Post Rock Scenic Byway
Post Rock Limestone Adventure
| Departure: | Kansas Originals Market & Smoky Hill Winery Outlet Store, Kansas |
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| Destination: | Flying Pig Studio & Gallery, Kansas |
| Time to allow: | 1 day |
The Post Rock Limestone Adventure takes you through the diverse cultural stages of post rock limestone during any season of the year. The Byway road cuts through the outcroppings of the creamy-buff, brown-striped limestone rock. Listen to historical accounts about the hard working Czechs who learned the craft and art of quarrying the rock for buildings and fenceposts. Visit the shops with gifts made from the post rock limestone while sampling the Czech ethnic foods. In the heart of the Byway is the clearest lake in Kansas, Wilson Lake, with spectacular panoramic vistas of the Smoky Hills. View the vernacular limestone architecture like the Wilson Czech Opera House and Midland Hotel, as well as the quirky limestone "log cabin" at the Garden of Eden and limestone sculptures and embellished art pieces at the Grassroots Art Center and Deeble House and Folk Art Rock Garden in Lucas.
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Start: Kansas Originals Market & Smoky Hill Winery Outlet Store
Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The Kansas Originals Market and Smoky Hill Winery Outlet Store provide Kansas made products like wine, meats, jellies, Kolaches (Czech pastry), quilts, limestone sundials,and pottery to name a few. The Kansas Originals Market specializes in products all made from the hands, the hearts, and the homes of Kansans, 350 consignees. The Smoky Hill Winery Outlet Store features prize winning wines made at the Smoky Hill Vineyards and Winery.
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Stop 2: Wilson Czech Opera House
Directions from previous place: 1.7 miles South of I-70 Exit 206 and K-232 junction to 40 Highway, turn right on 40 Highway and travel .3 miles, on left hand side of road.
Distance from Previous Site: 2 miles / 3.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 3 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 40 minutes Wilson is the "Czech Capital of Kansas" because of the many Czechoslovakian immigrants who settled the Wilson area. At the Wilson Czech Opera House you will see the limestone architecture where the post rock limestone was "dressed" or carved for use in building construction. The Opera House is home for the "House of Memories" museum with artifacts of the Czech heritage. The Wilson Czech ancestors provide traditional Czech stories, dances, and foods that entertain.
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Stop 3: Wilson Midland Hotel & Restaurant
Directions from previous place: Turn right or North on Avenue E for one block, turn right on 26th Street for half a block.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 45 minutes The Wilson Midland Hotel and Restaurant provides modern amenities in a renovated historical limestone building. Employees and Wilson Foundation directors welcome visitors anytime with stories of the magnificent Hotel in it's historical beginnings as the finest hotel built between Kansas City and Denver to it's present day accomplishments as a luxurious hotel and restaurant. Memorabilia from the movie "Paper Moon" which was filmed in the Wilson area, is exhibited at the Hotel. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is a great place to stay overnight at while visiting the other attractions on this itinerary.
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Stop 4: Wilson Cultural Architecture
Directions from previous place: Travel East on 26th Street one half block to Avenue E, Turn right or North for 3 blocks of the Wilson Downtown District. At 25th Street turn left or East for one half block for Hay Bale Construction Housing Units and Limestone Round Jail. Continue East one half block to Avenue F and turn right or North on Avenue F. On the corner is the Wilson Methodist Church. Drive North on Avenue F one block to 24th Street. Drive East on 24th Street to Avenue C. Lustron house is on Northeast corner of intersection.
Distance from Previous Site: 1 miles / 1.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 10 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 10 minutes Driving through Wilson, the traveler will view the diverse cultural architecture of Wilson. Ornate limestone buildings, churches, houses, and a round jail. The porcelain baked steel house known as the lustron house built after World War II and the low- ncome housing units using the hay bale construction technique.
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Stop 5: Post Rock Limestone Fenceposts
Directions from previous place: Travel on 24th Street for 2 blocks to K-232. Turn left or North on K-232 for 10 miles to mile marker #10 and another mile to mile marker #11 for the turn outs on each end of Wilson Lake.
Distance from Previous Site: 10 miles / 16.0 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 10 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Along the Byway are the stately post rock limestone fenceposts, backdropped by the priairie expanse filled with spring wildflowers, vibrant fall grasses, or snow covered hills. The road cuts through the rugged Smoky Hills exposing the outcropping layer of the creamy-buff, brown-striped rock, used so extensively for fenceposts hence the name "Post Rock Limestone". Fenceposts are found in the turn outs on each side of the Wilson Lake dam.
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Stop 6: Wilson Lake
Directions from previous place: The same place as the Post Rock Fenceposts stop. At mile marker #11 travel on 203rd Street or Lucas Park Road for .5 miles to first road on right or North. Follow the road up to Look Out Point for .25 miles.
Distance from Previous Site: 1 miles / 1.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Take in the breath taking vistas of Wilson Lake from the turn outs located on each end of the dam, or Look Out Point above the North turn out. Enjoy hiking and biking trails to discover geological wonders like fossils and rocks around Wilson Lake, or stop at the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for information about Wilson Lake and the dam. Camp at one of the many campgrounds around the Lake to do some boating, fishing, or swimming. Hunting and wildlife watching are popular sports around the Wilson Lake area.
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Stop 7: Stone Cottage Bed and Breakfast and Antiques
Directions from previous place: From Look Out Point drive back to 203rd Street for .25 miles, turn left or East on 203rd Street for .5 miles back to K-232. Turn left or North on K-232 for 2 miles to the Stone Cottage entrance on the West side of K-232.
Distance from Previous Site: 2 miles / 3.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 3 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The Stone Cottage Bed and Breakfast and Antiques is a renovated early homestead built from the post rock limestone. Visit with hosts Becky Thaemert and Jonathon Pancost about the history of post rock limestone and the homestead. Meander through the outer buildings including the Antique Shop to view the craftsmenship of the early settlers. This is a great place to stay overnight at while visiting the other attractions on this itinerary.
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Stop 8: Vonada Stone Company and Quarry
Directions from previous place: Turn left or North onto K-232 for 8 miles to junction of K-232 and K-18. Turn right or East on K-18 for 7 miles to the junction of K-18 and K-181. Turn left or North on K-181 for 5.5 miles to Quail Lane and turn left or West on Quail Lane for .5 miles.
Distance from Previous Site: 21 miles / 33.6 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 30 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The Vonada Stone Company and Quarry provides a historical tour of a working quarry with demonstrations of the craft and art of quarrying the post rock limestone. You will watch a stone mason drill and split the rock for stone posts as well as carving and sculpting the rock into ornate signs or yard ornaments, like benches and bird baths. View a historic double arch limestone bridge while listening to early stories of the area.
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Stop 9: Garden of Eden and Cabin Home in Lucas
Directions from previous place: Drive East on Quail Road for .5 miles back to K-181. Turn right or South on K-181 for 5.5 miles to the junction of K-181 and K-18. Turn right or West on K-18 for 8 miles to Lucas. Turn left or West on First Street for 4 blocks. Turn left or South on Kansas Avenue for 1 block to Second Street.
Distance from Previous Site: 14 miles / 22.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 15 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The Garden of Eden and Cabin Home of Samuel Perry Dinsmoor in Lucas showcases the quirky side of the post rock limestone. Dinsmoor built his limestone house and mausoleum in a "log cabin" design, unique with 17-21 foot lengths of the post rock limestone. He continued this flair as a showman by constructing concrete sculptures 20-30 feet in the air around the house with Biblical and Populist political tableaux. Dinsmoor married his second wife, a 20-year old Czech maid, and fathered two children by the age of 85. At Dinsmoor's request, you may view his mummified body in the mausoleum. S.P. Dinsmoor, "the most unique home for living or dead on Earth". Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Stop 10: World's Largest Things Traveling Roadside Attraction & Museum
Directions from previous place: One half block South of the Garden of Eden on Kansas Street.
Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes Erika Nelson drives around in "The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things Traveling Roadside Attraction and Museum". Home base is in Lucas just South of the world famous Garden of Eden. Erika thrives on quirky oddities and loves to lecture about small town whimsical attractions all across the nation. View this attraction whenever it is parked.
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Stop 11: Grassroots Art Center in Lucas
Directions from previous place: From Kansas Avenue and Second Street, drive West on Second Street for 2 blocks to Main Street. Turn left or South on Main Street for one half block.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.2 miles / 0.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour The Grassroots Art Center exhibits a variety of self-taught, outsider, visionary, whimsical, recycled art in three historical renovated limestone buildings in Lucas. Inez Marshall carved elaborate and detailed pictorial sculptures of churches, schools, hospitals, and a one-fifth size Model T Ford from limestone. Ed Root and Earl Miller created yard environments during the 1950's-1960's, using concrete, broken glass and pottery, and rocks in the Lucas area. You will find present day grassroots art sculptures include the use of metal, wood, chewing gum, and pull tabs.
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Stop 12: Grassroots Art Center Post Rock Courtyard in Lucas
Directions from previous place: Same location
Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes The Grassroots Art Center includes a spectacular Post Rock Courtyard which displays a concentrated series of the early stone mason's diverse embellished vernacular architecture of homes, churches, schools, barns, and fences during the 1920's. Other whimsical yard ornaments embellish the courtyard from metal sculptures to limestone sculptures. In the spring, summer, and fall, you will view wildflowers and grasses native to the area. This is a great place sit and relax for a break.
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Stop 13: Deeble House and Folk Art Rock Garden
Directions from previous place: Drive one half block to Harvest Street, turn left or East for one block to Fairview Avenue. Turn left or North for 1 and one half block on Fairview, on East side of street.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.2 miles / 0.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Florence Deeble's Folk Art Rock Garden portrays miniature picturesque scenes of Mount Rushmore, Mesa Verde, and other places she visited, using colored concrete and rocks. Native wildflower plantings around the yard create a colorful visit in the Spring and Summer. Artist Mri Pilar created art pieces using computer parts, garage sale finds, and rejected Barbie dolls inside the Deeble House. Walk into a futuristic visionary environment that will surprise your senses.
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Stop 14: Brants Meat Market
Directions from previous place: Drive one half block North on Fairview to First Street, turn left or West on First Street for one block to Main Street. Turn left or South on Main Street for one half block.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.2 miles / 0.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes Brants Meat Market provides small town hospitality with samples of Bohemian bologna fresh from the smokehouse. The family Czech recipes have been passed down for three generations. Family photographs along with wall murals of the Czech motherland are interesting conversation pieces.
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End: Flying Pig Studio & Gallery
