Next on our arduous trek was a quick stop by the World's Tallest Mennonite in Newton, KS. This part of the world is definitely Mennonite country with horse-drawn buggies and Mennonite churches as prominent as any other denomination.The Kansas Travel and Tourism website has this to say about the statue:
The tallest, sturdiest Mennonite in Kansas stands 17 feet tall in Athletic Park. He is the Mennonite Settler Statue built in 1942 out of Kansas limestone. The Mennonite statue was not a Mennonite-initiated project. The statue was financed through contributions of wheat as a joint project of a local Newton community drive and a Works Progress Administration (WPA) art project. Max Nixon was the sculptor of the Mennonite Settler.
We just thought it was cool. Speaking of cool...
Christmas in June? Whodathunk we'd make it all the way to the North Pole on our little expedition. But this version is in Wakeeney, KS. Though it was 80-some-odd degrees here, we'll be seeing much cooler temps later on the trip!
We were a little early but around Christmas time we hear this place really lights up. They install over 6000 lights and a 35-foot manmade Christmas tree all in the space of a single downtown lot.
After this quick pitstop it was the long haul across the barren plains of west Kansas. Our first night was spent in Limon, CO. One day down, five to go!
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