Some attractions defy description and transcend city boundaries, and Kansas is no exception in having a few of these that call her home.
　　Sedan, Kansas finds a home in this section in part because it truly is off the beaten path and because it is truly a monumental, but noble effort being fronted by one celebrity with a vision. Bill Kurtis, probably best known today as the voice and host of several of the A&E Network’s programs, is from Kansas and got his start in broadcasting here. He has been slowly buying and renovating bits and pieces of Sedan, a Chautauqua County town. He has a buffalo herd, a tallgrass prairie preserve, and even a Laura Ingalls Wilder family home in addition to the souvenir and donut shops he’s created from historical buildings in the town. We wish him luck in his endeavor to re-create small town America.
　　Prairie Dog Town is located off of Interstate 70 near Oakley. This roadside attraction was the one place that we always wanted to stop as kids, and the one place my parents had no intention of actually stopping. It is traditional Roadside Americana, with your usual collection of the odd and bizarre, along with a truly random collection of gifts and notions (from jackalopes to novelty toilet paper to themed T-shirts and refrigerator magnets). As an adult traveling cross-country I finally stopped, and I can honestly say I am glad that I did. There was a certain sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that went with finally getting to do something I had wanted for so long, and the pure Midwestern and American kitsch of the place gave it its own charm.
　　Lucas is the home of the Garden of Eden. Well, not the original, but an interesting spectacle nonetheless. In the early 20th century, Civil War veteran Samuel Dinsmoor sculpted several religious, political and notable (and not-so-notable) figures from cement and other materials and displayed them, and you can still see them today.
　　Finally, the granddaddy of all roadside attractions, Kansas’ contender for the title of World’s Largest Ball of Twine. Cawker City is host to farmer Frank Stoeber’s contribution to string fanaticism. Now, you will notice I said “contender,” and that is because the title of World’s Largest Twine Ball is a hotly-contested honor. At one point it was said that Stoeber was clearly in the lead as he saved string, but an equally obsessed Minnesotan, Francis Johnson, was also rolling twine. After Stoeber died, Johnson continued to add to his, and ended up with a ball of twine a full foot in diameter larger. The indomitable.residents of Cawker City, though, were not willing to let Stoeber’s work be in vain. They banded together and continued winding, and still continue today. The entire city has caught “twine mania,” and paintings of famous works of art with twine balls inserted now line the streets (Amercan Gothic with twine, the Mona Lisa with twine, etc.). Stop by if you get a moment or two and have your picture taken with a really huge ball of string, buy a T-shirt or even a small twine ball replica from the nearby souvenir stand.