Kansas is not all Flat! (St. Paul, Louisville: houses, college, suburban)

[pioneer88]

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the flat open land in western Kansas etc. I just want to provide information. The fact of the matter is that Kansas isn't all flat, but very few people realize what Kansas actually looks like.

[michigan83]

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the flat open land in western Kansas etc. I just want to provide information. The fact of the matter is that Kansas isn't all flat, but very few people realize what Kansas actually looks like.

Understandable!

I, too, thought Kansas was "all flat" until I actually visited.

What I found was that it's NOT all flat, and even the "flat" parts aren't really flat. They always seemed to be sloping gradually in one direction or another. Not truly flat like parts of central Illinois seem to be, for example.

[bzoller]

Originally Posted by michigan83

What does everyone always get defensive when their state is known as "flat" and "full of farmland"?

I personally LOVE flat land AND farm land. I like being able to see for miles. I like looking at the homes and barns from the road. The cool thing is that you can see them even if they are a 1/2 mile away.

Maybe it's because I grew up on a farm in the midwest, but wide open farmland might be my favorite scenery to drive through.

Yes, but i just dont like how people go to a direct point of thinking kansas is all flat and that is all it is. Like do you want people thinking of michigan as the state with the big dangerous city of detroit. Or that it is all forests or something. Just my opinion though.

[GhettoKC]

Kansas IS flat, it's flatter a a 6 year old girls chest.

[newhandle]

When I drove from Virginia to Colorado, everyone said how boring KS would be on I70 and that it was just flat. I was expecting just that - flatness. I found KS beautiful with topographical diversity. Want flat - go to the east coast.

[kcmo]

I just don't get the flat thing about Kansas. There are no mountains, but the state has a gentle rolling terrain that is actually quite interesting and attractive in many parts of the state. I HATE the "image" of Kansas, I don't hate Kansas, just the freaking image. Why? Because that image directly effects the image of Kansas City as people associate KC with Kansas and therefore KC must all be in a flat, treeless, brown, wasteland filled with tornadoes and cows.

I think I have said it many times. People that think Kansas is a terrible state to drive through must not drive around the country much.

Maybe it's because there are few cities in the state. When you drive from KC to Denver, that's seven hours of pure nothing. Funny thing is, eastern Colorado is the worst part of the drive, not Kansas.

Rural Kansas, especially along I-70 in the eastern part of the state and I-35 in the Flint Hills is 1000 times more attractive and interesting than dozens of states across the country. I know, I have driven almost every interstate in the USA.

What has created this bizarre image of Kansas that has somehow escaped so many more deserving states?

Texas? Now THAT is a freaking wasteland, there are parts of TX that are nice (southeastern parts), but most of it is ugly and the highway sprawl along rural interstate of TX is just plain bad.

Illinois, Indiana? Good lord what boring states outside of Chicago and Indy. Take Kansas (flatten it) add 10x more semi traffic to the interstates and you have IL or IN.

Iowa, Nebraska? Outside of Omaha and Des Moines, those states are consistently boring all the way across with almost zero change in topography. Nothing like driving past 500 miles of corn fields.

Mississippi? It's pretty for the first 5 miles, but the next 400 miles of a canyon of trees along the interstate becomes extremely monotonous.

Don't get me started on Oklahoma although that state has some neat areas, the interstate routes are horrible.

The western states are attractive, but they too have long stretches of pure nothingness between the mountain ranges and rock formations. Not to mention that Kansas is a very populated state compared to most western states which are truly void of civilization and services for hundreds of miles between the big cities. In Kansas, you have food and gas every 20 miles or so. Plus the small towns in Kansas are pretty nice. Not as run down or tacky as what I seem to find across the country. The small towns in Montana are full of casinos, the small towns in Pennsylvania and many other east coast states can be more hillbilly than anything I have seen in Kansas and the small towns in the south like in Alabama or Louisiana are like mini ghettos with high crime and extreme poverty.

Try driving between Phoenix and Dallas. Talk about torture. Kansas? Really? People that live in Amarillo, TX would probably think Kansas was paradise if they ever visited.

The eastern states are so clogged with traffic that driving the interstates between the big cities is hardly enjoyable. 200 miles of highly aggressive rush hour type traffic with delays that typically hit several hours? I would rather be on 70 relaxed, enjoying the views, counting down the miles to Denver or KC. There is nothing to see on the interstates out here beside trees and traffic, lots of traffic.

Arizona? Yea, wonderful,it's not all the Grand Canyon though. Just hope your car doesn't overheat in the 125 degree heat as you drive along interstate 8 500 feet from the Mexico border and every motel you stay at along the way is risking auto theft etc. Ever run into a monsoon? I have, not fun.

There are some beautiful drives around the country. Oregon, parts of Washington, Maine, parts of Florida and California, western Colorado, Tennessee, Kentucky, the Great Lakes region, New England etc. But Kansas is one of my favorite drives and it's pretty unique, no other state is really like most of it.

I guess Hollywood is to blame? Well it's annoying because the same image plagues KC because of its name and assumed location.

[michigan83]

kcmo-

You can't get upset that other people find Kansas "flat and boring", and then proceed to rip on the views in 20 other states!!

I agree that Kansas is an interesting drive. I LOVED driving through Kansas.

But I don't think you can prove your point by ripping on a bunch of other states. You are basically doing exactly what other people did to annoy you in the first place. Indiana, Illinois, and Nebraska aren't any more "boring" than Kansas. You just aren't paying attention (or getting off the interstate enough). Just like other people aren't paying attention or getting off the interstate in Kansas.

[GhettoKC]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I just don't get the flat thing about Kansas. There are no mountains, but the state has a gentle rolling terrain that is actually quite interesting and attractive in many parts of the state. I HATE the "image" of Kansas, I don't hate Kansas, just the freaking image. Why? Because that image directly effects the image of Kansas City as people associate KC with Kansas and therefore KC must all be in a flat, treeless, brown, wasteland filled with tornadoes and cows.

I think I have said it many times. People that think Kansas is a terrible state to drive through must not drive around the country much.

Maybe it's because there are few cities in the state. When you drive from KC to Denver, that's seven hours of pure nothing. Funny thing is, eastern Colorado is the worst part of the drive, not Kansas.

Rural Kansas, especially along I-70 in the eastern part of the state and I-35 in the Flint Hills is 1000 times more attractive and interesting than dozens of states across the country. I know, I have driven almost every interstate in the USA.

What has created this bizarre image of Kansas that has somehow escaped so many more deserving states?

Texas? Now THAT is a freaking wasteland, there are parts of TX that are nice (southeastern parts), but most of it is ugly and the highway sprawl along rural interstate of TX is just plain bad.

Illinois, Indiana? Good lord what boring states outside of Chicago and Indy. Take Kansas (flatten it) add 10x more semi traffic to the interstates and you have IL or IN.

Iowa, Nebraska? Outside of Omaha and Des Moines, those states are consistently boring all the way across with almost zero change in topography. Nothing like driving past 500 miles of corn fields.

Mississippi? It's pretty for the first 5 miles, but the next 400 miles of a canyon of trees along the interstate becomes extremely monotonous.

Don't get me started on Oklahoma although that state has some neat areas, the interstate routes are horrible.

The western states are attractive, but they too have long stretches of pure nothingness between the mountain ranges and rock formations. Not to mention that Kansas is a very populated state compared to most western states which are truly void of civilization and services for hundreds of miles between the big cities. In Kansas, you have food and gas every 20 miles or so. Plus the small towns in Kansas are pretty nice. Not as run down or tacky as what I seem to find across the country. The small towns in Montana are full of casinos, the small towns in Pennsylvania and many other east coast states can be more hillbilly than anything I have seen in Kansas and the small towns in the south like in Alabama or Louisiana are like mini ghettos with high crime and extreme poverty.

Try driving between Phoenix and Dallas. Talk about torture. Kansas? Really? People that live in Amarillo, TX would probably think Kansas was paradise if they ever visited.

The eastern states are so clogged with traffic that driving the interstates between the big cities is hardly enjoyable. 200 miles of highly aggressive rush hour type traffic with delays that typically hit several hours? I would rather be on 70 relaxed, enjoying the views, counting down the miles to Denver or KC. There is nothing to see on the interstates out here beside trees and traffic, lots of traffic.

Arizona? Yea, wonderful,it's not all the Grand Canyon though. Just hope your car doesn't overheat in the 125 degree heat as you drive along interstate 8 500 feet from the Mexico border and every motel you stay at along the way is risking auto theft etc. Ever run into a monsoon? I have, not fun.

There are some beautiful drives around the country. Oregon, parts of Washington, Maine, parts of Florida and California, western Colorado, Tennessee, Kentucky, the Great Lakes region, New England etc. But Kansas is one of my favorite drives and it's pretty unique, no other state is really like most of it.

I guess Hollywood is to blame? Well it's annoying because the same image plagues KC because of its name and assumed location.

Geez. Tell us how you really feel.
I don't think Kansas is flat anymore...but I do think it's monotonously boring.

[tfox]

I actually like the drive between Denver and KC on I-70. There's something very peaceful about driving on the open road through farmland, with no traffic.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by michigan83

kcmo-

You can't get upset that other people find Kansas "flat and boring", and then proceed to rip on the views in 20 other states!!

I agree that Kansas is an interesting drive. I LOVED driving through Kansas.

But I don't think you can prove your point by ripping on a bunch of other states. You are basically doing exactly what other people did to annoy you in the first place. Indiana, Illinois, and Nebraska aren't any more "boring" than Kansas. You just aren't paying attention (or getting off the interstate enough). Just like other people aren't paying attention or getting off the interstate in Kansas.

Just putting it in perspective. Everybody thinks KS is the worst state to drive across. Well I think there is much worse.

I'm not putting down those other states. I mean, IMO, there is little to no reason to actually stop in Kansas as I'm just trying to get to Denver, Dallas etc when driving through it (although I have also been on most of the smaller highways as well via my last job). It's a pretty state that doesn't deserve the reputation it has. That's all.