We drove north through central Kansas just to visit two parks with unique rock formations. Both are just a bit off I-70 near Salina, and worth the detour.
Mushroom Rock State Park
At just five acres, this is the smallest state park in Kansas. |
| The park's namesake. The top of the mushroom is a concretion of harder sandstone than the "stem". |
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| The "mushroom" and nearby rocks. The right-most "two" rocks (actually just one when you get closer) is called "Devil's Oven", but we thought it looked more like the head of a whale. |
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| Sue in the "oven". |
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| Another mushroom-like rock. |
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| This formation was officially called "Pulpit Rock", but we thought it looked more like a tooth. |
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| Yet another rock at Mushroom Rock State Park -- a puffball? |
Rock City
About 50 miles north of Mushroom Rock is another collection of sandstone concretions in the same Dakota Sandstone formation. |
| The impressive collection of rounded rock concretions at Rock City. |
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| Lon is walking between the rocks. This gives a perspective of just how big they are. |
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| Trees were growing in the midst of the rocks. Sometimes the tree even split the rock in two as it grew. |
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| Erosion eventually split this rock in half. |
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| The "Doughnut" rock. The hole is big enough for a small adult to squeeze through. (Watch your head!) |
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