Sometimes you really luck out when you take a different way home. Bored with my same old commute, I was so lucky to find these winding back roads of our beloved Sunflower State. The first time I got lost, I used my gps. The second time, I just let it roll and I found these awesome tee pee things.
And then when this route became slightly more familiar, but no less spectacular, I decided to make it my permanent commute. There’s even an apple orchard on the way. Not to mention gorgeous golden and green landscapes.
One day, by chance, the farm I had always taken for a corn field (I’m too busy driving to pay attention to everything!!) turned out to be…sunflowers! What a fantastic lovely and sunny ending to my day.
My breath got caught in my throat at the stunning sight of ten billion sunflowers. My brakes squealed as I turned around. I called my husband to tell him I’d be a little late. He told me dinner would be ready. Aw. The lovely sight of farmland (and thinking of my darlin, making dinner) never gets old.
Also on the roadside taking pictures was a sweet Topeka woman who had a nice camera and good wide angle lens. She told me her husband had recently passed away and that these flowers were her favorite. We chatted and had a lot in common. She was as beautiful as the sunniest sunflower. I’m sure her photographs were lovely and I hope she remembers that moment in time as fondly as I do.
Kansas, you sure are special.
Want to know more about me? Check out my About page for starters and my other adventures: Puerto Rico and The Flint Hills. Recently I got caught up in Tropical Storm Debby, but not without my camera!
Leave a comment and tell me about your best roadside experiences!
Support art and purchase my photos here.
Kansas Love Bird 
What lovely photos! That field of sunflowers is surreal — I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sight before.
Thanks, Cheri! That photo is really only the tip of the iceberg for that farm. I hope you get to see the real thing someday. It’s so much lovelier in person. 🙂
Just gorgeous! Sometimes a change of scenery is all we need to infuse some new life in our routines, and how nice that you met someone by the sunflowers. We’re planning a trip to a local park featuring tons of sunflowers this weekend — hope I get shots as nice as yours.
That’s awesome! If you have an iphone, be sure to try out your instagram and camera+ apps with those sunflowers! I love your blog. It’s always inspiring for me.
Gorgeous photos! It makes me miss the midwest where I grew up! Love all those sunflowers….how can you not smile when you see them! It’s like sunshine! 🙂
Come back and visit soon! And thanks for the message. I can’t wait to check out your blog!
Kansas can be so gorgeous. I think a lot of people who are not from the state see it as boring and empty, but I think it’s beautiful. The sky is always so open and ever-changing. Not to mention all the little things (like a field of sunflowers! Doesn’t get any more Kansas than that.) to see if you look close enough.
So true. I-70 is pretty flat, but even this stretch of American highway can have it’s lovely moments. Thanks for the message. Runs with blisters? OUCH. 😉 You must run marathons.
Ha! Heck no! Nothing longer than 5k for me. I’m a running wimp like that 🙂
Wow! Love the sunflowers! The
…. pictures are beautiful. Can’t imagine seeing this in person!
Please come to KS someday. Even if it’s just for a few days of wilderness adventure. Missouri is my true love, so come there too.
Fantastic pics. I love how sunflowers tend to light up your world 🙂
Oh how they do! Thanks for the message and for stopping by. What’s your blog?
Thanks for the great pictures of one of my home states. Kansas has some very beautiful places. Especially during the harvest season with all the beautiful fall colors.
You need to see my previous post about my adventure in the Flint Hills! http://kansaslovebird.com/2012/06/20/the-symphony-in-the-flint-hills-adventure/ perhaps you can make it back here someday to see this annual event. It’s awesome.
What a phenomenal accident. I love happy accidents.
Me too! I am thankful. Thanks so much for checking out my blog. Stop back by for photog tips. I’ll be reviewing some new gear soon. Cheers!
I’ve always wanted to see a sunflower field! It looks breathtaking!
It was. I remember certain places that really moved me. The Grand Canon, The Smokies, anywhere in Seattle…but this moved me and really made me feel proud and lucky to be a part of rural Kansas. Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see your blog too.
Very beautiful pictures.
Thank you very much!
[…] http://kansaslovebird.com/2012/08/07/kansas-special/ […]
Thanks for the shout out! 🙂
Sunflowers are my favourite! 🙂 Loved the photos.
Glad you enjoyed. Come back for more!
so beautiful.especially the sunflowers.i love them so much.nice smile 🙂
Thanks, I love them too! The sunflower is the Kansas State flower.
Reblogged this on the lass with the coffee mug and commented:
Cool! How I love to see such beautiful nature. Stunning sunflowers.
Hmm… I guess I should try taking a different path on my home and see what I’ll discover. Hahaha.
Definitely. And leave the GPS at home! Sometimes taking a different vehicle adds a bit of adventure too…like instead of your car, take a bike. And don’t forget a camera.
I’ll make my classmates walk home with me. Haha (Too bad my bike’s back wheel’s flat).. Walking really helps for the betterment of our environment. Thanks for sharing! :))
Cool sight! How stunning the sunflowers are! 🙂
I love the little drive you just took us through, the photos are amazing! I especially love the last one! And congratulations on being Freshly Pressed, what an honor!
How sweet! Thanks, and be sure to come back. I can’t wait to stop by your blog.
Love the sunflowers! I really think they are such a lovely flower. Thanks for posting the pics
Thank you so much! They have a way to make the sun seem warmer and sunnier. Can’t wait to check out monkeyandmillie.
Stunning
Thanks! I’m glad that you stopped by! Please come back for more photogs and photo tips/adventures.
Gorgeous photography!!! I would love to live in such a beautiful place!!
I am sure you already do. You just have to look for it. Get out that camera and start seeing the surroundings in a new way. Cheers! Stop by for more photogs, tips, and adventure.
I definitely will! Thanks! 🙂
As you did, I love to see that sun flowers either. Kansas is not too bad mam…
I love when people able to appreciate their own cities. Nice post!
Thanks! Can’t wait to check out your blog. Are those goats? I love goats.
You’ll be very welcome! Those are Icelandic sheep 🙂
By coincidence I had recently decided to grow sunflowers – I am now even more keen to do so -great blog!
TeePees are awesome and I totally want to live in one, one day.
Me too! But only for a week at max. Come back and check out more adventure and photogs. 🙂 Can’t wait to check out your blog!
Reblogged this on Breakfast and commented:
Found this freshly pressed this morning, reminding me of how much I love Kansas and how much I’ll miss it.
I’m glad you liked it! Be sure to check out my post about The Flint Hills! It was an amazing. Stay tuned for more of my hijinks, photog tips (coming soon), and of course….adventure! I can’t wait to see your blog.
Awesome post thanks for sharing!
Keep up the great work.
Have a great day!
Beautiful!
artijalan.wordpress.com
As someone who used to live there, I have to agree — Kansas IS special! Enjoyed your photos this morning!
Thanks! Be sure to check out my Flint Hills post. Maybe you will be able to come back someday and experience it. Thanks again for stopping by! http://kansaslovebird.com/2012/06/20/the-symphony-in-the-flint-hills-adventure/
great vintage quality to these photos…
Well thanks! Let’s trade photog tips. I just ordered some new gear… 😉
your photos are absolutely breathtaking!!!!
i went to this bizarre hippie camp when i was younger and we actually got to help build a teepee – we painted the cloth and then watched as the older kids and counsellors erected it. really amazing stuff! thanks for sharing! and also the sunflowers are gorgeous.
I raised a giant teepee too! In the hippie capitol of the world: Eugene, Oregon. Ha! Too funny. Little City Bot? Sounds very interesting. Can’t wait to see it.
hippies unite!
littlecitybot..is me! check out my digs! x
Forever my home, Kansas. Vast prairies and the best sunsets in the world. Thanks for the short roadtrip!
That is so sweet. Have you seen these teepees? They were built in the 30s or 40s.
I love Kansas and Sunflowers too great pics
Kansas really is beautiful! I went to the Univ. of Kansas for school, so I completely relate…it is a hidden gem 🙂
Cheers,
Courtney Hosny
RockChalk jayhawk!!! Thanks for stopping by and come again for more adventure, photo tips, and photography.
gorgeous pictures! I especially love the last one with the butterfly!
You are sweet! Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to come back for more. Cheers!
Bad. Ass…
Aw, shucks. I learned from the best.
So beautiful!!!
Well thanks!
I love what happens when we take a different route home … beautiful!
I just moved back to Kansas and these photos remind me why. Your sunflower photos are gorgeous.
AWESOME! Love to hear that. Be sure you post your Kansas/Midwest musings and I’ll be the first to read it. Come back for more photogs, tips (coming soon), and of course, Midwest adventure.
Beautiful ♥ these
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Looks like a beautiful commute. I commute to a city 40 miles from home, with about 30 miles of heavy traffic in between. I’ve taken to going along a back road that goes along the foothills and through immense greenery. Sometimes it’s faster, sometimes it’s not. However, it is always more relaxing. Thanks for sharing the beauty we can find around us.
Sometimes you just want to GET HOME. I totally get that. But most of the time, it helps to appreciate our beautiful land on a smaller scale than what the main roads have to offer. Thanks for stopping by! Cheers! Try taking your camera along someday and post about your off the beaten commute home! Let me know!
Growing up on a farm in Kansas it wasn’t uncommon to see fields like these full of sunflowers. Now that I live in a city it’s strange to see a sunflower every now and then growing in the cracks of a sidewalk or in someone’s yard.
Wow. Don’t I know. From DC, to Chicago, to Seattle. I love my concrete jungles, but man, I love a good counrty drive too. Thanks for stopping by! Maybe you should post about your urban commute! Let me know. I’ll be the first to read it. Bring that camera!!!
Beautiful!
http://personalbyv.wordpress.com/
Reblogged this on thewordpressghost and commented:
For everyone who loves sunflowers.
Ghost.
Those pictures are beautiful! My dad’s side of the family is from Kansas.
This post definitely makes me want to travel to Kansas. I love taking the road less traveled. Beautiful pictures and simple but touching writing. I enjoyed the short story of the Topeka lady. It’s always nice to have a connection with “strangers.”
oh!!!how lovely…its my dream,,,to see an endless sunflower fields.
thank you
I love the light in all of these photos! Beautiful!