Kansas, the Sunflowers State, is also known as the "Wheat State" and the "Breadbasket of the World." 
Farming has always been a way of life in Kansas and today it is a leader in wheat, grain sorghum, and beef production, ... and I guess they grow sunflowers somewhere too!




While we continued our drive from the border of Oklahoma into Kansas the landscape stayed pretty much the same.
Since most of the western part of the state lies in the same great central plain of the United States, it also has a generally flat or undulating surface. 

Because it's early in the season not much was growing in the fields yet. I suspect it'll look a little more inviting when the wheat is growing high and is waving in the wind.

Only 20 miles into Kansas we entered the town of Coldwater and it wasn't difficult to find our way to the Lake Coldwater Recreation & campground area.

During the summer season this is a busy place, but in the off season people mainly visit in the weekends, if at all.
We were here during the week and had the place pretty much to ourselves.

We paid the $20 fee at the entrance booth and drove around the Lake to the other site, to our assigned camping spot.

The weather was great and we had a beautiful lake-view so we quickly set up and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon working on our suntan, strolling around the lake and just taking it easy.
We're on vacation, right?

          

Merlin loves the grass and the trees, it's been a while!

While all was very peaceful and calm when we were there, the following picture tells a story of more turbulent days.

Those horns at the top of the pole are tornado-warning sirens! I bet we're not going to sleep through it since we ended up right underneath!

Kansas is aptly named after the Kansa Native American tribe which inhabited the area, and whose name (natively kką:ze) is said to mean "people of the south wind". 
As known to most, thanks in part to Hollywood,  Kansas is prone to strong and severe thunderstorms, especially in the spring and early summer. 
Some of these storms become super-cell thunderstorms which can spawn tornadoes. Kansas averages over 50 of those annually.

Most towns have public shelters, and this campground had several too, we checked them out for 'just in case':

...and lots of people have build one's like this in their own back yards:

Traveling through this part of the country at this time of the year can be tricky, we're keeping a close eye on the weather and are watching the weather channel in the evenings a little bit more careful than normal.

So far so good, but we keep our fingers crossed!

After an uneventful night, thank goodness, we took off the next morning around our normal time.

Our plan was to drive two of the state's Scenic Byways that day while ending up somewhere North of Great Bend for the night.

                                                             

Running between the county seats of Barber and Comanche counties is the Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway, one of nine scenic byways in Kansas.

This byway is 42 miles long, from Medicine Lodge to Coldwater. There are a couple of turnouts along the highway where you can stop to view the hills.

250 Million years ago this area was covered in water. When the seawater eventually evaporated, the rocks left behind (called Evaporates) contained salt and gypsum. These formations are easily dissolved in water, and this erosion sculpted what we see today.

We weren't too impressed, probably a little too early in the season for any wildflowers etc, but it was a nice drive.



After taking a little detour, when we took a rare wrong turn somewhere, and ended up in front of  a meadow full of puzzled young cows, we quickly got back on track on the road that led us alongside the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife habitat on Quivira NWR consists primarily of prairie wetlands and native grasslands interspersed with shrubs and trees.

Cliff Swallows

Again, being so early in the season, there wasn't much 'going on' yet, in the form of wild- or plant-life, except for the hundreds of Cliff Swallows flying to and from every underside of the bridges that we came across.

We stopped for gas just outside of Great Bend and after that at a nice rest stop for our lunch break.

Merlin was doing fine as usual. He sleeps on our bed until we stop, and than he goes exploring to see where in the world we've ended up this time.

Next we drove the Wetlands and Wildlife Scenic Byway which travels from Hoisington to Stafford.
This 77-mile Byway connects two of the world's most significant natural wetlands — Cheyenne Bottoms, the largest marsh on the interior of the United States, and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. 
They showcase the diversity of prairie marsh habitat with one being a fresh water marsh and the other a salt water one.



We started our tour at the new Kansas Wetlands Education Center, which overlooks Cheyenne Bottoms ... 

... were we walked through the beautiful interpretive exhibits that tell the story of Cheyenne Bottoms from its ancient geological formation to the challenges of the future.

         

Afterwards we felt quite prepared and ready for a tour of the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve.

More than 60,000 acres of wetlands host millions of migrating birds each year, including waterfowl, shorebirds, even Whooping Cranes. No wonder this region has been named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas and 'Wetlands of International Importance'.

The area is considered the most important shorebird migration point in the western hemisphere. Approximately 45 percent of the North American shorebird population stops at the Bottoms during spring migration.

                                             Like these American Avocets ....

.....or these Blue-winged Teals:

... a Great Blue Heron

                           

White Pelicans and Double Crested Cormorants sharing a sandbank ...

        .... and lots of Yellow-headed and Red-winged Blackbirds.

A little far away but out out on the sandbanks were foraging a Red-necked Stilt ...

     

                                            .... and a Long-billed Dowitcher:

As you can image, despite the fact that the spring migration only just had started, and there weren't any huge flocks of birds around, it is probably needless to say that I was in bird-heaven!

It was a very slow drive on the rough gravel road and after about an hour we decided we probably had seen enough birds to last us for a while (and than some) and we exited the reserve on the North site. 

It was a short drive to Fossil Creek RV Park in Russell, where we spent the night.

Our Passport America membership brought the price down from $24 to $12 a night, but the park, like most of the PA parks we come across, was a little run down and in need of some TLC.

For one night it suited us just fine though since we didn't need any of the facilities other than the electric hookup

The next morning, we had our mind set on visiting the town of Hays , about 25 miles to the east, since it boasted a 'famous' German bakery and we'd love to get us some good pastries!

We could have saved us the detour though, it was very disappointing and we ended up with a 'standard' American scone and cinnamon roll. German, my foot!

We did a lot better when we picked up lunch to go in Phillipsburg at a local diner, which we ate in shaded little park behind Main street.

The daily specials of meatloaf and roasted beef came only to $5.99 a person and were excellent!

Afterwards we made quick work of the 19 miles to the border of Nebraska.

 Which brings us to a new post! I'm on a roll! Yeah!