I wish I had more time to explore Wichita but its midday and I am still heading to Cimarron. Their koi fish are real beggars and where the path parallels their waterways they will follow you. I did drive through Wichita to stop at the Botanical Gardens which was also recommended. Lots more Scissor-tailed along the route and I am happy to stop and watch. Not sure who owns it but it is mostly open range. It is a beautiful landscape and a shame there is no park here. Here the monotonous flat crop lands give over to grassy bluffs red outcrops where ever the underlay rock is visable. Further southeast of Wichita there is a scenic road that loops through it. Richard, working in the shop, set me up for my next adventure recommending I drive through the Gypsum Hills. Restored prairie at Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita Some of hidden paths follow old fence rows that look like a scene from a story book. The center and gift shop were open so i was able to introduce myself for once in person. Just outside Wichita it is popular with city folk getting their exercise on the numerous pathways with clumps of trees and old fence rows and riparian thickets breaking up restored prairie with plenty of flowers in bloom. Yesterday i covered a lot of ground starting with the Great Plains Nature Center, being a customer for a number of years, has been on my wish list to visit. The river itself stays mostly dry but there is mud and puddles from recent rains. Cimarron is much dryer and marks there transition into short grass prairie. No more Scissor-tailed flycatchers however. Mostly the usual crowd i have become acquainted with, orchard orioles and red-headed woodpeckers eastern kingbirds and a mockingbird keeping a close watch. I spent Wednesday night in the Cimarron National Grasslands in a campsite surrounded by small ponds and of course there where birds.
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