The Ramble - New York City, NY

After passing through Strawberry Fields, we moved on to the Ramble. As opposed to the manicured lawns and artfully gardened plots in other parts of Central Park, the Ramble is a natural landscape. It is 38-acre woodland respite that is home to some of Central Park's most famous attractions including: Belvedere Castle, Lower Bethesda Terrace, the Boathouse, and Bow Bridge (which I have previously mentioned as one of my top five most romantic places).

The Ramble was an integral part of Central Park's original design. It was created to be a "natural garden" that incorporates Manhattan bedrock, open glades an artificial stream, and intricate plantings of both native and non-native trees (Fun Fact: The Ramble is now mostly dominated by black cherry and black locust trees because they aggressively self-seed.) In the Ramble, it is easy to forget you are in New York City. As we walked along the dirt paths that are uneven with stones and fallen branches, I felt like was a kid again in the woods of Oklahoma. Lost among the trees and brush and rocky outcrops, it's hard for me to imagine that someone actually planted and designed it all. Nothing about it seems intentional. It is more like it all just rose up from the earth and simply is as all nature simply is.

The Ramble also has a slightly more illicit history. Throughout the twentieth century, the Ramble was a clandestine place for male lovers to meet. Men would go to the Ramble to meet other men and…enjoy the love that dare not speak its name. (Please note I’m trying to find really, really tactful ways to say these things. So bear with me and I promise to keep Wilde references to a minimum). As times have changed and society become more tolerant, the Ramble has become more popular for nature hikes than secret rendezvouses. But it retains its status as a New York gay icon, or at least the New York gay icon pre-dating Christopher Street.

Our visit to the Ramble was without the drama of illicit love affairs. No, we were simply a group of about 30 people dressed in wedding attire traipsing through the brush along the stony dirt paths. Although we did have some drama.

As we were walking through the Ramble, a very surprising thing happened. Someone tripped and fell. Well, that’s not really the surprising part. The surprising part is that it wasn't me. I have an impressive ability to hurt myself in random accidents. This includes tripping, slipping, falling, and on one occasion I split my finger open on a spoon (although in my defense it was a particularly sharp spoon). When we first realized someone had fallen, Joel turned around expecting to find me face down in the dirt. I also expected to find myself face down in the dirt. But to our infinite shock and amazement, I was upright and at no point fell or injured myself on our ramble through the Ramble.

Strawberry Fields Memorial - New York City, NY

After the wedding in Wagner Cove, we paraded through Central Park accompanied by the accordion player. Our first stop was the Strawberry Fields, a memorial to John Lennon. The Strawberry Fields Memorial was designed by Bruce Kelly, the chief landscape architect for the Central Park Conservancy. It was dedicated on what would have been Lennon's 45th birthday - October 9, 1985 - by New York Mayor Ed Koch and Yoko Ono, John Lennon's widow. It was named for Lennon's song "Strawberry Fields Forever."

The original Strawberry Fields are located in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool, England. Lennon grew up near Strawberry Fields and as a child he would enjoy a garden party held there every summer. The Strawberry Fields Memorial was built in Central Park West at West 72nd Street, across from the Dakota Apartments, where Lennon had lived in his later years and where he was murdered. The focal point of the Strawberry Fields Memorial is the Imagine mosaic. The mosaic is surrounded by open lawns and rock outcroppings, bounded in by shrubs, treesm and woodland slopes.

The area is designated as a quiet zone, but it is rarely quiet. When we were there, some people were quietly lying on the lawns either reflecting or reading or just enjoying the sunshine. But around the Imagine mosaic, there was a large group of people and they were not quiet. There were tables set up where artisans and craftsmen sold their work, many of them celebrating the life and work of John Lennon. Many people are also there to pay homage to Lennon. I saw roses, candles, works of art, and even a hand-made Lennon doll placed on the Imagine memorial as people circled around and played music. These impromptu memorials are common and often attended by famous musicians and admirers of Jonn Lennon, including Jerry Garcia and George Harrison.

Japanese Friendship Garden - Lawrence, KS

On a lovely day, there's nothing better to do in Lawrence than take a walk downtown on Massachusetts Street. Along the way, I happened to see a group of women dressed in kimonos at the Japanese Friendship Garden raising money for the survivors of the tragedies in Japan. There was a drummer performing and women were taking pictures of passers-by posing in kimonos. I passed (mostly because I'm not fond of having my picture taken) but did enjoy the opportunity to see a beautiful natural oasis in downtown Lawrence.

The Japanese Friendship Garden represents the cultural ties with Hiratsuka and Lawrence. It was built to honor the 10 year anniversary of Lawrence's relationship with its sister city, Hiratsuka, Japan. Hiratsuka sent representatives to Lawrence to help design, plan and work on the project. Hiratsuka shipped two major pieces from Japan, a lantern and a 15' stone tower to be displayed in the garden. Approximately 50 delegates from Hiratsuka, including Mayor Itsuo Yoshino and nine other city officials, traveled to Lawrence to attend the dedication ceremony, which was held on October 26, 2000.

The natural flora and fauna of the garden are inspired by our sister city: Japanese maples, yoshino cherry trees, yews, bamboo, juniper, and mugho pines as well as azaleas, spirea, viburnum, Siberian iris, and peonies. With the interesting artwork, beautiful landscaping, and quiet, shady gazebo this is a lovely downtown Lawrence oasis to wander for a moment or to relax and enjoy for an entire sunny afternoon.

Total Time Traveled: 15 minutes

Total Distance Traveled: 4.5 miles

Soundtrack: 102.1 FM

Mill Creek Park - Kansas City, MO

Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri is a popular but busy location. Full of trendy stores and restaurants, there is always a crowd shopping, eating, or just taking a stroll down the street and taking in some beautiful sites. But just a stone's throw away from the Plaza is a beautiful, natural respite from the bustling city - Mill Creek Park.

The sprawling, grassy landscape is a beautiful open green space. As someone who has lived in a large city for several years, I can tell you that the smell of grass, the beauty of trees, and the site of wide, open greenery offers a comfort to the soul that can be hard to come by in the urban cityscape.

The open space of the park appeals to groups for games, outdoor gatherings, fundraising events, and weddings. The main body of the park is circled by an trail, a little over a mile long, that has become popular with joggers. It has especially become popular with joggers training for the 5k, apparently a double lap will really help you prepare for the long run. For those with children, there is some playground equipment. But honestly, you don't need a jungle gym for Mill Creek Park. You really just need a picnic basket, a frisbee, a few friends, and maybe a dog (although the dog will have to stay on a leash according to park rules). One a nice day in the Plaza, Mill Creek Park is great place to take in a breath of nature and escape from the bustle of the city.

Mill Creek Park is also home to the JC Nichols Memorial Fountain, the most photographed and most famous fountain in Kansas City, the City of Fountains. But, I've already told you about that!

Total Time Traveled: 2 hours

Total Distance Traveled: 86 miles

Soundtrack: "Jukebox" Cat Power

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – Strong City, KS

Most of my posts have focused on roadside attractions in towns both large and small. But I can’t neglect the natural beauty that is so evident when driving on the open road in Kansas. Many people have the pre-conceived notion that the Kansas landscape is nothing but flat wheat fields as far as the eye can see. But while we have plenty of wheat fields, the state is full of beautiful natural wonders. Perhaps the most majestic are the Flint Hills and at their heart – the last great stretch of prairie in the country.

At the heart of the Hills is the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County, the only preserve in the National Park system dedicated to grassland. Tallgrass prairie once covered 140 million acres but now only 4% is left and almost all of it is in the Kansas Tallgrass Prairie Natural Preserve. The preserve is home to 500 species of plants, nearly 150 species of birds, 39 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 31 species of mammals. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve also honors Kansas history with the Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch. There, you can tour the historic buildings that made prairie life possible in the 19th century – including, the spring room, the curing room, the ice house, the ranch house, and others.

To get to the preserve, I first drive west from Lawrence until I start to see the majestic Flint Hills from the flat, empty fields and then its two miles north of Strong City on K-177. To many, a large plot of grass may seem rather boring. But try living in Chicago for a few years, surrounded by concrete below you and steel above you. No matter how amazing the architecture may be, you are still living in man-made contraption that has swept away all of nature’s wonders to make room for the latest skyscraper.

Now stand in the Flint Hills and see the prairie in all of its luscious greens stretch out before you. The green ocean stretches out over the hills, seeming to rise and fall in green waves, as the clear, cobalt blue sky promises eternity. There is nothing to impede your vision. Only open land and open sky as far as the eye can see. It is freedom. Perfect freedom as nature intended.

These hills have inspired many tributes – such as Verlyn Klinkenborg’s article “Splendor in the Grass” for National Geographic. But there is more to the nature preserve then just grass. But perhaps the only person who comes close to capturing the awe-inspiring majesty of the prairie is William Least Heat-Moon when he said:

Whatever else prairie is – grass, sky, wind – it is most of all a paradigm of infinity, a clearing full of many things except boundaries, and its power comes from its apparent limitlessness

Total Time Traveled: 3.5 hours

Total Distance Traveled: 200 miles

Soundtrack: "Middle Cyclone" and "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" Neko Case

Signpost Image from Kansas Travel and Tourism.

Aerial Image from The Nature Conservancy.

Weaver’s Window – Lawrence, KS

It may not be a permanent roadside attraction, but if you picked up the Lawrence Journal World on Tuesday morning and read the headline, then you know the Weaver’s display window at 9th and Massachusetts is certainly a strange sight at the moment. At about 7:30am on Monday, a deer crashed through the Weaver’s window. That’s right. A deer.

According to the Lawrence Journal-World, a six point buck was making a mad dash down Downtown Lawrence’s main street, when it seems he was distracted by the women’s lingerie in Weaver’s window. Whether it was the brassieres or panties that caught his attention, we may never know but next thing you know he was crashing through the glass and taking out the sales display.

Apparently not content with this bit of destruction, the buck continued to run through Lawrence. He made it about nine more blocks to 8th and Alabama where he hung around a fenced back yard for about 20 minutes. That’s where authorities caught up with him. The deer was bleeding from the glass and seems to have broken one of his antlers, but despite his injuries he wasn’t going to go quietly. The deer escaped and took off north. The authorities decided not to pursue because it was apparent the deer posed no more threat to anyone and was not too badly hurt.

It is not uncommon to see wild animals in Kansas, even in the more populated areas. Coyotes make a regular appearance around my parents’ home in Leawood. Last year, I had to stop in the middle of the road to make way for a young coyote playing in the street. But this may be the strangest animal encounter I’ve heard of since I moved to Kansas.

Photo from the Lawrence Journal-World.

Guest Post: Kauffman Memorial Gardens - Kansas City, MO

Today I have a guest post by the illustrious blogger May Evans of May's Machete! On her blog, the beautiful and brilliant geeky goddess May shares her thoughts on the world and her personal life. (Fair warning: May's blog is for adult audiences. You have been warned.) A special thanks to May for her amazing work! And I encourage everyone to check out her wonderful blog!

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One of the places tourists often go in Kansas City (MO) is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. A slightly-less well, known, but beautiful jewel located just across the street from the museum is the Kauffman Memorial Gardens. Gifted to Kansas City by Ewing and Muriel Kauffman, this two-acre garden now has has 65,000 visitors annually, and it's no wonder why! The place is positively bursting with plant life and busy insects taking advantage of the feast!

One of the things my boyfriend and I were most impressed with was the massive array of bugs you could see, busily pollinating all the different types of flowers. If you're scared of insects, this is the perfect place to go because they're so distracted with the flowers that you can eyeball them up close without them ever evening noticing. I was amazed at the number of bees present, but we also saw crickets, grasshoppers, several types of moths, two types of butterflies (including a lovely Monarch), and even one bug that looked like a hybrid dragonfly-shrimp-hummingbird... We're still not convinced that bug isn't wasn't an alien because it looked too otherworldly to even be real!

The garden features 7,000 plants, with more than 300 varieties that include vintage and modern perennials, annuals, shrubs, bulbs and trees. The flowers ranged from wildflower varieties to more formal flowers like roses. The colors and types were mixed and matched in an innumerable amount of beds that wandered around pathways so that at any point in the garden, you could only see about one-fourth of it.

Another delightful feature of the garden were several fountains. The largest seemed to be popular for wedding photos, because we saw four different wedding parties lined up there for snapshots.

My favorite fountain was the one with three dancing girl statues.

Each turn of the path brought something new and surprising into view, but I have to say I was the most surprised by finding the graves of Ewing and Murial Kauffman within the garden walls! The area was flanked by benches, so I guess if you wanted to you could sit and meditate on how quickly life passes and all that... I personally chose to move on and spend my attention on the amazing life all around us.

The Kauffman Memorial Garden is located at 4800 Rockhill Road and is free to the public. It's open from 8 AM to dusk. I suggest you go there now while all the flowers are in bloom, before autumn and winter start to take a bite out of the amazing color.

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A special thanks again to the lovely May! Now go check out her blog May's Machete!