A chalky rock face juts 50 feet up from the plains like a rebel sprout. What formed as ocean floor millions of years ago evolved into a prairie anomaly for drive-by Instagrams and road-trip picnics. Just respect the roaming cattle sharing the private property with Monument Rocks (and photobombing your shots).
When it comes to public land, Kansas claims less than any other state. There s barbed wire at every turn, and the land is 98 percent privately owned, says George Frazier, author of
The Last Wild Places of Kansas. But, he adds, rugged pockets are scattered across the state like Easter eggs. Wonder infuses these rare rocky marvels as they contrast with open flatland. Many land trusts and ranchers recognize the value of the formations and welcome the public to sites such as Monument Rocks. See for yourself by venturing slightly off Interstate-70 on your next drive across Kansas.
George Frazier: The University Press of Kansas must be preserved
By George Frazier
In late January, I received an email from my publisher, the University Press of Kansas, that an external consultant will conduct a review of the Press and put forward a recommendation to its trustees about how or if the Press will continue to operate. As a writer and armchair academic (I have a Ph.D. in computer science but work as a software architect rather than professor), this felt like one more 2020 pandemic-year kick in the gut.
Four years ago, the Press published my book “The Last Wild Places of Kansas: Journeys into Hidden Landscapes.” Since then I’ve traveled across the state giving talks about Kansas wild places. At every stop, somebody comes up after my presentation to let me know how my book put down in print what they had felt all their lives about Kansas that it is a place that matters. Books are powerful like that. They can legitimize and validate feelings that are somet