I am fortunate enough to have traveled many places in my life. I have climbed mountains in Austria, and toured mosques in Istanbul, Turkey, but this past weekend I went on a journey of a different kind: through western Kansas.

Now, before you stop reading let me assure you that it wasn’t nearly as boring as it sounds. It was actually pretty fun! You see, there is a lot more to western Kansas than meets the eye.

I traveled with my photo portfolio class to Rock City (cool), Lucas (super quirky), Ringneck Ranch (beautiful!) and Castle Rock (freaking awesome). We also stopped at various abandoned stone houses and silos along the way. Every stop provided great photo opportunities. But even if you aren’t into taking pictures of everything, I highly suggest visiting these places, here’s why:

1) Its a relatively cheap trip. You can drive to all of these places from Lawrence in 6 hours or less, and gas is cheaper than plane tickets. Furthermore, most of these places do not have an admission fee.

2) Its beautiful. I’ve always thought that Kansas has its own special beauty but it’s easy to forget living in a city. Sunsets over the rolling prairie hills are ridiculously gorgeous.

3) You get to experience Kansas in a totally new way. The town of Lucas, KS is FILLED with loads of quirky, weird art that you aren’t likely to find anywhere else in the world. The Castle Rock formations look like they belong in Montana, or Wyoming, not Kansas. It’s Kansas culture like you’ve never seen it before.

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I would love to go back to western Kansas in the near future. It was fun, beautiful, and utterly charming. If you ever get the chance I hope you get to explore it too.

XX
Mara

P.S. stay tuned for some fabulous pictures from photo portfolio students in the coming weeks!