Day 3, 22 Days Across the USA -

What is there to see in Kansas?

I am very impressed with Kansas. I loved driving by all of the corn and wheat fields, talking to nice people, stopping at random places, and feeling the humidity begin.

Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks are about 40 mins south of the interstate. From interstate 70 we took; exit 70 and turned right on, left on US-83 then a right to stay on it, finally you turn left on Jayhawk, right onto Gove 14 that turns into Gove 16 and then we saw the rocks!

From Jayhawk on, the streets are dirt roads. They lead you through private property so make sure to stay on the roads. The owner is very kind to let people visit.

The formations are wonderful. You can park right next to them and walk around till your heart is content.

We continued driving down Gove 16, turned right on Gov E, and followed it back to highway 83. From there we traveled back to the 70; enjoying all the beautiful fields and cool oil pumps along the way.

St. Fidelis Basilica

Our next stop was a change of pace. St. Fidelis Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church in Victoria Kansas, also known as The Cathedral of the Plains. It was built in 1908 and the two towers are 141 feet tall.

I found it a very peaceful place and its also breathtaking with intricate stain glass everywhere I looked.

This Basilica is always open to visitors during daylight hours and offers audio tours as well. This beautiful building is definitely worth checking out.

A Czech Egg

Next we stopped at the largest Czech Egg in the world. It is located in Wilson Kansas and is huge!

Mushroom State Park

We swung by Mushroom Rock State Park which is free and open all the time. There are formations on both sides of the road, so be sure to check everything out. We only saw two actual mushroom looking structures…but maybe we didn’t look around enough? The rocks we did see were pretty cool.

Oz Museum

Everything else we ended up seeing today was unplanned. When we first drove into Kansas, my husband jokingly asked me if we would see The Wizard. We both love The Wizard of Oz and Wicked. So when we saw signs for an Oz Museum, we had to check it out!

It’s a cute little museum. We had fun looking at the mementos of a great movie and the statues. They also have the movie playing in a small theater continually, so that was fun too. The entrance fee was $9 per person. I didn’t regret visiting.

Oh, and we found the yellow brick road.

We’re still uncertain why this town has significants pertaining to Oz…except that it’s in Kansas….but still a fun little detour.

We drove through Kansas City to get to Independence, Missouri; which is where we spent the night in a hotel called Stony Creek Hotel.

Bass Pro Shops

I saw what looked like a really cool store right next to our hotel so we took a little detour and checked it out. THE coolest store!

I could have stayed there for forever for many reasons, but one being the incredible view.

We did see something that made us pause as we explored the store…I’d bet money that these are not hot ‘n spicy pickled eggs…

We checked into the hotel and it’s gorgeous. The wonderful lady that checked us in gave us an upgrade and we could not be happier; the view from our balcony is the same as the store’s, just a different location.