Review Topic:  Overview

Who would get all excited about telling your friends you plan to spend the weekend in Bonner Springs, Kansas?

Well, *YOU* might, if you like races, sports, history, and festivals for your day tripping.

First off, where would you stay? You would have your choice of parking your RV or pitching your tent at Cottonwood Camp Grounds, just south of I-70 on K-7 highway. Diagonally from there, you could choose the Holiday Inn Express, on the northwest corner of I-70 and K-7. Or you could stay at one of 3 Bed and Breakfasts in the area. Eating would be no problem with waffles, pizza, chicken, and hamburger fast food restaurants, plus Victory Junction's home cooked meals a bit north of I-70 on K-7 and Parallel Road.

Assuming this is an autumn weekend trip, for races you could see live horse racing at the Woodlands Race Tracks, north of I-435 at Leavenworth
Road. The greyhounds also run almost all year long, and both horse and greyhound simulcasting is available year round. In 2001, the new Kansas NASCAR race track is scheduled to open at I-70 and 110th Street, just north of Edwardsville, KS.

You could also plan a trip to see either the Royals (baseball) or Chiefs (football) teams play by traveling east on I-70 through Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri to the stadiums.

The history option of your daytripping could be a trip north on K-7 to Leavenworth, KS. Drive through the Fort, and see where (down by the Missouri River) goods were unloaded from river boats and drug up the hill to be carried by wagons on south to the Santa Fe Trail. Be sure to drive past the federal penitentary to the field west of it to see if you can spot the buffalo living there. You could continue on to Atchison, KS, where Amelia Airheart grew up along the Missouri River.

If you come to the area a little later, like in October, you could also spend part of your weekend at the Wyandotte County Historical Society's "Wyandot Days". You might want to brush up on how the Kansa Indians were moved west when the Wyandot and Delaware and Shawnee tribes were brought from Ohio into Kansas in the early 1800s, and what role Ft. Leavenworth played in all of this.

But after Labor Days, on weekends, you will be right in time for the Renaissance Festival. Follow the signs north of I-70 on K-7 into the past.

Bonner Springs is also the home of the Agriculture Hall of Fame, which is also located north of I-70 off of K-7. This general area is also the location of Sandstone Ampitheater, where name entertainers perform outside.

Because of the NASCAR track construction, I-70 and US-24 are currently (Sept 2000) undergoing some major changes and traffic is detoured. This just seems like another reason to plan to stay in Bonner Springs for the weekend, to avoid the traffic trying to get back on I-70 to spend the night somewhere else.

For more details and links to official web pages, check the "Virtual Bonner Springs and Edwardsville" web site at:
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/wyandott/bonner/




Recommended: Yes