Where the Wind Comes Sweepin' Down the Plain

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Before heading out of Kansas today, there was absolutely one thing we HAD to do...visit Cawker City, home of the World's Biggest Ball of Twine!

We pulled into town (which consisted of about one street), and easily found the ball. Walking up the sidewalk to the ball, we noticed a yellow curly-q stripe painted on the ground all the way up and down the main street. It invited visitors to not only visit the ball of twine, but to follow this "string" up and down the shop fronts, where various famous paintings had been posted in store windows. However, each had a new addition...somewhere in the painting was the Ball of Twine. It was a great idea, and we really enjoyed peeking in the various shops. Especially the antique shop/Ball of Twine gift shop, where the owner opened the store just to sell us a post card. "I saw you pull into town," she explained, "and waited for you to come in. But I had my groceries in the car, so I took them home, then came back to see if you wanted to come in." This was our kind of town!

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We were sorry to learn, however, that we had just missed the annual "adding to the ball" day, where the town folk get together to add string to the ball, and have a big cookout with a weekend full of activities. We like Cawker City. The ball itself was very impressive. Check out the pics!

Just down the road was another strange sight: the home of a gentleman obsessed with concrete. Dubbed the Garden of Eden, this home's front yard was adorned with concrete statues he had created, disturbing figures depicting religious and political views. The home had been turned into a museum, and could be toured for free. We went inside to learn more about this strange place, and were even more disturbed to learn that we could actually see the creator. Too bad he'd been dead for seventy years! In the back yard was a Mosoleum, where his glass-topped coffin could be viewed for a mere $6. We decided to pass. Seeing the room he actually died in was close enough for us.

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Next, it was on to OK City to find a hotel, get some rest and hope our nightmares aren't too bad.