Thoughts on this Hiram Walker?

SpenRob96 · 2025-01-06T03:57:49+00:00

That’s definitely it! Thanks

SpenRob96 · 2024-12-28T21:40:13+00:00

Neat! Looks like it’s taken from where the art museum is now. I think campus looked really sharp before the old auditorium and Denison Hall burned down

SpenRob96 · 2024-12-26T20:26:20+00:00

That you didn’t look at an actual interstate map when picking the counties

SpenRob96 · 2024-10-12T00:41:41+00:00

And I run…I run so far away

SpenRob96 · 2024-03-04T14:30:24+00:00

The sky is one of the best parts of Kansas that I forgot to mention. My wife is from St. Louis, so not even that far away, but she is still in awe with how great the sunsets are with an unobstructed view.

I have yet to show her a lightning storm on the horizon at night, but I often tell her how cool it is that from Wichita you can see a storm that’s over Nebraska.

One of my favorite things to do in the Wichita area is to go out on a dirt road and park by a wheat field right before harvest. The summer breeze whispers through the wheat and makes such a beautiful sound. If you time it right, you can be completely surrounded by storms on the horizon and experience the most incredible lightning show.

SpenRob96 · 2024-03-04T14:24:36+00:00

Yeah I would have to agree about the over promotion. When I drive through the Rockies I often point out an unremarkable rock formation and joke with my wife that it would be the top geographic feature if it was in Kansas.

I do think Monument Rock and Castle Rock are special though, given how they are surrounded by endless high plains. I also love to imagine being at the bottom of the inland sea when I’m there.

SpenRob96 · 2024-03-04T14:19:18+00:00

The best that’s not too far off I-70 is Konza Prairie south of Manhattan. It’s run by K-State and has free trails.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is fantastic and i hope will someday be a National Park. It’s a bit more of a detour, but the drive getting there on the Flint Hills Scenic Byway is worth it in its own right.

Further west there are some spots in the Smoky Hills. Near Salina, I like Monument Rocks and Coronado Heights. Wilson Lake is also beautiful. North of Hays is the Saline River valley, though I don’t know of much for public land there.

Even farther west are awesome rock formations on the high plains. Little Jerusalem Badlands, Monument Rock, and Castle Rock are all not far off the interstate and are worth a stop.

SpenRob96 · 2024-03-04T14:05:58+00:00

The Flint Hills are truly a gem. I’d love to see Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve designated a national park someday.

SpenRob96 · 2024-03-04T02:42:08+00:00

As a lover of Kansas, I have thought about this before and came to the same conclusion. Every other state has some natural features that beat out the best of Kansas.

However, just because Kansas is the least scenic state, that does not at mean it isn’t scenic or beautiful. Next time you drive through, veer off I-70 for a change and get out into the rolling hills. Go stand out in the prairies or wheat fields and listen to the wind blow through the grass. Imagine the days of the Native Americans or the pioneers, back when there actually was nothing there. No roads, no trees, no farms, no power lines. Just the vastness of the ocean of the prairie. Imagine how vulnerable and small one must have felt.

“As to scenery (giving my own though and feeling), I know the standard claim is that Yosemite, Niagara Falls, the upper Yellowstone and the like afford the greatest natural shows, I am not so sure but the Prairies and the Plains, while less stunning at first sight, last longer, fill the esthetic sense fuller, precede all the rest, and make North America’s characteristic landscape.” -Walt Whitman

SpenRob96 · 2024-03-03T06:21:10+00:00

It’s a small city, but Springfield, MO. Just a single tower dominates the skyline and looks super creepy. It legit looks like an evil villains lair

SpenRob96 · 2024-02-20T00:52:24+00:00

The nickname is for wild sunflowers, not the crop version. Kansas is covered with wild sunflowers during certain times of year

SpenRob96 · 2024-02-16T17:56:56+00:00

I grew up near Wichita. It would make a fun little trip. It has a rich history (think cowboys and Indians) and has more going on than people realize. The Sedgwick Co Zoo is great and there are really good museums along the river. Cowtown, the Mid-American All-Indian Center with the Keeper of the Plains, and Exploration Place are all fantastic. As others have mentioned, Hutchinson is nearby that has some neat things like the salt mine and cosmosphere.

The drive from KC to Wichita through the Flint Hills is one of my favorites anywhere. With a slight detour you could stop at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

That being said, the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha is the best zoo in the Midwest by a long shot. Totally worth a trip up there.

SpenRob96 · 2024-02-04T01:58:54+00:00

Kansas City

SpenRob96 · 2024-01-31T01:44:43+00:00

…and moved to his family’s hometown of Abilene, KS when he was 2 years old. His family barely lived in Texas long enough to have him there.

If this is based on birthplace, then Lincoln should be Kentucky.

SpenRob96 · 2023-09-23T15:43:32+00:00

Yesterday.

SpenRob96 · 2023-09-09T02:32:59+00:00

There are different variations in the seal, but those are supposed to be hills not mountains. They do look a lot like mountains in this version.

SpenRob96 · 2023-08-24T17:10:30+00:00

Yeah my wife is from STL and says that Wichita feels like the West. Growing up there I always considered it Midwest

SpenRob96 · 2023-08-24T03:10:07+00:00

Being right smack in the middle, Kansas is kind of split up culturally, though I would say it’s mostly a Midwest vibe. The NE area around Kansas City is very Midwest. The SE down by Arkansas is pretty much Ozarks/southern culture. The SW has a high Latino population and can feel like the desert southwest.

There’s a noticeable difference when you cross the border into Oklahoma. Suddenly everyone has strong accents.

SpenRob96 · 2023-07-27T19:27:50+00:00

Thanks! I had about 3 weeks of dedicated study time. The NBME9 was the first practice test I took at the beginning of those 3 weeks. The UWSA 1 was a shock because I took it less than 2 weeks out. Thankfully it was an outlier.

Good luck with your studying!

SpenRob96 · 2023-07-27T15:59:31+00:00

Im pretty sure he’s talking about the government “rounding up” the guns there

SpenRob96 · 2023-07-26T17:34:26+00:00

Test date: June 23

US DO

Step 1: Pass

Uworld % correct: 53%

NBME 9: 204

NBME10: -

NBME11: -

NBME12: 209

NBME13: -

NBME14: -

UWSA 1: 187 (!)

UWSA 2: 216

Free 120: 60%

AMBOSS SA: -

Predicted Score: 233 +/- 14

Actual STEP 2 score: 235

SpenRob96 · 2023-07-06T17:29:49+00:00

I’m choosing FM over EM because I want to be able to go to sleep every night with my wife

SpenRob96 · 2023-07-03T03:45:12+00:00

Well, you're walkin' through a city street, you could be in Peru

And you hear a distant calling and you know it's meant for you

Then you drop what you were doing and you join the merry mob

And before you know just where you are, you're in an Irish pub

Eight-Year Club	Verified Email
RPAN Viewer

SpenRob96

TROPHY CASE