One of the most exquisite books I have ever read, and a book that I repeatedly return to, is PrairyErth (A Deep Map) by William Least Heat-Moon (preview here). It is a book unlike any I've ever previously encountered and is really utterly brilliant, despite the fact that its entire focus (all 640 pages) is on a most insignificant place: Chase County, KS.

You do not need to be from Kansas to appreciate the book (indeed, it was a New York Times-bestseller and Book-of-the-Month Club selection)...it's a book that speaks to the soul, encouraging you to dig deeper, wherever you may be.

From the inside cover:

PrairyErth is a vigorous and exalted evocation of the American land, its people, its past, its hopes. The very word "prairyerth," an old geologic term for the soils of our central grasslands, captures the essence of the American tall-grass country. Only a writer of William Least Heat-Moon's gifts could find in a single Kansas county the narrative of an epic, the nonfiction equivalent of the great American novel.

...Most American readers know three things about Kansas: it is flat, it has something to do with The Wizard of Oz, and the events of In Cold Blood took place there. Three illusions: the first is a lie, the second a fairy tale, the third a nightmare. Chase County is, however, a sparsely populated track in the Flint Hills of central Kansas, "the last remaining grand expanse of tallgrass prairie in America," and PrairyErth lovingly details its 744 square miles and 3,000 souls till it looms as large as the universe while remaining as intimate as a village.

PrairyErth is rich with Chase County's voices past and present, and is filled with anecdotes, gossip from its bars and cafes, Native American lore, and rueful tales of man's inhumanity to man and nature and of nature's indifference to humanity. Heat-Moon recounts the story of a farm couple swept aloft by a tornado; reveals an Indian recipe to avert lightening; unearths a century-old unsolved murder; interviews a retired post mistress, a cowboy, a quarryman, a coyote hunter, a young feminist rancher. PrairyErth sets the story of a nineteenth century tycoon, who dreamed of building a rail line to China through the county, against the memories of a retired Mexican railroad worker who can still recall every tie he spiked for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. It speaks of the passion of the slavery wars of Bleeding Kansas and the sad fate of the Kaw tribe, and gives us a hundred new ways to see stones, creeks, grasses, birds, beasts, and weather.

The cold, wintry weather of late has me reminiscing about the many jaunts that we took last fall, exploring old and forgotten places. This place, in particular, still haunts me, and how could I forget the bank we were offered to buy?! Truly, I'm looking forward to spring so that we can resume our adventures again!

Believe it or not, there's actually a careful method to my madness (madness, indeed, is probably quite apt!). I begin by studying old maps of a given location; then, town after town, research all that I can about the history of each particular location. When was it founded, what was its principle industry, what buildings did it have, who were its families, and when did it cease to be?

Flickr can be immensely helpful in determining what may be left of a town, though I also enjoy searching out places as yet 'undiscovered.' Next, I plot out a rough itinerary of our trip, though undoubtedly we encounter things that I hadn't planned for. All in all, it is rather like a treasure hunt (with a history lesson included) and always a splendid adventure!

The following photos were taken in the tiny, oh-so-hard-to-find town of Floral, Cowley County, KS. I knew from the moment I discovered it online, that we *had* to find it, and we spent nearly an entire day searching for it. The town's history remains elusive, but I was primarily interested in seeing the old limestone Baptist church and the Timber Creek Bridge (ah, and the road just beyond the bridge is the stuff of dreams!).

Yesterday we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed to nearby Lindsborg, KS, a small town with a rich Swedish heritage. The kids enjoyed trying to spot all of the Wild Dalas and Elon snapped pictures of quite a few (though not all!) of them...

For last Friday's nature walk we decided to re-visit Pawnee Prairie Park, since we'd never seen it not flooded. We had a nice but rather uneventful walk...and fortunately we left just in time as yet another thunderstorm was looming!

Jaymon and I stumbled across this abandoned homestead last Saturday on an impromptu roadtrip around Cowley County. It was such a beautiful, peaceful place, though clearly long forgotten - one can't help but wonder about the people who used to live there, what their lives were like and why they left. There was so much to explore, we didn't get to everything, unfortunately. Someday I hope to find it again.

Last Friday, I found myself without a working computer - again - so I decided that we would take a field trip to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was nearly 3 pm (we made quite a few stops to explore along the way!), so we had little time to enjoy the park. We watched a video, then took a wonderful guided tour and learned quite a lot. Next time I will plan to arrive early so that we can spend the day hiking some of the beautiful prairie trails.

From their website:

Tallgrass prairie once covered 140 million acres of North America. Within a generation the vast majority was developed and plowed under. Today less than 4% remains, mostly here in the Kansas Flint Hills. The preserve protects a nationally significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie and its cultural resources.

Once the hunting grounds of the Kansa and Osage Indians, the preserve's 10,894 acres are home to an astonishing variety of life: over 450 species of plants, 150 kinds of birds, 39 types of reptiles and amphibians, and 31 species of mammals. A cycle of climate, fire, and animal grazing - once buffalo, now cattle - has sustained this ecosystem. Much of the grassland flora and fauna is too subtle to be seen from a passing car, but careful scrutiny reveals the special beauty, wonder, and complexity of the prairie.