Monument Rock - Trip #2

While my family was all together last week we headed up to Monument Rock again. In case you are interested Monument Rock, sometimes called the Chalk Pyramids, are between Scott City and Garden City, Kansas. To get there you have to drive about 5 miles off the highway on dirt roads. Dirt, not gravel...yes there is a difference.  DR had to work but Mountain Man was able to spend a couple days with us too. Mountain Man, DR, the kids and I had all been up to the rocks back in October. It had been a great, dirty visit. I was sure the kids had plenty of spare clothes in the car. Thank goodness I did because NW Kansas had been rained on! So much rain in fact there was plenty of it standing in the ditches. I don't think I've seen standing water since I left Indiana. We turned onto a road of mud. Thank goodness my mom was driving and had experience handling slimy roads because my car was fish tailing for a mile! 

Prairie Mother (that's me), my sister in law Melinda Sue, my brothers John Deere and Mountain Man and Dad. In front is Yip, Mom, Yap, and Yahoo in the very front. 

But we made it and even took a nice family photo. Aren't those some beautiful muddy knees on my kids? 

I love visiting the rocks. They are one of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen. As you look at the rocks, you'd imagine they'd be hard like limestone but they are more the consistency of chalk or dried mud. With the rain that day the rocks were very wet and we could easily break off chunks in our hands. There was plenty of sticky white mud for my kids to play in. (Yay for spare clothes) The boys did find some rocks that looked like shell fossils so I imagine, with my limited scientific experience, that the rocks must have been formed by sediment under the ocean millions of years ago.

No matter how the rocks came to be they are sure fun to climb! Mountain Man, Yap and I got all the way to the top of these. 

Mom, Dad, my brother John Deere and his wife Melinda Sue came from Indiana this week while my other brother Mountain Man moved to Oklahoma from Kansas on Monday and then drove back on Tuesday to spend part of the week with us. These three guys (my two brothers and Dad) hadn't been all together since Christmas. Boy, I could tell they had been missing one another. It was good for them all to have some guy time. Actually we split up in two vehicles driving all week; a car of girls and a car of boys. Yip and Yap were having a ball with all these guys around all week! However, Yahoo thinks her two uncles are the most wonderful men on the planet and wasn't impressed that she was stuck in the girl car...HA! 

These rocks are in the middle of the prairie and past the rocks you can see for miles. The view makes the presence of the rocks all the more odd. 

Yahoo and Melinda Sue, my favorite sister in law. I loved being in the girl car with MS though! 

We ended our day with a photo session (bring on the funny faces) using the new tripod and remote shutter release DR bought me for my camera. Thanks honey, it works great! 

We had a great week with family; I'll have more photos later! 

Photo Thursday - Fall Flower and Monument Rock

Yes, edited from original. Monument Rock in the background.

Monument Rock in Pastel

I'm really happy at the way this one turned out. In fact, I'm even considering getting it framed! Even though I didn't plan it, it just happened, I love the limited colors in this one. And look....no black!! Every time I pick up black I am reminded of an argument between the artists Gauguin and Van Gogh. Gauguin was strongly against the use of black at all while Van Gogh threw it in all over the place. There's your bit of art history trivia for the day!

Monument Rock, Middle of No Where, Kansas

This has quickly become one of my favorite pictures. 100% boy!

Over last weekend the gypsies and I loaded into the car for a two hour trek to Monument Rock. Monument Rock is basically a giant rock formation in the middle of the prairie right along the Sante Fe Trail. It was a popular stopping point for the SF Trail travelers because it marked roughly the halfway point of their trip.

We had a bit easier time getting there; straight north on US 83 then 7 miles east on a dirt road, cross two cattle guards and you are there. On our atlas Monument Rock was labeled Chalk Pyramids. What a sight it is!

Those two little figures are DR and my brother, who lives in northwest Kansas.

My brother needs a name...let's see....I think I'll call him Mountain Man. I could easily picture him tromping the Rockies with Jim Bridger.

Look! A family photo! I think that's the first we've had taken since last December.

This view was only half of the rock formations. I was telling Mountain Man how I missed the colors of fall but he replied, "Yeah, but check out this view. It's a tradeoff missing the fall leaves in Indiana but what a good tradeoff it is!" I agree! I love it out here.

Overall we spent about three hours at Monument Rock hiking, climbing, talking and eating out the back of the car. Cheetos, Yahoo's new favorite. She wasn't too impressed when her daddy tried to hide them!

I think DR enjoyed having another guy to talk to, he and Mountain Man spent the whold day together. I didn't notice some of these photos until later and how it seems as though the people are almost sitting on a flat vertical surface. The light was beautiful that day and made everything bright. I'm still playing with my new camera and learning to make it do what I want it to without "fixing" the images later, so none of these photos are edited. 

I love how dirty my kids get when we visit places like this. The dirt on kids and clothes will wash off but you can't get rid of a good childhood memory....like climbing a big old rock!  

Climbing was all Yip and Yap did all day. I took 300 pictures that day! Oh, how I wish I could share them all with you. The few posted here don't begin to do justice of the beauty and fun we found at Monument Rock.

There were little crevices everywhere for the kids to climb into. Of course whatever the boys did Yahoo thought she could do to. I have a feeling she will be my wild child. Not in a rebellious sort of way but I think she'll be a thrill seeker. She's not afraid of anything.

Oh, there's my Kansas sky! Beautiful isn't it?

In a few places we even found names carved into the rock. Some were hard to read and I wouldn't have a clue to how long they've been there but it's fun to think that a settler carved his name in the rock a hundred years ago.

I'm so glad Mountain Man found this place and invited us along. Really, he just wanted my camera to take pics. Yucca plant that he's messing with by the way. Those things are sharp!

Mountain Man is as much of a gypsy as we are if not more considering he's 21 and single! A road trip for him takes no more preparation than someone suggesting the idea. Hey Mountain Man, if we ever make it to Australia would you want to come along? Imagine the places we could find Down Under!