Konza Prairie | Kansas Flint Hills

After attacking my delicious red pepper & spinach quiche like a hungry polar bear just waking up from long winter hibernation in the trendy Bluestem Bistro in Aggieville, located near Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, I dragged my still-unsatisfied stomach alone and slowly drove toward the Konza Prairie few miles outside of the city. With a cup of iced Galão, charming scenery sunbathed in gorgeous March sunlight, and Bob Dylan’s album Highway 61 Revisited in the stereo, I was at least as happy as jazz alto saxophonist Charlie Parker when he advertized for the King Saxophone Company with the catch phrase of “I’m as happy as a Bird with my King Super 20.” But, birds get sad; birds get lonely. I imagined.

But something is happening here
And you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

Dylan continued to sing his Ballad of A Thin Man and I continued to converse with my own imaginary Mister Jones while trying to picture a sad little blue bird in my head without any major success. By and by, I was standing near the entrance of the Konza Prairie, excitedly jotting down the no-horses rule from the information board (no horse in the trail, check!) before my wonderful exploration of McDreamy tallgrass land.

 

The Konza Prairie Biological Station, located south of Manhattan, Kansas and operated by the Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University, is a large native tallgrass prairie preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills. While the primary objective of Konza Prairie, one of sites within the Long Term Ecological Research Network, functions as a field research station, three hiking trail loops are opened to public, including the Nature Trail Loop (2.8 miles), Kings Creek Loop (4.7 miles), and Godwin Hill Loop (6.1 miles).

No Comments / Apr 06.10 / Photo, Travel / by Jen-Kuang Chang

Bebop Cookbook | Charlie Parker’s Nickname & Bebop Lick

Since we will be casually chatting about Charlie Parker’s nickname, I can’t help but think that this is a perfect cunning opportunity to admit, once and for all, that I am one of those “man without a nickname” (with mysterious organ music distantly sounded) kind of guys. For some reasons, nicknames stay far-far-away from me like cute squirrels hastily running away from big-bad falcons. I am of course not a big-bad-falcon-kind-of-person. (I hope, at least). Quite the opposite. I am somewhat timid and, frankly, can’t say no to a good bite of dark chocolate and any chance to make odd references to koala bears, kangaroos, Philip Glass, and obscure 80s’ films. See, no big-bad-falcon-attributes whatsoever. “How about JK?” One might ask. Well, JK isn’t really a nickname. Oh-no-no, it isn’t. It is simply an abbreviation of my given name. But, then, if one is to consider JK as the abbreviation of Just-Kidding, it would probably have qualified as an excellent dual-purpose pick-up line. Top ten on any list.

“Name is JK.” Delivering it with cool James Bond accent. “Or call me Just-Kidding.”

"Continue Reading…"

2 Comments / Apr 01.10 / Bebop Cookbook, Downloads / by Jen-Kuang Chang

Koester House Museum | Marysville, Kansas

Following our somewhat sneaky US-77 under 5 o’clock grand darkness in the morning was quite a workout. So when I finally reached Marysville, Kansas, an exciting town known for its Pony Express Home Station No. 1, I wasn’t expecting any trivial challenge from US-77 at all. I missed the turn. O-kay-O-kay. I said it. I drove straight-ahead like a brave young squirrel on the Pony Express Highway. I drove pass Home, Kansas with its welcome banner “There is no place like home” putting a big smile on my face. Twenty minutes later, I was in the outskirt of Seneca, Kansas, asking a nice lady and a police officer in the gas station for directions. “Don’t miss the turn,” she said with a big smile. “You will also need to make a left turn in Waterville!” Good tips. I waved goodbye and drove back to Marysville.

What I was saying was basically that I was not in a happy-jolly-cheery mood when I stopped in Marysville for fresh air. But even under this not-your-grandma’s-one-hundred-percent-gleeful condition, the Koester House Museum still managed to wow me with its elegant structure and an impressive collection of white bronze sculptures in the museum yard. With two grand cast iron lions diligently guarded the front gate, I felt that I should take my shot as quickly as possible before they noticed my lowly-humbly presence.

The Koester House Museum, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was built by Charles F. Koester in 1860 who served as the treasurer of Marshall County. Koester was later involved in the family banking business known as the Exchange Bank & Schmidt & Koester. The entire block developed by the Koester family, known as the “Koester Block,” was given to the city of Marysville in 1977 by the Koester heirs. The house right next to the Koester House Museum was built for Charles Koester’s son in 1906 and was currently operating as the Las Cabanas Mexican Restaurant.

No Comments / Mar 29.10 / Travel / by Jen-Kuang Chang

Kings Creek | Konza Prairie

Making some field recordings of Kings Creek near Hokanson Homestead in Konza Prairie was both mentally and physically therapeutic. The stream benevolently bequeathed a serene luminosity of a quiet song and the reflection of gorgeous afternoon sunlight. I was content and still, minus my understandable hungriness after a long day of travel, silently reciting Australian poet Henry Lawson’s The Song And The Sigh as a pre-snack-time tribute to a perfect spring day.

And the creek of life goes winding on,
Wandering by;
And bears for ever, its course upon,
A song and a sigh.

Kings Creek | Field-Recorded at Konza Prairie | 2010 | Jen-Kuang Chang

No Comments / Mar 29.10 / Found Sound, Travel / by Jen-Kuang Chang

Chris Barr’s Cabin | Manhattan, Kansas

Chris Barr’s Cabin, located outside of Manhattan, Kansas on the road to Pillsbury Crossing, was built in 1863 and was later incorporated as a part of a larger house. The cabin was discovered when the house was demolished in 1962. In 1992, Zeandale Senior Citizens refurbished the cabin into its current state.

No Comments / Mar 29.10 / Travel / by Jen-Kuang Chang