A Hike on the Kansas Tallgrass Prairie

Here we are at the Preserve in Strong City, KS.

This is the huge barn / visitor's center:

A beautiful 1881 manor on the Preserve property, with tours and a gift shop:

After meeting with the Sierra Club group, we struck out in small groups. The preserve is large enough that everyone was well spread-out, making for a personal experience. Perfect! And speaking of perfect, the storm clouds lifted and the temperature was in the low 60s. (Since the prairie has no shade, you wouldn't want it to be much warmer! And I have the sunburn to prove it.) There were some rolling hills, but by and large this is flat country. There are periodic controlled burns to ensure the health of the land, and most of the paths were paved with dirt & gravel.
Within 20 minutes, we spotted the 13-head bison herd. These bison were reintroduced to the Prairie from South Dakota, and they share the vast pastures with cattle.
Due to the recent burning and the hungry animals, there weren't many flowers, but the ones that remained were nice!

Who do you see in this photo?

I nearly stepped on this little horned lizard (aka "horny toad") because his camouflage was so good! He darted out of the way at the last second, and I was able to get a couple photos of him before he scurried off, and before I was distracted by bigger critters...

We rounded a bend, climbed an incline, and had a spectacular view of the sky and the Prairie:

As we rounded the hill, we got a look at some of the cattle. And they got a good look at us, too!

That was shortly before another hiker spooked them & they all took off running:

Hey, what's that in the distance? A rival hiker gang??

No... it was a large herd of cattle... and they were fast* approaching! (*Pretty fast, by a cow's standards.)

Closer, closer... every time we turned around they were gaining on us...

So I kneeled in the grass to take some photos, and after sizing me up carefully, they decided I wasn't a danger & they let their curiosity get the best of them:

So glad I chose TURKEY for lunch—that big guy is giving me the eye!

They followed us for some time, then finally veered off in another direction. Possibly to find some new hikers to harass. I hear cattle can smell fear.
We left the Prairie & walked up the road to the old one-room schoolhouse from 1882 (and used through 1970):

Ahh, I still fit into the tiny desks. What a surprise.

(Kelly does too.)

A curious horse in a pasture across the street saw us walking up to the school and raced up to the fence, then followed us. I decided to offer up my apple as a treat.

She refused my apple (so much for being related to the Horse Whisperer!),

but she enjoyed all the attention! And we enjoyed our 6-mile walk on the Prairie.