Monument Rocks, Kansas: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected

When you think of beautiful places to visit, Kansas probably isn't on the top of your lists, right?  I'd normally agree to this as I grew up in Kansas and hadn't ever really considered the flat boring plains as something beautiful.   

However,  after moving away and traveling the world, I've been trying to be more intentional with visiting places closer to home and seeing the beauty right in front of me.

I'm not sure how I came across Monument Rocks, maybe on some "visit obscure Kansas" website... but it seemed pretty intriguing to me.  It's a chalk rock formation that virtually sits in the middle of nowhere (literally) in Western Kansas.  Because of its chalky makeup, the rocks slowly change over time due to erosion.  

Since we normally go to holidays in Kansas to visit our families and normally just sit around doing nothing but go to the same bars/restaurants while visiting,  this past Christmas break I wanted to do something a bit different and check out this strange rock formation way out in Western Kansas.

Thankfully I have family who was willing to join along on my quirky adventure ideas!  I'm pretty sure they thought my idea was a bit crazy as the drive just to get out there in the middle of nowhere was almost 4 hours!  

The drive once you get closer goes down a lot of dirt and back roads, so a 4x4 car is recommended,  especially when we went with lots of snow in places (there was just a blizzard out there a few days before).  I kinda wondered if we'd ever get there because that drive was SOOOO BORING!  But we finally started seeing the rocks in the distance!

At first they didn't look super impressive... like, did I  really make my family drive all this way for a couple rocks?

However once we got closer they are actually quite big!  And pretty serene there out in the middle of nowhere with just a touch of beautiful snow out making it super bright out!

Speaking of snow, it was sooooo freaking cold!  I  would have never survived as a pilgrim out in Western Kansas!

There are all sorts of nooks to take fun pictures in and enjoy such a relatively unknown geological phenomenon. 

Though we just used our phones for pics, I think they turned out pretty awesome!

So,  was the drive worth it?  Absolutely!  If you have a day to spare and want to see a very unique geological formation and are in the Central United States,  definitely check it out!

Even in "boring" ole Kansas, if you keep your eyes open, you can still find beauty in the unexpected.

Happy travels!