The fifth day of the trip takes us from Wilson Reservoir to the Great Bend Sand Prairie in south-central Kansas. This day is a nice overall blend of the course because we travel from one geomorphic region (the Smoky Hills) to another (the Arkansas River Lowlands). Very different landscapes.
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On the way to Great Bend, we stop in SE Russell County to check out a "mystery spot". I'll just leave it at that.
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After working at the mystery spot for a couple of hours, we head south toward Great Bend. This is the Kansas everyone expects to see. Wide open spaces!
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A quick stop at the Arkansas River. The Arkansas is cool because it originates in the Rocky Mountains before it flows east across the Plains. It's interesting to look at Rocky Mountain sediments halfway across Kansas.
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The Great Bend Sand Prairie is an interesting place. Nice sand dunes here, which are late Holocene in age for the most part. I spent 3 years working in this area for my Ph.D dissertation.
After a few hours on the sand prairie, we head back north and east, across the Arkansas River again, toward Ellsworth. Great little town Ellsworth, which happens to be home to my aunt and uncle. For the past few trips they've been kind enough to host us for an awesome cookout on their nice pasture, which overlooks some very nice country.
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