The far North East of Colorado is the tiny town of Cope. I have met folks from Cope and they are so surprised when they find out that I not only have been thru but have stopped to take pictures.

Thru the Harvest Host club we were able to boondock on the land of this ranch- they raise Bison for consumption had about 30 head. The next morning we were invited on a ride along into the pasture as Greg Nott and his wife fed the bison hay and nutrient cakes.

In retrospect this was likely a Dirt Devil – you ask what is the difference :

A dust devil typically also has weaker winds than a tornado. A gustnado can have a circulation of wind on the ground with an associated thunderstorm nearby but there is not a direct connection between the gustnado and the convective storm. Typically the gustnado will form along an outflow boundary.

Here is a video of what I saw

The Pratt family established a working sheep ranch on the high plains in the late 19th century. They would leave a legacy that includes unique stone structures and a large photograph collection. The fascinating story begins in Yorkshire, England, and continues.

Abraham Pratt (1827-1901), came to America as a young man, arriving in California during the Gold Rush of the late 1840s. After less than two years in this country he returned to England, resigned from the British navy, and became a liquor merchant and owner of a bottling works. He was married in 1855, and became the father of two sons and two daughters. Twelve years later, in 1878, Pratt sold his British businesses, returned to the U.S., and bought 160 acres of land along the South Solomon River in extreme eastern Sheridan County, Kansas. Pratt was soon joined by his two sons, John Fenton, and Tom.

In its earliest days the ranch consisted of the stone house and at least one outbuilding of sod, which was used as a stable. A sod-walled corral was constructed near the stable. A small, wood-framed structure, which was used as a bathhouse and toilet, was located near the house in the 1880s and still exists today at the ranch. In the late 1800s a natural spring northwest of the house was modified to carry water into a storage cistern from which a pipeline was constructed to provide running water in the house.

Fenton, Tom, and Abraham became successful ranchers, raising Merino sheep. Their journals reflect the prosperous nature of the business. In March and April of 1891 Fenton shipped a total of 3,566 pounds of wool to markets in St. Louis and Philadelphia. A month later the Pratts sold 3,399 pounds of wool to Hagey Brothers in St. Louis and received $522. Fenton’s livestock tally for 1892 indicated 1,580 sheep on his ranch.

In 1888 Fenton married Yorkshire native Jennie Elizabeth Place. The couple had two daughters, Hilda, born in 1889, and Elsie, born in 1894. Fenton Pratt sold all of his sheep and most of his land in 1904 and pursued his other business interests in Sheridan and Graham counties. He died in 1937. Hilda never married and remained on the home place with her mother. After the death of Jennie Pratt in 1959, Hilda lived alone at the ranch until 1978. She died in 1980.

In 1982 the state of Kansas purchased approximately 23 acres of the original John Fenton Pratt ranch. Today it is operated as Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, nominated for its association with the settlement of western Kansas and for its architecture.

“Go to Kansas”

Formerly enslaved African Americans left Kentucky at the end of the of post-Civil War Reconstruction period to experience freedom in the “Promised Land” of Kansas. Nicodemus represents the involvement of African Americans in the westward expansion and settlement of the Great Plains. It is the oldest and only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River.

It’s more truth than anything to say I feel that a visit to the Prairie , especially the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Preserve, is like getting recharged at a church of brick and mortar

This development with Too Large Houses on Too Small Lots is just outside the boudaries of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Preserve. Besides being ugly they are too close to each other which is one of the factors why the Marshall Fire of several months ago was so devastating. Yes the undergrowth was flammable and winds were in excess of 75 mph but the closeness of structures is what led a lot of neighborhoods to go up so quickly. No chance to fight of the flames. It’s too late for this development but I hope they have a good fire department that get’s on wildfires quickly.

That’s right folks, Mt. Sunflower just across the border with Colorado is the highest point in the Sunflower state. At 4039 ft. ASL. I reached here without any supplemental oxygen! Nor with the aide of Sherpas!

My new part time job takes me to Goodland, KS as well as to Atwood. I am just now exploring this town in NW Kansas.

The photo on the right is one of their claims to fame. A large Van Gogh picture on a huge easel. Not sure how that came about – perhaps from a bygone era where anything weird could get people to stop.

Located in Colby, Kansas is a wonderful Prairie Museum. While of particular interest to people from that area it is also quite the trip back in time. Both inside and outside the exhibits are well done. They have the largest barn in Kansas on site.