A Trip to Nowhere...Sort Of (Part 1)

Time for another work road-trip...this time it was to Greensburg, Kansas, for a few days and then onto Wichita, KS, for a couple more before heading home. If Greensburg sounds familiar to some of you, it may be because it is a small town that was, is, and will be in the news. The first time most of us heard of this town was after it was nearly obliterated by a tornado on Friday, May 4, 2007. The tornado that hit Greensburg has been rated as an EF-5 by the National Weather Service - the largest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale and the first in Kansas since the new scale was implemented. The twister was 1.7 miles wide. A storm of this magnitude was the first in 8 years in the US - the last was May 3rd of 1999 in central Oklahoma. The Greensburg tornado was on the ground for 22 miles non-stop and 30 minutes. Maximum winds were estimated at 205 mph and was the first fatal storm in southwest Kansas since 1967. The National Weather Service's office in Dodge City said it received 32 reports about 25 separate tornadoes in southwest and south-central Kansas from Friday evening through Sunday. Rather than just throw in the towel and give in, this small Kansas prairie town decided to not only rebuild but to move into the 21st century and beyond by building "green". They still have a LONG way to go but it was neat to see some of the things they're working on. A lot of businesses are still working out of temporary trailers (including where I was) but they did have a bit of excitement while I was there - the town's only stoplight was back up & running finally! To find out more about this 'green' town, go to their website: www.greensburgks.org

The day I drove to Greensburg was an absolutely beautiful day and not typical of this time of year...you would have thought it to almost be early spring rather than December! I snapped a few pics of the beautiful scenery and sky as I drove...one of my favorites is the mixture of past & present in the form of the old windmill in the foreground and the field of wind turbines behind it...pretty much describes that area as a whole. Speaking of windmills, I got some neat pictures of those too...I was pulling over on the roads here & there to get them!












As beautiful as my driving day was...well, the next day was the other extreme! Wind, very cold and a mini-blizzard! Gotta love it!




Luckily, it did warm up enough to melt the snow and allow me time to do what sight-seeing there was in the area I was in. Because Greensburg still has no lodging, I had to stay in a town about 30 miles away called Pratt, who has a claim to fame with their "Hot" & "Cold" water towers!



They also have a long tradition at the holidays called The Lemon Park Lights...it's a display of lights in a big park that you drive through to view them. It was really amazing! They've been doing this and adding/changing the displays for years!









As I continued to explore the small town with a storybook downtown and ornately decorated Victorian homes, I saw the most beautiful church so I had to snap a couple of shots of their stained glass windows...breathtaking!