I have a passion for ghost towns and cemeteries. 

I've traveled to many in my short time on Earth. Dunlap's black settlement and its cemetery may be my favorite.

I first went to Dunlap in 2001 0r 2002 for another newspaper to write a story of its history. Once there, I visited with a couple of residents, who knew the history of this former exoduster settlement.

Dunlap was started as a primarily white community in the 1870s. Pap Singleton found land cheap in the area, and started his colony only a few years later.

All that remains in the broken-down Baptist Church and the cemetery -- which is located about a half-mile down the road from the "white" cemetery. 

Instead the church is the remains of a pew and a piano. A sign does say posted, keep out. I assume it is on private property. 

The cemetery, however, is public. Someone keeps it well maintained, and a few of the graves still had fresh flowers from Memorial Day. 

The other ghost towns are also intriguing, and many include cemeteries. Diamond Creek road, which leads to the Santa Fe Trail stop of Diamond Springs, as a few dilapidated buildings and a cemetery. The road itself is a scenic drive, and those who know a little of its history will pass two ghost town sites before hitting Diamond Springs. A sign marks the former town of Hymer.

The Kaw of Council Grove

About a half decade ago, I met with the Kaw on the hill where the monument to an unnamed Indian sits.

Their idea was intriguing-- to turn their former home into a historic place -- a learning center and nature trail that could be a potential draw for the Council Grove area.

It's here the Kaw Indians lived for more than 25 years, as well as a vice president. The monument is visible from the paved county road - sitting high on a hill in the middle of a stretch of tallgrass prairie that waves with the stiff Kansas breeze.

Council Grove already is deep in Native American history. Each year, they have a festival honoring the last Kaw Indian chief. A trail and heritage park on an old reservation would just add to the town's story.

About a year later, I attended their ceremony, dedicating the Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park and the future site of the Kanza Heritage Trail.

I hadn't been back since until I went for a one-tank trip. I figured it would be more developed, but to my surprise, not much had changed.

There were no signs leading to the site. I found it easily, although I stopped at the gas station to see which road to take, and then had to look for the monument, which sticks out fairly well on the hill.

Pulling up to it, you might think you are going to wander on private property. And there isn't much parking. I recommend parking at the stone house then walking down the dirt road to the entrance.

I didn't walk far on the trail, although I'd like to go back and do so someday. Storm clouds darkened the sky. For some reason, I feared being alone, and being bit by a snake hiding under one of those flint rocks.

And no cars drove by this patch of Flint Hills. I was in the middle of nowhere.

Still, it is a good trip. I recommend taking a walk along the Kanza Heritage Trail, past the monument, ruins of huts and a reconstructed earth lodge.

Rocks, Rocks and more rocks

Rock City is just that, a bunch of rocks.

I'll admit I probably wouldn't make the trip without the one-tank trip series. And I definitely won't make it twice.

I'm just not that into rocks.

It costs $3 to see a bunch of rocks, if you're an adult. It's 50 cents for children.
They say the money goes to upkeep and the wages of an employee.

But I wouldn't pay $3 to do this. I felt kind of bad for the girl who was there at the same time I was. She was traveling to Los Angeles to make a living, and shelled out $3 to see the rocks she thought were shaped like little houses.

If you're into climbing rocks, or reading the names on the rocks, well, it might be up your alley. There are more than 200 spherical oddities across the area of two football fields. You can climb on them, picnic on them and even carve a profession of love to your significant other on them.

I don't want to bash rock city. It's just not for me.

Zoo story

June 1, 2008

Here, the rarest of animals do dwell
But you can find them, including an orangutan and exotic rhinos, with little effort.

Amy Bickel
The Hutchinson News
abickel@hutchnews.com

SALINA - Robbie likes women. Especially blondes. Sometimes he's shy around them. Other times, he shows off a bit.

And if the more than 160-pound orangutan could talk, he'd tell you it is human-watching season at the Rolling Hills Zoo.

Other animals, too, have come to expect that each year, with the end of the slow winter season at the zoo, humans will come in big quantities, just like the tulips that are blooming. They come to see Robbie, along with the more than 100 species that live on this 65-acre facility.

Drive a few miles west of Salina on Interstate 70. Turn off onto a county road that takes you through the small ghost town of Hedville. Here, among all places, a zoo is located amid a parcel of Kansas prairie.

It's here that Robbie lives, as well as some of the rarest animals of the world. Two white rhinos and an Indian rhino are the only ones in Kansas, and while both are endangered, only a few thousand Indian rhinos survive in the wild. Meanwhile, fewer than 5,000 snow leopards and just 500 to 1,500 Bactrian camels remain in their native range.

Robbie, too, is endangered, with less than 5,000 of his kind remaining in the wild, said Vickee Spicer, director of development and marketing at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure.

How it started

The zoo opened in 1999, thanks to a donation by Salina businessman Charlie Walker.

In the 1980s, Walker would invite children to his nearby ranch to see the animals, which included llamas, black bear cubs and a lioness. The zoo grew out of his collection.

"It was so popular, he realized there was a need in this area for a zoo," Spicer said.

He donated the land and some buildings for a park. The Rolling Hills Zoo officially opened in 1999.

Since then, the zoo has grown tremendously. Officials added a 64,000-square-foot museum a few years ago, which allows visitors to journey around the world within the museum, viewing exhibits portraying Africa, North America, the rainforest, the Far East and the Middle East.

The museum includes more than 500 full-mount taxidermy animals, as well as movable lifelike animals.

Lots to do, see

On this day, it's the animals that most are out to see. A lion prowls around its cage and black swans bask by the waters. A tiger curls up on a platform and kangaroos rest in tall grass.

Monkeys play on islands, and a pregnant llama will soon give birth.

But it was a black bear that fascinated 9-year-old Addelin. She crawled up through a pop-up display in the middle of the bear pen to get a closer look at the timid creature.

Her grandfather, Jim Smith of Hesston, had taken Addelin, her brother and sister to the zoo, along with Mary Lee Wiens, also of Hesston, and her two grandchildren. They wanted to do something with their grandchildren before the summer became too busy, Smith said.

"We've just gotten started," Smith said, although noting their next stop would be the zoo restaurant.

A gas tank away

An exotic trip to Africa might be a little too expensive this year, and high gasoline prices make a quick excursion to the see wildlife in Colorado, Wyoming or other nearby states more expensive.

So Spicer and others are hoping residents instead will turn to their own backyards. Put the Rolling Hills Zoo on a list of one-day excursions, she said. A day at the zoo seems to make everyone happy, even the animals. It's a first-rate place to commune with critters, she said.

"We're all crossing our fingers, hoping more people will take trips that are just a gas tank away," she said.