 13 historic homes. Hiawatha is also called the “City of Beautiful Maples.”
Eloise said her Dad had one about like this.
This is what the historical marker says:
MORMON GROVE, THE CITY THAT DISAPPEARED
Near here, located in a grove of young hickory trees, was an important rallying point
in 1855 and 1856 for members of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon), then emigrating to the Rocky Mountains. The Campground, really a temporary village covering about 150 acres, consisted of the grove, a large pasture fenced by native sod and a ditch, and a burial ground located on the elevated ridge between the grove and the farm. Though one or two permanent structures were erected, most residents lived in tents, wagon boxes or make-shift dwellings.During the peak year of emigration at Mormon Grove in 1855, nearly 2,000 Latter-day Saints with 337 wagons left for the Salt Lake Valley. It was also a tragic year for the Mormons at the little way station, many dying the a cholera epidemic.
In 1856, Iowa City, Iowa, became the major jump-off point for Latter-day Saint westward travel, and Mormon Grove became a forgotten gathering place.
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