Coronado Heights!

heading up to Coronado Heights

8-27-14:  David found a hill in Kansas and took me for a little exploration of it!  It's Coronado Heights and is a scenic overlook and park built in 1932 by the WPA.  It's not the highest point in Kansas (that would be Mt. Sunflower), but it's high enough for some amazing views!  It is on the National and Kansas Historic Sites Registries.  Oh, and it's one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography!

"A Place to Share" is inscribed on the back of this stone

 original steps built by the WPA leading up to the castle

Spanish Explorer Francisco Coronado visited the Smoky River Valley in 1541 in search of the 7 cities of gold.  Legend has it that Coronado camped on the Heights.  Legend also has it that he killed some of his right hand men here for leading him on a wild goose chase for that gold.

Loved this view from the top

lots of soft limestone on the hill

Coronado Heights is at the southern succession of 7 hills called Spanish Buttes --- or Smoky Hill Buttes.  It's a wonderful habitat for wildflowers, grasses, birds, butterflies, and the Prairie Racerunner lizards!

many "etchings" in the rocks from over the years

Mixed forest along the hillside

pretty farmland

Swedish pioneers originally settled at the base of this solitary bluff, but eventually moved to the floor of the Smoky River Valley. Anna Olsson, daughter of one of Lindsborg, KS founders, Rev Olof Olsson, wrote in her memoir that from the top of the Heights, when homesick, she could imagine seeing all the way back to Sweden.

I could've enjoyed the view and the wildflowers all day

great grazing land below

wonder how many people have enjoyed the view while they ate at this vintage WPA picnic table

or....... how many stood on it to take pix

my fella

and his blueberry "butte"

I wasn't aware of the WPA until this visit.  But, like the CCC, wow!  Thank goodness for the work they did for our parks.

False Indigo had gone to seed

Blazing Star was blazing all over the hill

So pretty amidst all the prairie grasses

"autographed" limestone

Goldenrod sharing the view with some Blazing Star

grasshoppers piggy-backing on Soapweed

Wavy-leaf Thistle

Curly Cup Gumweed in White Sagewort 

this gumweed is super cool

Gama Grass.  Kansas is considered the Central Plains, so there is a great mixture of prairie Tallgrass and Shortgrass

White Sagewort

the darker stems of grass looked as if they'd been burned, but no evidence of any burning on this hill.
this grass may be some kind of Threeawn

Stickleaf?

maybe some Downy Goldenrod

lots of Prairie Sunflowers

thistles going to seed

not sure about this, but thought it was cool

American Lady Butterflies all over the Blazing Star

Pennsylvania Leatherwing Beetles love the Gumweed

how many butterflies can you see?

and bumblebees?

the tall stems with Milkweed pods dappled the hill

Milkweed beyond going to seed

Milkweed just going to seed

everywhere I looked there were more wildflowers and more beautiful scenery

the old  -- and unkept -- restroom

a glimpse of the castle

In 1916 a professor from nearby Bethany College found some chain mail from Spanish Armor at an Indian excavation site nearby. But it has never been proven that Coronado actually visited the hill. This castle-like structure was added in 1936.

pretty rock structure

on top of the world

it had a steep staircase inside

Hey David!

see him now?

the bottom floor

on top

this fire began as we were on top of the castle

love the patchwork farmlands as seen from above

and back to wandering

Learned a lot at this stop and loved soaking up the view!  Now, on to Lindsborg to enjoy some more Swedish history!


Hasta Luego and "Good Dag",

Francisco, Anna, and Racerunner