Hillsdale State Park - Paola, KS

 Hillsdale State Park - Paola, KS

We traveled across Kansas from Woodland Park, CO in 3 days.  We did not get to stop and see a lot on our way through the state.  I guess we will have to return to see what all we missed. During our two night stay, we were able to see a couple of things trip advisor considered to be top attractions.

Erected in 2001, the 24 X 32-foot Vincent van Gogh replica painting sits on an 80 foot easel weighing 40,000 lbs. The painting and easel are currently one of only three in the world. This was one of the main attractions in the city, according to trip advisor, so maybe we did not miss too terribly much.

Lisa and Karma were posing with the bronze buffaloes in our campground. This has been a crazy year for buffaloes in our national parks, mainly for some crazy people doing crazy things. There have been multiple buffalo attacks this year in several different parks. Typically, the attacks occurred when the person tried to get a selfie picture with them or tried to pet them.  The Park Rangers have tried to warn people that these are wild animals, but some folks just refuse to heed the advice and park rules. The park rules are not a secret, almost every overlook, road or trail head has signs posted saying not to interact with the wildlife. Some tourists in Yellowstone decided a newborn buffalo had been abandoned, so they put it in their van and took it to the Ranger Station.  The calf had to be destroyed because it was rejected when returned to the herd.  Some idiots deserve to be attacked. The "You might be a D.A." award should be given to some of  these folks.

The stop in Hillsdale was to visit with family.  We did not do any significant tourist activities while there. We were able to complete some coach repairs/chores that we needed to do. We actually enjoy having a down day every now and then to catch up and rest.  Mark got to play frisbee golf with Nick (brother), Cary (nephew), and several of Cary's friends on a course they built. Several different groups have rated it the best college frisbee golf course in the nation. They designed and built it on the agricultural farm that Cary runs.   We spent most of our time eating really well and visiting with our family.  While planning our adventure, we planned to visit each of Mark's brothers and many of his nieces, nephews and even a few cousins during our first year being nomads. We have one more brother to visit, and we will have accomplished our goal.