September 12, 2020
Thought on waking: I’m kidnapping my dads blog for the day to tell you about my first hiking experience.
Thought on going to sleep: Thank you Lord, my family was blessed with a memorable day.
Craving: Salsa – Oh yeah! My craving was satisfied 🙂
History lesson
Lindsborg Kansas is a gem of a spot settled in 1869 near the modern-day intersection of Interstate 70 and Interstate 135. Located 2 hours away from the geographic center of the United States, and known as Little Sweden, the town itself is a marvelous day stop filled with old-world European charm. As a city founded by Swedish immigrants and with a population of nearly 3300, main street is dotted with several purveyors of food and crafts who keep tradition alive for tourists who come to sightsee. Upon arriving they get to enjoy a unique cultural experience and, if lucky, many special events which are held throughout the year. The highlight for a hiking family visiting this quaint farming community is definitely a visit to the scenic vista called Coronado Heights. A 300ft mound of play dirt located just 3 miles northwest of Lindsborg.
If you are familiar with your grade school history, you will remember that Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was a Spanish conquistador who failed in his quest to find the famed seven cities of gold. In 1540, Coronado led a large expedition, north, out of the Mexican Peninsula and into the southern United States. There he found civilization in the form of Apache, Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo Indians. As he pressed further onward he was disappointed to find an abundant lack of wealth in these nations, indicating to him there were no mystical repositories of wealth nearby. He continued on northeast. He traveled through Arizona and New Mexico reaching as far as the central Kansas plains populated by the Wichita and Caddoan Tribes. Ultimately he and his men became disheartened and abandoned their quest. In 1915, Spanish armor was found near the site of our hike and in 1936 a stone shelter resembling a castle was built on top of the hill. The hill itself is 300 feet tall and its possible to see sprawling farmland for miles on a clear day.
Completely unassuming, and as far from a touristy destination as you can get, the castle and trail complex encompassing it are frequented by visitors who hail from all over the country. Most are wanting a quick break from their travels or, in our case, seeking Coronado Heights out a destination in and of itself. It is a hugely popular attraction and the crowds can be surprising large for a place being in an unadvertised middle-of-nowhere. On this particular Saturday, you’d be hard-pressed to draw up better autumn weather conditions or a better pandemic-safe place to enjoy in the great outdoors. Subsequently the park was full of guests.
A perfect day for a first hike
I’ve been on many hikes before with my daddy, but they would more affectionately be described as “carries”. Dad would carry me here, or carry me there. Carry me everywhere really! Many times we’ve gone up and down the Redbud or Prairie Sunset rail trails by piggyback or we just take a brief after dinner walk through the neighborhood. He calls it training for his big kid adventures. However I know he secretly loves taking me with him and sharing new experiences with me and teaching me new things. Mom and sister will sometimes join too and when they do those days become our best days full of good memories as a family. My sister wasn’t with us on this trip, but I’ve been clinging to mom and dad quite a bit lately so they will do nicely in her absence.
As much as I’m fond of dad doing all the work, today would be different. I’m just past 14 months old and, with a little bit of guidance, I’m yearning to start developing my hiking legs. I must say, after being carried around for more than a year now, I’m ready to attempt this hiking thing on my own. Moreover, as a toddler, its time I take my rightful place as the dominate lead on where we go, when we leave, and what adventures we take as a family. Besides, what better place to go for my first hike as daddy’s little princess, than a castle? I set the bar high!
As a family, we piled into the car and drove an hour north of Wichita. Skipping by the outskirts of Lindsborg, we went straight to the base of the hill overlooking the Smoky Hill river valley. Besides the castle, which you can drive up too, there is a system of trails for mountain bikes and hikers to use which wind up and down and all around the valley floor. A forested area with plenty of cool shade is prominent as are sweeping vistas and views of the surrounding countryside. The advantage of these winding and intersecting trails to a newbie hiker like me, is that a family can make the journey as short or long as they need. This flexibility will allow me to to break in my hiker legs or give our weary car seat-shaped backsides a good stretch. The trails themselves are about 2 miles in length if you wind your way back and forth to the top of the hill. Yet, its very easy to change direction and make a beeline to the peak if you need to shorten the trip. In other words, route choices are plenty.
Most visitors to the area drive straight to the top to take in the panoramic views and forgo the hike, or they start their hike from the top. But, like the true mountain woman I aspire to be, I insisted we start our adventure from the bottom with the goal of summitting. Since the park is in the sparse countryside, there are plenty of places to pull off the road just near the entrance with good access to the trail system. The trailhead is unmarked, yet looking closely you will see where trail blazers have gone before. Also, you really can’t get lost as you just point up the hill when you are ready to summit. Cell phones work fine in the area too and google has much of the trail complex available for map viewing.
Bike trails make great hike trails
I started off my first hike riding piggyback on daddy through the trees as I normally do. Mom took the lead making sure to web blaze the trail for me and take care of any of the creepy, crawly things which can become entangled in my hair. A surprise crash into a wary spiders den does not add to the thrill of hiking for me. Daddy spent most of his time making sure I didn’t bonk my head on any low-hanging limbs and he’d ooh, ahh and point when we came upon new horticulture or inspiring views of the river valley.
Numerous wildflowers began to make their appearance known as we rounded each turn. There is a good mix of spring, summer and fall flowers along this moderately-trafficked loop depending on the time of year you visit. Sandhill plum, gooseberries, and sumac are found in season. I liked the purple summer flowers and colorful varieties of thistle interspersed between the mixed prairie grasses the best.
Much of my attention was also focused on the people I could only hear but not see. Because it is a system of narrow family-friendly trails, my ears were in full tracking mode listening to other kids and their parents enjoying stomping new footprints into the hill. We heard several groups pass by, but we never came upon anyone while we were hiking. After walking from the south to the north side of the park for about 3/4 miles we began our brief climb to the peak in order to visit the picnic, campfire and castle areas on the top.
Coronado Heights Castle
Upon summiting, your eyes immediately become fixed on a small stone castle and the unique picnic areas nearby. Hikers do appreciate a good pit toilet and there is one available for day use. I’ve honestly smelled better and would avoid it if at all possible. On this particular Saturday, both the primary and secondary car parks were full of vehicles. Family vans and SUV’s loaded with luggage and toys made for a constant symphony of sound as travelers’ doors would clatter open and shut. We passed by motorcycles and their dusty riders enjoying a cold beverage while taking a break from the blacktop pavement. I received several comments on how cute I was, and being road-weary people were a bit envious of my free piggyback ride. There were even some professional photographers visiting. They and their superhero-costumed patrons were using the area as a backdrop for a shoot. Dad said they were scantily-clad. I’m not sure what that means.
Its time to stretch my legs
Having reached the top, and fearing the continued strain of my 19lb frame on daddy’s back, I decided it best to let my family know I was ready to do my first bit of real hiking. On went my trail-runners and holding mommy’s hand we followed a few of the paths from the picnic area to the backside of the castle. The views from here are just awe-inspiring. I started talking. My eyes have never seen so far in all of my short wonderful life. Daddy says there are bigger mountains with better views out there when I’m ready. If this is a small taste of what’s in my future, I definitely want more.
Due to the crowds and the need to social distance during the pandemic we continued exploring while taking in the fresh calm winds until it was safe to approach the castle. I found lots of rocks to play with. If you look closely in the pictures you will see I picked out my favorite. I held this rock for the remainder of my hike. It will make a good souvenir of my adventure.
The castle itself is by far my favorite part of this hike as evidenced by the smiles I gave mom and dad. As you entered this small stone building you immediately knew it contained a working wood-burning fireplace and the cold scent of recently charred ash greeted our noses. Immediately, you had the choice of either going up the stairs to the rooftop lookout or visiting the dining area below. We chose to stay on the main level and spent our time exploring the dining area. The area was nice and comfortable. After spending an hour under the sun, we took advantage of the room to break to rest in the cool shade. With my rock in hand, I gave daddy one of my best smiles as he pulled out his camera.
After perusing the lower area it was time to finish our climb and reach the top floor of the castle. There is a set of cramped, uneven, and not-so-safe stairs made of stone which led the way a short distance to the top. Dad remarked about how challenging it was to carry a child, a carrier and himself up this narrow path but we made it safely. From the top, our eyes feasted on 360 degree panoramic views of the valley below. Each direction yielded different colors as sunlight cast down its light on the farmer’s fields as far as the eye could see. One really can see for miles and miles. It was eye-opening and I loved it up here.
Mom and dad talked for a quite a bit while I played with the rocks that had chipped off the old stone walls or had been carried up by the wayward shoe tread of an unsuspecting visitor. Mom and dad talked about how enjoyable this hike was and spent copious amounts of time trying to distract me from my rock playing to take some more photos or point at birds in the sky while they flew overhead sharing the views with us. Dad remarked that felt the same way he did while hiking with mom on their honeymoon.
Hiker Hunger
Dad always talks about food and cravings on his hikes. This is due to two factors he says. First, a hiker burns through quite a few calories walking that he needs to replenish to keep his energy up. And 2nd, ghrelin, the hunger hormone within us, is triggered primarily when a person uses their legs. Combined, the two forces become a potent combination which have the power to dictate all hiker decisions made until the hunger elephant in the room is satisfied. Furthermore, no longer in charge of their faculties, a hiker’s dietary decisions revert to high-fat, low- quality foods as many a rapidly swallowed cheeseburger or pizza can attest.
At this point in my hike I realized that dad was right and hiker hunger is a real thing. I would suffer from it till dinner. I started indicating my need for food and drink. We came down from the castle and sat at one of the picnic tables for a snack. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, a fruit pouch and bottled water made up my primary meal ,but dad and I also shared some trail mix he made beforehand which was chocked full of peanut M&M’s. He would carefully bite each one in half to prevent a choking hazard, keeping the peanut portion for himself, before giving me the other half. We like to share that way and I do love my candy-coated chocolate! Mom and I took the opportunity to pose for a picture together while enjoying the cool-shaded picnic area.
After our snack, we met some teenage girls who were using Coronado Heights as a stop on their cleverly-created scavenger hunt. The girls , who had been there many times before, remarked they had never seen the park with so many people enjoying it. We all thought that it was a very cool idea they had to send people up here as part of their clue chase and offered to help. Mom spied a good hiding spot and we helped them to set the next clue. The clue was placed with a reward in the form of a box of candy. We made sure it was positioned in the fireplace in such a way that nobody but the intended hunters would find it.
Completing the round trip
With a snack under our belt it was time to start the return hike. Since it was getting late in the day and my legs were getting tired, we took a shorter half-mile path back to the entrance. I started by going piggyback on daddy, however hiking downhill is a bit jarring in my carrier and soon I became uncomfortable. I also wanted to walk on my own. Dad wouldn’t let me out. Unbeknownst to mom and I, dad was saving my legs for a special side trip later. Mom rightly determined that my hiker hunger was back and gave me some more food to munch on as we worked our way down the dusty well-worn trail back to our car. Calming my tummy with an additional snack seemed to do the trick.
Soon the ground began to flatten out and I was enjoying the hike again. In the distance I could hear other kids calling out to their parents from the trail but just like on the trip up before, we never met up with any of them.
As we exited the trail to the graded safety of the road we came across huge fields of Sunflowers. Sunflowers are the state flower of Kansas and they are beautiful when in full bloom during early autumn. Their yellow petals are attractive to young fingers and we stopped to look at them longingly for a good while before returning to our car. I was thirsty and tired from the day so I took a long, hard pull on a bottle and then settled into my car seat for a bit of a rest as mom drove us off.
Little Sweden
Mom and I had never been in Lindsborg township so daddy directed us on a little side trip down main street and then over to the parks and museums. If your interested, I’ve linked to the cities’ tourism website above so you can check it out. For Kansans or those needing a stopover, it is a perfect weekend trip. There are some great restaurants and bed and breakfasts in the area to stay at and they frequently hold events that draw in people from all over the world. Perhaps when the pandemic wanes we will return for the Swedish Chocolate Festival and provide a longer, yummier review on this site. I recommend downloading their visitors guide as part of your trip planning so you can be sure to not miss any of the old world attractions.
Lindsborg is the location of a oat milling company in the Smoky Hill valley where Swedish immigrants came to settle. The rolling hills and fertile soil of the valley provided the perfect farmland for raising oats. The roller mill was built in 1898 and the town popped up around it. Next to the old mill is a Cowtown museum featuring several old-time businesses like news printers and blacksmiths and there is even a large steam locomotive to check out. There is a large park filled with cooking grills, picnic tables and is accessed via a historic walking bridge as well. My legs had a bit more pep left in them so, holding daddy’s hand, we took a walk over the bridge into the park and back. We loved walking off into the sunset hand-in-hand while mom got a good picture of the whole thing.
Fully satisfying my hiker hunger
After a full day of summiting Coronado Heights and strolling around historic Lindsborg my legs were tired and my tummy was rumbling. Hiker Hunger had me in its clutches once again and there was no way I was going to survive an hour-long drive home without stopping for some dinner. I sent some Mexican food vibes to my dad who located a few options in McPherson Kansas. Since my current day care lady is from McPherson mom had the good idea of asking for her advice on which was the best place to eat. She recommended Tres Amigos. I had a craving for some salsa and fajitas which I willingly accepted from my mom and dad’s sizzling plates. Normally, I am quite a tidy eater, but today I was famished so my fingers became a make-shift spoon and they went right into the bowl. Handful after yummy handful ended up being spread all over I as attempted to ladle all five fingers of the tomatoed, peppery goodness into my mouth. It went everywhere and mom and dad laughed.
Like mom and dad, I do love good food and tonight’s dinner was the perfect endcap to a lovely first hike. With my belly full of salsa and after hamming it up with the old couple seated next to us, I returned to my car seat for the ride home. I had much to talk about and my new rock friend happily kept me company in the car. As we approached home, about 5 minutes away, my eyelids began to be very heavy as dad tried his best to keep me awake till we arrived. With a final diaper change and soft pajamas on, I downed one last bottle of milk and dad remarked to God about all the good memories we made today and all the smiles that were brought with them. My eyelids get heavy and I fall asleep thinking hiking is something pretty special and I can’t wait to do it again soon. Good night everyone. Today was a good day!
