Roadside Kansas: A Traveler's Guide to Its Geology and Landmarks

Rating:
Summary: Great book for the busy earth science teacher
Review: Easy is the word that describes this book. The mile markers, bridges, towns, and other landmarks makes this text THE guide for the investigator from out of state. The museums described were excellent sources of information with plenty of friendly people to guide you toward additional landmarks. The roadcuts were full of described fossils, even my teen daughter found bags full of whole shellfish that littered the byways.
A small amount of research before hand can pay off big time in collecting the best fossils still on the back roads of America. Take this book along and the trip through Kansas will be one that you will remember for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for the busy earth science teacher
Review: Easy is the word that describes this book. The mile markers, bridges, towns, and other landmarks makes this text THE guide for the investigator from out of state. The museums described were excellent sources of information with plenty of friendly people to guide you toward additional landmarks. The roadcuts were full of described fossils, even my teen daughter found bags full of whole shellfish that littered the byways.
A small amount of research before hand can pay off big time in collecting the best fossils still on the back roads of America. Take this book along and the trip through Kansas will be one that you will remember for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Roadside Kansas
Review: I found Roadside Kansas by chance in the gift shop at the Old Mill in Lindsborg. I had been showing my wife and daughter some of the sights I knew about from growing up in Ellinwood, Kansas which is located right on the Santa Fe Trail (Highway 56).

Little did I know what a treasure we had found. Beginning as a geological research project by the authors the book took on a life of its' own as a very nice directory of various interesting attractions and oddities in Kansas. Its' photographs also prove to readers once and for all that Kansas IS NOT FLAT.

The first item of note we found was that we were just minutes from Coronado Heights, named after the Spanish explorer. We also found that wheel ruts from wagons traveling the Santa Fe Trail were still visible only a few miles east of my hometown. And I found that after having spent the better part of 27 years driving past and through Fort Zarah that the old cemetery still exists just north of the park out in a field only a few yards from where I had spent many evening hours with female companionship. Imagine my surprise!

Additionally, we found that about 25 miles west of Castle Rock, which I had visited and photographed many times while in college at Fort Hays, are what is known as the Kansas or Chalk Pyramids (just off Highway 83).

Needless to say I was excited and impressed. We spent the rest of our trip running the roads looking for mile markers and the treasures that lay beyond.

The book is laid out quite simply. Find the highway number you are traveling and what mile marker you are at and the book tells you what attraction is coming up with excellent directions for the directionally impaired. Oh, and I guess the geological information is pretty good too.

Since I found this text in 1995 I have wholeheartedly recommended it to anyone traveling the Land of Ahs, both visitor and resident, and all have been impressed. If you like to seek out items of interest off the beaten path, then this is your guide. I only wish those guys would do a book like this for every state in the Union.

Rating:
Summary: Roadside Kansas
Review: I found Roadside Kansas by chance in the gift shop at the Old Mill in Lindsborg. I had been showing my wife and daughter some of the sights I knew about from growing up in Ellinwood, Kansas which is located right on the Santa Fe Trail (Highway 56).

Little did I know what a treasure we had found. Beginning as a geological research project by the authors the book took on a life of its' own as a very nice directory of various interesting attractions and oddities in Kansas. Its' photographs also prove to readers once and for all that Kansas IS NOT FLAT.

The first item of note we found was that we were just minutes from Coronado Heights, named after the Spanish explorer. We also found that wheel ruts from wagons traveling the Santa Fe Trail were still visible only a few miles east of my hometown. And I found that after having spent the better part of 27 years driving past and through Fort Zarah that the old cemetery still exists just north of the park out in a field only a few yards from where I had spent many evening hours with female companionship. Imagine my surprise!

Additionally, we found that about 25 miles west of Castle Rock, which I had visited and photographed many times while in college at Fort Hays, are what is known as the Kansas or Chalk Pyramids (just off Highway 83).

Needless to say I was excited and impressed. We spent the rest of our trip running the roads looking for mile markers and the treasures that lay beyond.

The book is laid out quite simply. Find the highway number you are traveling and what mile marker you are at and the book tells you what attraction is coming up with excellent directions for the directionally impaired. Oh, and I guess the geological information is pretty good too.

Since I found this text in 1995 I have wholeheartedly recommended it to anyone traveling the Land of Ahs, both visitor and resident, and all have been impressed. If you like to seek out items of interest off the beaten path, then this is your guide. I only wish those guys would do a book like this for every state in the Union.

Rating:
Summary: Lots and lots of trivia, mostly about geology
Review: This book is well-organized for touring Kansas--It describes things in the order you will pass them on each major highway. It does have lots of trivia, but about 2/3 of the information is geological; much of the rest is historical. Natural history, other than geology, is poorly covered. Unfortunately, even much of the geological information is not explained well or given any context or interpretation. Obviously a tremendous amount of work and research was put into the book, but it ends up seeming like a long list of geological feature names and obscure historical trivia. Interesting, but not really informative on a profound level.

If you are touring Kansas, have plenty of time, and are very interested in geology or fossils, this is the book for you. If you are touring Kansas, and have an interest in history, it is okay. If you have an interest in wildlife, plants, or generalized natural history, it won't be of much value.

Rating:
Summary: Lots and lots of trivia, mostly about geology
Review: This book is well-organized for touring Kansas--It describes things in the order you will pass them on each major highway. It does have lots of trivia, but about 2/3 of the information is geological; much of the rest is historical. Natural history, other than geology, is poorly covered. Unfortunately, even much of the geological information is not explained well or given any context or interpretation. Obviously a tremendous amount of work and research was put into the book, but it ends up seeming like a long list of geological feature names and obscure historical trivia. Interesting, but not really informative on a profound level.

If you are touring Kansas, have plenty of time, and are very interested in geology or fossils, this is the book for you. If you are touring Kansas, and have an interest in history, it is okay. If you have an interest in wildlife, plants, or generalized natural history, it won't be of much value.

Rating:
Summary: Kansas has a lot of rocks
Review: This is like a Roadside Geology on steroids. The single-spaced typed list I made of rock stops along I-70 alone was four pages long. Most major roads in the state are covered in similar detail, including not only the rocks, but historical sidelights and local oddities as well. With it, you'll never be bored driving across Kansas.

The reason I'm only giving it three stars is that, while it provides plenty of opportunities to collect, it gives you almost no help understanding what you get. Most formations are not even assigned to geological periods. Very frustrating.

Rating:
Summary: Kansas has a lot of rocks
Review: This is like a Roadside Geology on steroids. The single-spaced typed list I made of rock stops along I-70 alone was four pages long. Most major roads in the state are covered in similar detail, including not only the rocks, but historical sidelights and local oddities as well. With it, you'll never be bored driving across Kansas.

The reason I'm only giving it three stars is that, while it provides plenty of opportunities to collect, it gives you almost no help understanding what you get. Most formations are not even assigned to geological periods. Very frustrating.