A journey through Kansas and Oklahoma leads you straight to the heart of the USA, into a land full of originality, a region inhabited by a special kind of people. It also delights in an unexpectedly wide range of cities, tourist attractions and natural landscapes.
The I-70 highway eastwards takes the traveller past a host of interesting cities: Abilene, the location of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, one of the USA’s eight Presidential Libraries; Manhattan, the home of Kansas State University; Topeka, the dignifi ed capital of Kansas and Lawrence, home of the largest university in the State, the University of Kansas. The trip ends at Kansas City, which lies on the Missouri River and also partly in the neighbouring state of Missouri. Fort Leavenworth to the north is one of the oldest military stations still in operation west of the Mississippi and location of a legendary prison. Atchison came to fame as the starting point of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and of the Pony Express; it was also home to the pioneering pilot Amelia Earhart. South of “K.C.”, towns such as Fort Scott commemorate the events of the Civil War, 1861-1865.
Travelling on the Santa Fe Trail (Highway 56) west of Kansas City, one reaches the Flint Hills at Council Grove, home of the Symphony in the Flint Hills. The Scenic Byway of the same name leads through a section of almost untouched tallgrass prairie to the small town of Cottonwood Falls. The route southwards on the return to Oklahoma takes in Wichita, which has developed from a Western town to a centre for aircraft manufacturing.
Cattle grazed throughout northern Oklahoma – until oil was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. The two largest towns, Ponca City and Bartlesville, which are connected by the Osage Hills National Scenic Byway, still bear all the hallmarks of the oil industry. In Ponca City, famous for the Standing Bear Powwow, the oil baron E.W. Marland built himself a castle: Marland Mansion. His rival Frank Phillips lived slightly more modestly in Bartlesville, but also owned a ranch called Woolaroc, located outside of the town and well worth a visit. He kept collections of exotic animals and Western art there. Bartlesville has earned an entry in architecture text books with the Price Tower, Frank L. Wright’s only skyscraper which he built in 1956.
The North East of Oklahoma is called the “Green Country” on account of its forests, lakes and rivers. After the Cherokee were driven out of the South east of the USA in 1831, this region became their new home. Today, 100,000 Cherokee live around the small capital city Tahlequah, east of Tulsa. The Cherokee Heritage Center is located here and close by is Fort Gibson, a partial replica of a military post in Indian Territory. The Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, which commemorates Oklahoma’s favourite son, is not to be missed. Nor should one pass by Tulsa, the second largest city in the State.
A Trip through Kansas
The return journey to Oklahoma City on Route 66 leads through Arcadia with the famous Roundbarn and POPS, a futuristic petrol station and diner. It is worth making a short detour to Guthrie, just before reaching Oklahoma City. This town, which was established in just 24 hours during the Land Rush of 1889, when the government released Indian territory for settlement, is the largest cultural conservation area in the USA.
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