Historic Fort Scott Candlelight Tour

Last weekend, we joined my parents for a candlelight tour of the Historic Fort Scott.  It was well worth the price of admission.  Watching reenactments by candlelight was so real.  I hope you enjoy the sites I caught on my phone and be sure to check out their Facebook Page as well.

 

A Kansas Farm Mom

Fall River Free BBQ a Small Town Tradition

 

What would make people wait in a line over a block long on a small town Main Street that is blocked off to traffic?

 

 What would make guys work to dig a hole in the ground on a cool September Saturday?

 

 Where could this much meat be headed?

 

 The meat was headed to that hole in the ground where it is cooked to absolute perfection and has been for 50 years.  The Fall River Free BBQ has been held for 50 years in the small town of Fall River, Kansas right in the heart of the Flint Hills.  The small town does not have many businesses left in town unless you count the Flint Oak Hunting Club a few miles outside of town.  Cell service is spotty at best, but every year hundred come to eat a good meal, buy a few raffle tickets, maybe play a game or two and see old friends.

 

 If you want to see what small town America was/is like, then you really should make the drive to Fall River the third Saturday in September just off of 400 Highway.  Volunteers do everything from the cooking and set up to the cleanup afterwards.  They have a few laughs, but they also work really hard.

 The menu has ALWAYS included smoked meat, loose meat sandwiches, white bread, ham and beans, potato chips, pickles and iced tea or water. 

 The piece de resistance is the BBQ sauce.  I am not kidding.  There is no BBQ sauce anywhere that I have tried that tastes anything like it.  If you love it as much as I do, stick around until the end and you can buy some of the leftovers.  I haven't been given the recipe, but I have been told the special ingredient is red hot candies.

 As kids we always went to the Fall River BBQ.  My dad's birthday happened to line up perfectly with it and that is where he always wanted to go eat.  It probably helped that he could pay whatever he wanted for the food.  Did I mention this truly is a free BBQ?  You can donate whatever you feel you can afford and no one judges.  There are collection jars at the end of the tables that you can slip your donation into.  The cost of the BBQ is at least $10000 depending on the price of beef.

And there is the Sr. Citizens/Handicapped serving line. Kids can volunteer to help serve those who can't or shouldn't wait in line. Their only reward is a fun size candy bar purchased by Miss Jackie, and they get to fill their plates in that line once all seniors, etc. are served.  You might also notice that Miss Ruthie (in the green) probably should have been one of those being served, but is instead helping out!  I miss her.  She was one of my Grandma's best friends.

 That is a whole lot of beans!!!!!!!

 If you are looking for something to do this weekend, be sure to check out the Fall River Free BBQ.  Serving starts at 6:00 pm on Main Street, but there are activities planned all day starting with breakfast and 7 am and ending with fireworks at 9 pm.

What is your favorite small town festival?

A special thanks to my friend Kimber for sharing her pictures with me, so I could do this post.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Hidden Geology Museum in the Hills of Kansas

As most of you know, I have a rock hound in my house.  He is always looking for new rocks.  Especially ones he can polish and make jewelry out of.  If you have someone who likes rocks, fossils or minerals, I found a gem of a museum right in the middle of Kansas that is absolutely FREE! 

Located on the campus of Emporia State University just a few short blocks from Interstate 35.  I have heard about the Johnston Geology Museum several times, but wasn’t sure of the hours.  Apparently, as long as the building is unlocked you can visit, which means school is in session.

The fossil displays were amazing to my little rock hounds.  They had a new list of fossils they wanted to find in the area.  It also gave them more of an idea of what kids of sea once covered where we now live.

We also enjoyed seeing all the different rocks and minerals that could be found in the area.  Some were found in Oklahoma, but most in Kansas. 

Unfortunately, the geology professor was out of the country when we visited, but we plan to go back sometime and talk with her.  Everyone on the campus was super friendly (like typical Kansans) and answered any questions we had.

If you are driving diagonal across Kansas, I encourage you to stop and let the kids out of the car at a FREE place and give them a bit of Kansas ancient history.  Where are your favorite free places to stop when traveling with kids?  Is there a hidden gem in your area that I should know about?  Tell me!  You never know which direction we will go on vacation next year.  Don't forget Hays is home to the Sternberg Museum which is well worth the admission price.

PS I have also heard there is a free zoo in Emporia as well, but I haven’t checked it out yet.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

 Check out the rest of my 30 days of Blogging and the other farm bloggers joining me.

Fun Friday Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

The boys and I took off for a little bit this afternoon to visit our local Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze ran by some of our fellow farmer friends.  It is located north of Independence, Kansas.  If you are looking for a day trip to the area, they aren't far from the Little House on the Prairie site.

We even picked up a little guy that happens to live at the pumpkin patch to go along with us to find pumpkins.  He fits well with my boys don't you think?

The pumpkin patch was a great place for the boys to run off energy after school.

They finally found just the pumpkin they were looking for.

It was a little bigger than my blonde headed helpers could manage, so I had to help them out.

And they were off again...

Did I mention that the Reichenberger's are full time farmers as well?
I love this picture with their farm in the background.

The boys made sure we covered the entire pumpkin patch.  They even found the part of the patch with the gourds...which I love.  They didn't have a good crop of the miniature pumpkins, but they did have some other cool gourds to check out.

Of course there was the corn maze to go through, but we decided to come back on a cooler day with dad. 

It was over 85* and thunderstorms were on the horizon.  We didn't want to be stuck in there with rain coming.

Getting inside the maze can really make you wonder if you will ever find your way out again.

I love the old tractors that are on display at the entrance of the corn maze.

And I love the details, too. :)

Of, course they have a place to get your picture taken.

My boys say one of their favorite things is the grain bin.  Inside (after you take your shoes off) the kids can play in the corn like a big sand box...or snow pile as my oldest thought he needed to make corn angels.

One of the unique items is the pumpkin chuckin Trebuchet.

Marty told me that if they had taken this one to the world championship in Delaware (like Flat Aggie learned about) last year they would have place 9th.  This thing really can sling a pumpkin.

They have some pretty neat stuff in the small gift area that they have including some yummy Louisburg apple cider products.

This was one of my favorite decorations I found on the shelves.

The family also rents the patch out for parties complete with fire pits to cook your own S'mores.

The boys and I had a great time just spending time together and taking a little time to relax and enjoy the outside at someone else's farm.  There is always something we have to do at our place, so it was nice to not have to worry about feeding or getting to the field.

I hope you take time to slow down with your family and go enjoy a pumpkin patch near you.  If you do visit the Reichenberger's remember they are a family farm, they are still taking care of cattle, planting wheat and harvesting soybeans while keeping the pumpkin patch going.  Be sure to tell them that I sent you!

-A Kansas Farm Mom