World's Largest Ball of Twine, Cawker City, Kansas

If you've ever seen the Chevy Chase movie, "Family Vacation," you may understand why taking my grandchildren to see the Worlds Largest Ball of Twine while on a cross-country road trip was an absolute thrill. Frank Stoeber started the twine ball on his farm in in 1953, and by 1957 it weighed 5,000 lbs. and stood 8-feet-tall. Stoeber gave his prized creation to the community in 1961, and since then the Cawker City Community Club has been the official owner/caretaker of the ball of twine.

Each year on the 3rd Saturday in August a twine-a-thon is held in conjunction with the annual Cawker City picnic and parade. A twine winding is held the Friday before, so the ball never stops growing. At last count it weighed 17,554 lbs, was 40 feet in circumference, and contained over 7,009,942-feet (1,325 miles) of sisal twine - enough to reach more than half way around the world.

The ball of twine is under an open pavilion on the main street through Cawker City. Standing in front of the ball of twine in this photo are my grandchildren, Alexandria and Nicholas.

Directions:Cawker City is in north-central Kansas on US-24. The ball of twine sits beside Wisconsin Street, (US-24) in the heart of Cawker City. It's a very small town and a BIG ball of twine, so you will have no trouble finding it.

The Oz Museum, Wamengo, Kansas

One of the largest private collections of Oz memorabilia in the world may be seen in this new museum which opened in the spring of 2004 in the small town of Wamego, Kansas. The collection consists of more than 2,000 items not only from the 1939 MGM released "The Wizard of Oz" movie starring Judy Garland, but of the worldwide appeal of Frank L. Baum's classic children's story.

The museum is housed in an 1880's mercantile building in the heart of town. There are four galleries, eight alcoves and 20 display cabinets. Each is filled with books, toys, photographs, pages from scripts, posters, clothing and a sequin from Dorothy's original pair of ruby slippers. Other displays contain limited edition Oz dolls, the dress Diana Ross wore in "The Wiz," and a number of Oz inspired items from around the world, including Japan, Spain and Russia.

My grandchildren and I visited this museum and enjoyed it, but frankly we thought the admission price was high compared to comparable museums.

Fromme-Birney Round Barn, Kiowa County, Kansas

The Fromme-Birney Round Barn is well off the beaten path but definitely worth seeking out. I found this unusual barn by following the signs from US-54 near Mullinville, Kansas,on the western edge of Kiowa County. Drive 3 1/2 miles south and then 1 3/4 miles west, along unpaved farm roads. You will see the barn rising above the flat prairie long before you reach it.

This magnificent structure is very impressive in the detail of its workmanship. It was built in 1912 for Henry W. Fromme at a cost of $8,000. The barn isn't actually round but rather polygonal, having 16 sides. It is 50-feet high by 70-feet wide and was built to house draft horses which were used in for plowing, hauling and other heavy farm work.

Phyllis Birney of Boca Raton, Florida, fell in love with the old barn when she first saw it in the early 1970s. Because of her concern in wanting to see the barn preserved, her husband, Lawrence, gave the barn and one acre of land to Phyllis for their 15th wedding anniversary in 1986.

Phyllis in turn deeded the barn to the Kiowa County Historical Society in December, 1993. In 1995 the barn was restored with a grant from the Heritage Trust Fund. Today it stands unattended but unlocked for visitors to explore. Inside are displayed pictures and stories of round barns of the U.S., farm machinery, farm life of 1912, and information on the builders. On the windy November afternoon that I was there not another soul was around.

It was easy to see why Phyllis Birney fell in love with the Round Barn at first sight, because I did too.

Monument Rocks, Kansas

About 20 miles south of Oakley, Kansas, is one of the state's most remote landmarks, Monument Rocks, also sometimes called Chalk Pyramids by the locals.

A gravel road leads for about 6 miles off U.S. 83 to these chalk formations which stand on private property, but are open to the public. The setting is on the desolate open prairie, many miles from any buildings or human habitations. Please respect the property by not leaving anything behind, climbing on the rocks, or digging in the area. There are no facilities on the property.

It is believed that more than 200 million years ago, western Kansas was part of a large inland sea that extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, separating the North American continent into two distinct bodies of land. It is believed that the region was warm, that tropical vegetation grew far to the north and sea-animals lived in the warm waters. There is no evidence of swift-flowing tributary rivers and the fossil evidence suggests that animals dying in this inland sea fell slowly to the bottom.

Scientists speculate that after the ocean had dried up and the bottom had risen above the level of the ocean's floor, other deposits made in lakes and by the winds covered these sediments burying them for millions of years. Over the ages, the winds and rains have again laid bare the ocean bottom, blowing and washing the softer sediments away to expose what are now known as Monument Rocks. It has been designated by Congress as a National Natural Monument.