Today was our day for some Kansas quirkiness. We started at Truckhenge for which all the research in the world cannot fully prepare you. It began with Tessa trying not to run over a peacock and got stranger and more wonderful from there.
Owner Ron Lessman has been working on Truckhenge since the early 2000’s. You can walk around on your own but you'd miss the full experience that a tour with Ron gives you. He talks super fast and I missed most of it, but it doesn't matter. Unbridled enthusiasm is the term that comes to mind.
Truckhenge consists of antique trucks jutting out of the ground – remnicient of England’s Stonehenge.
In early 2000, Lessman, with the “encouragement” of county officials, decided to bury his antique car collection to prevent them from being washed down the Kansas River in the case of a flood.
“Shawnee County told me I had to pick my trucks up, so I picked them up,” said Lessman.
The tour included his studio which is draped with large paintings on sheets and other fabrics.
The trucks are surrounded by other recycled object art and a variety of native plants.
Laurel and Hardy
Upon leaving, Tessa said, “I don't know what else we are doing this trip, but nothing is going to top this.” I guess she's flying home tomorrow😄
Stop 2 was the Equality House in Topeka. The house sits across the street from the “church” that protests at soldiers' funerals.
Next we visited the Oz Museum in Wamego, KS. The Oz Museum has the largest permanent public display of Oz artifacts in the world - over 2000.
Final stop of the day was the World's Largest Czech Egg in Wilson, KS. Towering 20 feet into the air, the egg is painted in the fashion of Central-Eastern Europe’s famous eggs. The pattern on this egg is a traditional Czech design.
The project was commissioned by the City of Wilson to commemorate the area’s strong heritage. Local artist Christine Slechta, who is a talented Kraslice (what the Czechs and Slovaks call these delicate works of art) creator, chose the design and painted it along with help from the community. Every part of the egg and surrounding gazebo is Kansas made.
