My Favorite Kansas Places Are…
Lake Scott State Park and the Arikaree Breaks The two places that have stuck with me on my exploration of the state (I’m going to every courthouse in Kansas) are Lake Scott State Park and the Arikaree Breaks! Without the “8 Wonders of Kansas” project by the Kansas Sampler Foundation I would never have heard of these areas! Both are areas that I would have never expected to see in Kansas! But at Lake Scott State Park you drop out of the Kansas wheat fields into a beautiful canyon with trees and lake that is just gorgeous, then when you drive out and look back you cannot see anything except wheat fields! It’s the same for Arikaree Breaks, the canyons and whole area is gorgeous and not something you expect to see in Kansas! Carol Ann Carley | Kansas City, Kan. | Explorer #5097 Our Favorite Kansas Place Is…
St. Philippine Duchesne Park and Shrine Our favorite place to visit in Kansas, and one we think is different from all others, is the St. Philippine Duchesne park and shrine near Centerville. The 20-acre site combines history, religion, education and recreation in a lovely natural setting. We find it a place of inspiration, reflection and quiet. The actual site of the Jesuit St. Mary's Mission, this park at Sugar Creek was the stopping point for members of the Pottawatomi Indian tribe who had been force-marched from their homes in Indiana as part of the Indian Removal Act of 1837. Their 1838 route was called the "Trail of Death" because of the numbers who died and were abandoned during their 61-day journey. Many more died of smallpox during their years at the mission. Sister Rose Philippine Duchesne, a 72-year-old French immigrant, came to the mission with others of the Order of the Sacred Heart to minister to the Indians there. Elderly and weak, unable to learn the native language, she nursed the sick and prayed for their wellbeing. She was known as "the woman who prays always." She was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church in 1888, and was the first saint to have lived on Kansas soil. The shrine tells her story and that of the Pottawatomi who lived there. It contains an altar, memorial signs, nature trails and a Way of the Cross as well as a picnic area. It is located in Linn County, west of Highways 69 and 7 and east of Highway 59 and can be reached only by "doing dirt" on gravel road W1525. Margaret and Walt Hays | Osawatomie, Kan. | Kansas Explorer #569
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