[go] Garden City, Kansas
Just like every person on Earth is really great at something, so is every city. Some people are talented painters, knitters, kissers, or pickle makers. Some cities are amusing, tranquil, sprawling, or else host exceptional naked bike rallies. Garden City, in western Kansas, is excellent at being a strong community. In fact, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my visits to the “Tumbleweed Capital of the World” it’s that you’ll find absolutely nothing to do if you’re by yourself, and you’ll find weeks worth of entertainment if you’re willing to make friends.
More than any other city I know, Garden City is dependent upon its residents to supply their own diversions. There are no four-story stadiums, professional ballet companies, all-night jazz clubs or renowned art museums. Instead, there is an ever-full high school auditorium, an outdoor theater, city dances and community potlucks. It probably doesn’t sound like any place you’ve traveled to while looking for fun weekend getaway, but then again, maybe it’s been too long since you’ve tried something outside of the ordinary lineup of Midwest hot spots. (Another stroll down the KC plaza, anyone?)
Here are some reasons to make the four hour trek from Wichita to Garden City, provided you aren’t shy or a strict vegetarian:
The Entertainment: Visit the GCHS calendar of events to find an Orchestra Concert or a Show Choir showcase. Everyone in town attends, so you’d better know when these performances are if you don’t want to find yourself in an abandoned restaurant or an empty bar. Also check out the most recent edition of Legend Magazine, available in shops and cafes across Southwest Kansas. It has a pretty comprehensive calendar of upcoming events.
The Food: Finney County is about 50 percent Hispanic, with 20 percent of the population having been born out of the country. What does that mean? To me it means bright colors, lively music and absolutely delicious Latin food. On every major corner in town, you’ll find a pollo barbeque stand, a family owned enchilada restaurant, a busy bar advertising margarita specials and signature salsas, or a taquaria drive thru. I recommend Las Margaritas or El Zarape, both of which very popular restaurants in town (a characteristic any wise traveler looks for when it’s time to eat.)
The Locals: During the day, you’ll find the good people of Garden City at the Lee Richardson Zoo, which is enormous (and free.) They might also be at “The Bean Dip” or “The Big Dipper” which is a public pool so huge that you can water-ski in it, or else watch the zoo elephants take their baths before it is washed out and refilled. In the evening, you can expect the locals to be dancing at the Fairgrounds, or else standing en masse on bleachers, totally engrossed by a rodeo.
If you have any time to spare between all of that excitement and the various dinner engagements you’ll surely have made, you should get a cup of coffee at Patrick Dugan’s. Then go antiquing downtown. Then go on a Midwest safari across the Finney Game Refuge. Then catch a baseball game. Then take a telescope to a public astronomy lecture. Then… well, you get the picture: You won’t be bored.
After you’ve rediscovered what a vacation can be (refreshing, memorable, relaxed and inexpensive) pick up the Garden City Signature Souvenir: A decorated tumbleweed from Prairie Tumbleweed Farm. In fact, pick up a dozen. You can give them to your friends, spreading the community love you’re sure to have felt while exploring Garden City.
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