We were going through flat land punctuated with oil wells, small oil tanks,windmills, and grain elevators. Come to think of it, that would describe several states, but we were in Kansas.
The wind farms were impressive. I took a number of pictures and discovered white blades against a light blue sky do not work. I have only one shot of a lone windmill and present it here with a flourish.
There were small oil wells scattered everywhere, many of them pumping away. Three years ago when we were on that same highway, most wells were still. That’s not to say they were stills; stills produce moonshine in the Tennessee hills.
Grain storage buildings and elevators lined the railroad tracks at intervals. John knew lots about the movement of grain. He said one fifth of the wheat grown in the US is grown in Kansas. Those grain facilities proved it. I took these shots from the interstate. John read a sign that said grain elevators are called the cathedrals of the prairie. They were impressive in that flat landscape.
Mehrling Muse 
Cathedrals of the Prairie. Love it!
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love your thoughts on Kansas Anne. We went through Kansas a few years back and it is even flatter than Iowa! Your windmill photo turned out great! And I love the cathedrals of the prairie thought.
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Hi Anne,
Such beautiful pictures and descriptions. Of these pictures, which one is of an oil well and which one of the grain storage buildings ?
By oil wells, would you mean – petroleum?
The wheat or grain fields look amazingly green ? Do they remain that colour through the summer?
Thanks for sharing .
Susie
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The last three photos showed structures for grain. The oil well pump is the peculiar one that looks like a metal insect.
Is oil petroleum? I think oil is the American word and petroleum must be the British.
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Thanks Anne. I am sorry I was a bit confused, I was wondering if you could have meant oil -like peanut or sunflower oil since you mentioned Kansas was like a big producer of food. We have oil wells here too with a flame burning at the top which helps us identify them.
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I learned the little oil pumps are called grasshoppers.
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Been to Kansas? Yea, the Pancake Festival in Liberal.
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Enjoying the break Anne?
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I’m having a wonderful time. Tonight we were John’s sisters and cousins.
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You really have given a feel of Kansas, it’s vastness and importance to the country.
Along with growing the most wheat in the country I am glad to see how wind farms are growing,
we have a lot in Europe.
Altogether your photos are great and I love the name ‘ Cathedrals of the Prairie ‘. Very evocative.
miriam
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Kansas is very different from the mountains where we live. I enjoyed the flatness of it, but I’m glad I live where I do.
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Where all will your travels take you? If you come to Texas, please let me know, I’d love to meet you!! We have a guest room you could stay in as well, and a pool to cool you off! Let me know!
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How I’d love to visit you in Texas! I don’t think we are heading that way, though. We have taken only two long trips, one three years ago and this one.
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Awww, well maybe next time! I’m still unsure about our vacation this year, I’m about to have another surgery which may nix our plans, but I’ll keep you posted. 😊
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PS-We live in Ft Worth, so you wouldn’t have to go too far into the state.
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On the last trip, we drove through the top part of Texas. Let me know if y’all ever come our way.
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It looks nice and green right now, but Kansas tended to lull me to sleep when I lived in Colorado and had to trek to Alabama.. It is sooooo flat, it could be quite tedious crossing, yet I loved the barns. I’m a barn person. lol
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I should take special interest in barns the next time we go through Kansas. For all I know, we may go back that way. John does all the planning for our trips. It’s easy for me!
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I didn’t realize you guys were actually on a long trip. For some reason I thought you were doing a day trip. Have fun! In Denver now, I see.
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This is high living — ABOVE Denver.
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Oh fun. I grew up in Ft. Worth. Mitchel Blvd. Elementary school.
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That’s nice to know. I hope I can remember it.
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Ann. Hope you weren’t there during the recent storms.
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We’ve had no storms since we left home. I think we were sprinkled on once, and there was a brief shower when we unpacked the car in Leadville today.
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In an environment where all you see are still wells it might be good to throw in some stills 😉 I appreciated the beauty of the area through your eyes and will try to remember that in my drive west next month. I have a hard time with my perceived monotony of the Omaha>>Wyoming trek.
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You’d have a lot more flatness to go through than we did. We had days with beautiful, fluffy clouds, and they are fun to watch.
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I remember seeing all the oil derricks and machinery while going through Oklahoma on a trip long ago. I like your big wind turbine. My question for you is did you see Dorothy and Toto?
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We saw signs referring to Wizardy things, but we didn’t see Dorothy and Toto.
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Precisely my thoughts too Linda, when I first read Anne’s post. I was visualising a tornado on those flat prairies.
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Yes, I hope Anne and John have continued good weather. There has been a slew of bad weather all across the U.S. but a record number of tornadoes in May.
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Tornadoes! *shudder*
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Agreed!
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Kansas seems very much like Alberta, flat, oil pumps, windmills and grain fields. You are having a fabulous trip.
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I didn’t know Alberta is much like Kansas. I’ll try to remember that.
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