Bison on the prairie

6th November, 2011

Today we went to the Cathedral for Mass. Unfortunately the Mass was in the Parish Hall as the Cathedral was under construction so we couldn't see the inside of the Cathedral. We then went to the National Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. Kansas has the largest ammount of prairie grass lands left in the US. It was nice to see this unique landscape. We went on a 7 mile walk. While most of kansas is completely flat and farming land, the preserve reminded me a little of Tuscany with rolling grassy hills. It looked a little like Connemara boglands at times (with brown grass) and the burren at other times (with limestone rock).

Bison have been introduced to the park over the last few years. We got quite close to them. I assumed that they were harmless enough, though John was a little cautious. Some of the bulls looked fairly tough alright though. After we crossed a fence a little later, we noticed a sign that warned us not to get too close as they can charge. So we were fairly lucky that they didn't do that as we did get quite close.

That evening we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. My guide book said that there were a number of Vietnamese restaurants in Wichita so I thought it would be worth going. I don't think I'll be going to a Vietnamese restaurant any time soon after the meal however. We then went for a milk shake in Sonic, which is a drive-in restaurant. It's a strange idea. Unlike a drive-through, where you get food from your car and eat it at home, a drive-in is for people who want to eat in their car. There are about 25 spaces where you can park and order a meal and it is delivered to your car. I don't know who would want to eat in their car though. A milkshake is fine but I wouldn't fancy eating a burger in the car.