Brick Road Photo: 100 Mile Capture Kansas

The 100 Mile Capture in Kansas

Not much to see in Kansas???? That's what I thought, but when you are looking, I mean really looking you find the coolest things and places.

Remember where we started?
We have seen A LOT of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado....
7 states, 14 days, 3485.4 miles and  65 hours 15 minutes in the car!  We have seen tons of family and beautiful scenery, and more than a few quirky things a long the way. Hope you enjoy our road trip 100 miles at a time.   Want to see how it all started? click here 100 Mile Capture

Mile 2800 found us in Oakley, Kansas at non other than Prairie Dog Town!

Prairie Dog Town's flag-topped red billboards are recurring beacons on west Kansas highways. They promise: "Pet the Baby Pig," "Live Rattlesnakes," "See The Largest Prairie Dog In The World," "Live 5-Legged Cow," "See the Live 6-Legged Steer," "Russian Wild Boar," "8,000 lb. Prairie Dog," and "Roscoe The Miniature Donkey". We have driven down I70 numerous times and always get a laugh out of the barrage of signs, "see 5 States from our tower" "worlds largest ball of string"   "worlds largest prairie dog"  these people obviously have A LOT of time on their hands! BUT seriously, if I had to describe Kansas in one word, that word would be FLAT! All of these road side signs are there to break up the monotony of the absolute nothingness that is I70 in West Kansas.

Mile 2900 Out in the middle of Kansas, if you look across the plains from I70 you will see a huge church. Every trip we make to Colorado from Texas we drive by this and always say "one day we should stop and see what that is" WELL...since our 100 mile mark was about 11 miles away we turned off the interstate drove 10 miles to the very small town of Victoria, Kansas and found the Cathedral of the Plains, St Fidelis Church and Cemetery.

The present church was begun in 1908 and was completed in 1911. The exterior is constructed of native limestone, quarried seven miles south of Victoria. It was judged necessary that each communicant 12 years and older be assessed the sum of $45 yearly and to deliver 6 wagon loads of stone to the building site. In large families, such as were characteristic of the settlers, the father and his older sons hauled as many as 70 and 80 wagon loads of stone.
This massive Romanesque structure stands in the form of a cross facing to the west. Its majestic towers stand on the west end of the church. On the façade, above the 13 foot in diameter round rose window a statue of St. Fidelis, the patron saint of the church stands in a niche in the wall as if to keep watch. The church is 220 feet long including the steps. 110 feet wide at the transepts, and 75 feet high at the nave. Its ceiling is 44 feet high above the floor level. The seating capacity is 1,100. The north and south side walls stand 27 feet high.
It is currently listed as one of the 8th wonders of Kansas
http://stfidelischurch.com/History/StFidelisChurch/tabid/5200/Default.aspx

Some amazing information concerning this stunning piece of architecture can be found here

St. Fidelis Cemetery in Victoria, Kansas is worth a special visit to see the unusual "Volga" iron crosses. The crosses were part of the ethnic heritage of the German speaking people from the Volga River area of south Russia who settled this part of Kansas

If you would like to see more of this beautiful historic cemetery you can click on the photos or go to this link http://brickroadphoto.smugmug.com/History/Cemeteries/St-Fidelis-Cemetery-Victoria
Mile 3000 ~ A rest area somewhere in Kansas
This is one of the blades from the big wind turbines you see all over Kansas. HUGE!