Fall 2015 - Days 3 to 6: We're not in Kansas Anymore

No we are now in Texas, Denison to be exact.

We spent three lovely days visiting our friends, Judith and Dennis at their home in Bennington, Kansas.

We thought Kansas would be like Saskatchewan but it's not as flat.

We passed many fields of sorghum.  It is used to make ethanol alcohol and animal feed.  We had never seen this plant before.

Sorghum field

Our visit included lots of delicious food and a day of seeing some of the sights.  We went to the tiny town of Lucas.  It is a town filled with grass roots art and artists both past and present.  Our first stop was at the unique home of a Mr. Dinsmore.  He built this home called "The Garden of Eden".  From the very beginning it was meant as a tourist attraction.  Very interesting.

Adam

Eve and Serpent 

Mr.Dinsmore and his second wife Maria

Mr. Dinsmore was 81 when he married for the second time.  Maria was in her early twenties. They had two children in addition to the three he had with his first wife.

Mr. Dinsmore was a civil war soldier and one of his sons was a soldier in both Korea and Vietnam - one hundred years later. Dinsmore's children with Maria were in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest children born from a civil war soldier.

Most of the Lucas citizens were not fans of the artwork in the yard.  The house is totally surrounded with cement sculptures including a crypt containing the body of the first Mrs. Dinsmore.

The second art installation we went to see was the Lucas Public Washroom.  Yes washroom.  Lucas applied for a government grant to build a public loo but were turned down.  They then applied for a grant to create an art piece and were approved.  They chose to build a grass roots art installation that also functions as a bathroom. It is very whimsical and fun.

Ladies room

Men's room

Just a small sampling of the amazing mosaics.  The facilities also won second place in a National contest of the best public bathrooms.

Today, we bid farewell to Judith and Dennis, but only for a short time as they will be at Chimney Resort in a little bit.  We are now comfortably ensconced in our hotel.  Yet another nice one - in Denison, Texas.  Tomorrow Schulenberg.