Escape to Kansas!

Looking for a lazy way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Labor Day 2010 found us in Great Bend KS, and after a leisurely breakfast at a Perkins near our motel, we took a short jaunt up to Hoisington where the parade was lining up. Of course our interest was the classic cars.

After a short stay there we returned to Great Bend and stopped at their ZOO. Yes, Great Bend has a zoo, and we had been there over 30 years ago with our then small children. It proved to be a welcome stopping point on a trip from Iowa to Oklahoma. Of course as with all things, it didn't seem the same as it was, but we did enjoy seeing the big cats.

This big guy wasn't bothered at all by people checking him out.

Give him some shade and he's a happy camper!

these two were pretty amazing to watch as well.

Great Bend Kansas is located on Highway 281 about center Kansas.

While I don't generally recommend chain restaurants, the Perkins here is an exception to that rule. We had evening, breakfast and lunch there and enjoyed each meal. The service was way, way above average, and be sure to check out their dessert selections!

Home Town Pride

Most of the time I think I have to travel somewhere to find interesting and cool things to see. This time I stayed right at home in Waynoka and watched a community really come together to get ready for company.

Every five years Waynoka hosts an all school alumni reunion. 2010 is the year everyone comes home. Our local chamber took a look around and tried to see the town through the eyes of a visitor. We needed some pizzaz! All of the light poles in the downtown area were in sad need of some paint, so we started with a paint the pole party. No theme, no assigned design or even pole, though downtown businesses were given the opportunity to adopt the pole nearest their business. We thought we would have a hard time getting the downtown square done before the reunion on Labor Day weekend. Artists came from everywhere to share their talents, some didn't even live "in town" but in the larger farming community we share. NO two poles are alike, everyone brought their own ideas to the pole.

What an awesome sight, Tuesday night when I locked up the liquor store to go home at 9 p.m. there were people everywhere still painting on their poles! We ran out of downtown poles to adopt, so we are reaching further out in the community. I got some pictures of the poles and in a few instances the people painting.

Our little town will have something new and creative to see, both for the returning alumni and for our tourists who will be starting the fall season at Little Sahara.

GOOD JOB WAYNOKA!

Shorty's at Buffalo, OK

Shorty's Cafe in Buffalo Ok is a new restaurant, located on highway 64 on the south side of town. Deven has spent about a year renovating the old LaMunyon Cafe and the end result is well worth the wait!

We stopped for lunch recently and had some amazing food! Pictured here is the Philly Steak Sandwich with some yummy onion rings.

This is a steak sandwich, heavy on the steak, light on the bun! And while it was very good, I couldn't eat the whole thing, so go there with your appetite firmly charged up!

yes, this is real size!

Shorty's has done an awesome job with the decor inside as well, setting an old western theme that includes a neat poster of the Sons of the Pioneers and good ole' western swing music playing quietly in the background. The walls have an aged appearance and the bathrooms are unique. I won't tell you, you, you just have to go see for yourself!

Shorty's is open for lunch and dinner most days. Deven tells me she is still working to set hours that will meet her customer's needs. If you are passing through Buffalo watch for Shorty's Cafe and stop in for a great meal!

Cherokee, Ok

As, I travel through Red Carpet Country, I am continually amazed at the new places that I am finding. The newest find is The Farmer's Table. It has been open about 4 months. It is a deli sandwich shop, with a daily specials, comfortable little place, located in Cherokee, it is one block to the west behind the library off of Main street. It is owned by Doyce Hager and his wife Rachel. Some of in this area may remember Doyce, he was our Schwan's delivery man for several years. They seem to be enjoying a booming business and the food was great. Good Luck to Doyce and his wife.

Traveling Woods County

I have been traveling for Red Carpet Country selling ads for next years visitors guide. In my travels I have been to the Sod House, Aline, Ok. The changes they have made are really great so if you haven't been there in a while it is a good place for a day trip. They have added a lot of items to the building and have many more ideas to come.
Another place that I visited was Freedom, OK, their museum is really wonderful. See the historical bones that were found near Freedom, and other items that people have donated to them, things that made the trip in the run possibly. Some at least came in the covered wagons. It is another wonderful day trip.
Sorry, no pics for this trip, maybe the next great place that I visit I will be able to take some pics. There is a lot of great places to visit right here in Woods County or close by. You will be able to take your kids somewhere before school starts again and give them a little history while they enjoy it. Happy traveling.

Shady Lady in Perry

The Shady Lady is a restaurant, meeting place and catering facility located in Perry OK. The historic building was once a boarding house, and form the outside appears to have had periodic additions.

We had a delicious lunch, here is a reuben plate and of course I had eaten part of it before I decided to take the picture! couldn't wait, it was wonderful!

There was a wonderful cookbook there with special Shady Lady recipes.


and would you look at this pie!

Red Rock State Park

headed into the park is a great scenic drive!

one of the walls where Rapelling is welcome! we could see ropes hanging over the edges and rapellers on the ground.

the straight up walls of red were amazing!

Red Rock State Park is located near Hinton OK, offers RV and tent camping, nature trails, a fishing pond and swimming pool, a group camp that offers bunkhouse sleeping and a kitchen and some of the most amazing scenery in the state!

Young Guns!

At our April meeting of the Red Carpet Country board of directors we were invited to Shattuck. Our meeting place was the Young Guns Restaurant and Saloon and of course we actually used the saloon for our lunch and meeting. Young Guns has been in business about 18 months and they are sure doing something right! The bar area is non smoking and it had a fresh and clean smell and appearance that you don't often find in bar type settings. The bar itself was an amazing horseshoe shape with inlaid wood that was actually curved to fit instead of cut!

We had a nice visit with Ryan, one of the owners, shown in the photo with Jodell, and he told us they purchased the bar from somewhere in OKC and moved it to Shattuck.

The metal art work on the wall shows the logo of the Young Guns and they have a line of T-Shirts they sell promoting their place of business.

Best of all, were the burgers! This is the burger basket we were served during our visit and honestly I couldn't eat the whole thing!

I have posted more pictures on my facebook page, (find me there Jeanne Maras Cole) and we are planning a return trip this summer, especially since we learned that Shattuck Oklahoma will soon be home to a drive-in theater! Classic Car Road Trip in our future for sure!

Congrats to the Young Guns and to Shattuck for an outstanding business!

I - 70 Diner near Flagler CO

This rotating pink Cadillac gets your attention as you cruise down I-70 going either direction. We first saw it headed west on our way to Denver and decided to stop on the way back to check it out.

The diner was moved to this site in pieces about 30 years ago! The history and photos of construction phases is posted in the entryway. The interior is strictly 50's and fun to spend some time just walking around and looking at the pictures on the wall.

We were between meals when we got there so didn't get to sample the food, but if smell is an indication, I bet it is pretty good!

Monument Rock

South of Oakley Kansas is a natural wonder! Now, I found this by looking in the Kansas State Travel Guide, a great picture of some unique rock formations, said to have formed when the area was ocean floor. This I gotta see, so we took a short (we thought) detour from our planned route home from Denver. We traveled south of Oakley on a nice highway about 20 miles, then there it was, the sign that is! Monument Rock, 8 miles east, on a road best traveled by 4 wheel drive farm trucks. Well I was not to be denied and my trusty PT Cruiser pretended it was a Dodge truck and down the road we went, crossing several cattle guards and navigating washes and sand pits in the road. And find it we did! I personally felt like it was well worth the trip, however, travelers, particularily those in motorhomes would not enjoy the eight miles of bad road, and some would probably just not make it.
To the State of Kansas I say, "You have something unique here, make the way a little easier so that travelers can enjoy it!"

Look for some additional photos on my facebook page!

Jetmore Kansas, a great place to grab a bite to eat!

This last weekend we were headed to Colorado and about lunch time found ourselves in Jetmore Kansas, county seat of Hodgman County. Directly across the street from their stately courthouse was Agustino's Restaurante. Agustino's has a homey atmosphere, tables and booths in polished pine, booths big enough to seat 6 people comfortably with tiny umbrella tea lights and pretty spring flowers on each table. The food was very good; I had Talapia with a wonderful sauce and some fresh steamed veggies. John opted for the burger and fries and they must have been good because he cleaned his plate!





Of course like any good blogger I took my camera with me; why didn't I check the batteries? So a quick Google search yielded this photo, not of Agustino's, but of some local architecture that caught my eye on the drive out of town with my belly full.







The area has a lot of limestone and many buildings like the Haun Museum are constructed with limestone.




Jetmore is on US highway 283 north of Dodge City. if you are headed up that highway in Kansas I would recommend stopping in at Agustino's. Oh, and the staff was very tourist friendly too!