Castle Rock, Kansas

Our next stop was Castle Rock. It is also on private land and you definitely do not want to drive into this area if it has been raining or might rain while you are there. The roads are just awful and there are huge ruts in the road. At one point our truck was tilted sideways as Lee tried to maneuver around a particularly precarious spot. I looked out the window at the ground below!  I think a jeep might have been useful. Actually, I think if we would have just driven to Castle Rock itself, we might not have had so many problems but we wandered around the area above Castle Rock and that was the most treacherous part. You still would not want to be in the area if it was wet because there is an excellent chance you'd end up stuck in the mud and we didn't have any Verizon coverage in the area. Once I got over fearing for our lives on the really bad sections of the road, I started to enjoy the scenery and the rock formations.

Looking down at the drive to Castle Rock and Castle Rock Itself

Wildflowers along the way

Another interesting formation on the way

Kind of looks like a building with lots of windows!

This formation reminded me of the beaches on the Washington Coast where people stack rocks in this shape and leave them everywhere along the beaches!

I really thought this area was much more interesting than Castle Rock.  We wandered up and down the hills and in and out of caverns in the rock formed by the winds.  We had a picnic lunch in the truck just looking at this view.  

I love this picture and I took it!!  Would be a great Facebook Profile picture if Lee was on Facebook!

Our Freightliner

Wildflowers

Another interesting Wild Flower

Castle Rock

The Kansas Landscape Surrounding Castle Rock

It just seems so strange that this formations are just in the middle of a totally flat landscape. This one particularly made us think we were walking around barrier reefs in a dried up ocean. It is also seems like you are totally in the middle of no where when actually the town of Quinter is not that far away!

Castle Rock

A View of the road leaving Castle Rock - Umm - 
this was the good part of the road!

The roads around Castle Rock itself aren't too bad but you sure would not want to travel them if it was wet.  When we first got to the area, the roads were horrific and climbing up the side of a cliff.  I was thinking we should forget the whole thing especially when the truck was precariously leaning over as we tried to avoid all the huge ruts.  I didn't get any pictures of that because I had no rational thoughts at the time!

Looking back at the area we just explored from Castle Rock

Lee took a panoramic view of this area from Castle Rock looking toward the area we just cam from.  I wish he would have taken a panorama on the other side of this formation because that was the most gorgeous area!  This part just isn't as stunning.