Wilson, Kansas is a mile and a half south of the intersection of I-70 and the Post Rock Scenic Byway, 186 miles west of Lawrence. The surrounding region is known as the Smoky Hills due to its rolling hills and blue-grey mists, which frequently gather in the valleys. Vast deposits of Dakota Sandstone, Greenhorn Limestone, and Niobrara Chalk lie underfoot. The abundance of these kinds of stone and the lack of trees determined the early vernacular architecture. Wilson grew up around the Kansas Pacific Railway's station in the late 1860s. Czech immigrants were drawn to the area to build the railroad and establish a life. If you like kolaches, klobasa, and slow-cooked beef goulash, Wilson's annual After Harvest Czech Festival might be the perfect excuse for a visit.
You will find a small town with a wonderful collection of limestone buildings. If you thought it would make a perfect movie set, you'd be correct. The 1973 film Paper Moon was filmed here. Photographs documenting the filming are inside the wonderfully restored Midland Hotel.
Just west of the giant egg is the Wilson Opera House, which suffered a devastating fire in 2009. However, the town has banded together to restore it as an open-air theater. A clever way to use and maintain the opera house's limestone walls.
Czech out these proverbs:
A custom wears a shirt of iron.
An apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
After a battle, everyone is a general.
As one makes his bed, that way he shall lie down.
Laws without penalties are like bells without clappers.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
