Breaking News

Kansas Spring Break gone wild

Small towns are stranger than you think

By Joe Hunt

Friday, March 2, 2007

Not going to Cancun for MTV’s Spring Break this year? No problem. Who needs partying on a beach when you can see the world’s largest ball of twine or the world’s largest hand-dug well?

Small towns in Kansas often have some sort of unusual attraction to lure drivers off the roads and out of their cars. In Sedan, it’s a yellow brick road. In Greensburg, it’s a thousand-pound meteorite and a really deep well. It doesn’t really matter how exciting the diversion sounds, travelers like Lindsay Cullen, Madison, Wisc., sophomore, said sometimes it’s just nice to get off the road.

“You want somewhere with shade, because it’s hot outside,” Cullen said. “When I’m just bored in the car, I need to get out.”

The following six places may not be as exciting as Cancun, but they sound interesting.

The World’s Largest Ball of Twine

Take the world’s largest ball of twine, for example. Located in Cawker City, it was started in a barn by a bored farmer. The ball is made up of nearly 8 million feet of twine. It has been a work in progress since 1953, and Linda Clover, official caretaker, said anyone could add to it free of charge.

“I’ve found yarn on it. I’ve found string on it. I’ve found a little bit of everything on it,” Clover said. The ball is so large it was moved to its own roofed area. Now it’s accessible 24 hours a day.

Clover said that the ball was surprisingly popular with students.

“During spring break they just come here like crazy,” Clover said. “It’s just lots of fun. We know people joke about it, but we don’t mind that.”

The Dalton Defenders Museum

In Coffeyville, tourists can go to the Dalton Defenders Museum. The museum honors the brave citizens of Coffeyville that died in a gunfight with the Dalton brothers. The Dalton’s were notorious bank and train robbers of the late 1800s.

After robbing a Coffeyville bank in 1882, the townspeople killed a few of the brothers and ended their reign of terror. There is still an old jail in the alley next to the museum, where one of the surviving Daltons was held.

Woody DePontier, manager, said that the museum holds a special re-enactment of the event every year.

“We have a shoot out every October (and) kill the Dalton’s again,” DePontier said. “Everybody comes out to watch.”

In the museum visitors can also see a replica of what was once the largest piece of hail ever recorded. DePontier said that although a new piece of hail found in Nebraska was bigger, Coffeyville’s was still the heaviest.

The museum costs $3 to enter and is open 9 p.m. to 5 p.m. except on major holidays.

The Dalton Gang Escape Tunnel

Travelers that are interested in the Daltons can stop by the Dalton Gang Museum and Escape Tunnel in Meade. Run by Marc Ferguson, the museum is built next to a house owned by Eva Dalton in the 1880s.

Years after she sold the house in 1892, the new residents discovered a secret tunnel leading from the house to the barn 95 feet away.

Ferguson said the tunnel was found under the floorboards of the pantry. While it’s original size required a grown man to hunch to get through, the tunnel has been expanded to allow tourists access.

“It’s a real piece of history here,” Ferguson said. “It’s very scenic. It’s just a fun place. Plus I usually dress like a cowboy.”

Visitors can check out the tunnel from 9 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. It is closed on major holidays. Admission is $2.

The Big Well and Thousand-Pound Meteorite

Greensburg is the site of a thousand-pound meteorite and a really deep well. The Big Well Tourism Center offers visitors a chance to descend 109 foot deep. The meteorite can be seen in the guest shop. Karen Martin, manager, said that the meteorite was found by a farmer in 1949 with the help of a mine detector.

Although the meteorite weighs more than one thousand pounds, it is only about 17 inches tall and 20 inches wide. Martin said it was 4.6 billion years old, having fallen to Earth 20,000 years ago.

“Think about this, we have a well that’s 109 feet under the Earth, and we have a meteorite that fell from way out in the universe somewhere,” Martin said. “Isn’t that funny? It’s kind of like we have the whole universe covered from top to bottom.”

Both attractions are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday. Admission to the well is $2, the meteorite is free.

The Garden of Eden

One of the oldest tourist attractions in Kansas is The Garden of Eden. Located in Lucas and created in 1907, the garden consisted of about 150 concrete sculptures that ranged from 18 to 40 feet in height.

Lynn Schneider, tour guide, said that all of the sculptures were created by Samuel Dinsmoor. Dinsmoor himself was actually mummified inside the garden after his death in 1932. His corpse is still visible through glass.

“It has some very interesting views, it’s considered quirky,” Schneider said. “People can’t hardly believe they’re going to see him in his coffin.”

Tours are offered for $6. The garden is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in March and April. Hours change depending on the season.

The Yellow Brick Road

Movie fans looking for Oz can travel down the Yellow Brick Road in Sedan free of charge. Nineteen years in the making, the road is four-feet wide and almost a mile long. Nita Jones, tourism volunteer, said that the road was made up of 11,700 bricks. Each brick is 8x11 inches, and can be purchased and personalized for $25.

“We have a celeb section. Bricks have been purchased by Bob Hope, Whoopi Goldberg,” Jones said. “People put all kind of sentimental messages on there.”

Jones said that it was the world’s largest yellow brick road, weaving through sidewalks of downtown Sedan. On May 26 of every year, the town has a festival in which Dorothy look-a-likes go down the road in a parade.

Kansan staff writer Joe Hunt can be contacted at jhunt@kansan.com.

— Edited to Trevan McGee

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Advertisement