Our Trip to the Bison Farm

Being from Michigan, it is tradition that in the fall you visit the orchard. You pick apples, have freshly made cider, donuts and goodies, take a hayride, pick pumpkins and have fun! Here in Kansas, we do not have orchards-but we do have bison farms! It seemed like a reasonable alternative to a trip to the orchard and a good way to spend a beautiful fall day. So, Sunday after church, our family headed an hour west to Smoky Hill Bison Farm. The farm boasted a corn maze, corn cannon, gourd slingshot, giant slide, tour of the bison farm, and lots of fall fun. As I mentioned, it was a beautiful day-70 and sunny and very, very windy. But here in Kansas, I find the sun too much sometimes. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and we have very little shade. The wind comes out of the plains at a rapid rate. I have heard that the average day in Kansas is windier than a windy day in Chicago. I don't know if its true, but I believe it! Once we reached the farm we have to put on sweatshirts and sunglasses to protect ourselves from the elements. Once the kids were busy with all the fun things to do, we seemed to forget all about the sun and the wind, and had to race to keep up with them.

First we visited the toddler area where the kids played in a huge box of corn kernels. This was endless fun for both of them. Sophie wasn't sure about it at first, but in no time she was burying her feet and digging, digging, digging. Eventually, Ben spotted the 'big kid' activities and wanted to move on.

After playing briefly in a toddle maze, we moved on to the big corn maze. There are clues throughout to help you get through. We picked up the American History clue sheet. You have to get the answer right to receive the right directions. To be safe, we also picked up the toddler version. Oddly enough, we did have a few discrepancies. Once Nick was insistent on his answer and I have to refer him to the toddler question. The directions weren't really much help because you had to make countless turns in between clues, but at least we felt we had some guidance.

Nick and Ben lead the way with Sophie and I bringing up the rear. Here is one cute shot of our little explorer.

Sophie was growing restless, so we had to put her down after awhile. She was so interested in everything around us, it took forever to move down the rows. She had to examine anything that looked different or seemed out of place. Eventually she resumed her position on Daddy's shoulders.

All in all, it took us over a half hour to work our way through the maze. We were very relieved to find the end. After a drink and a snack (thank goodness I packed Goldfish, because all the food was bison meat) we headed off for more fun. Next the boys took their try at the corn cannon, and the gourd slingshot. Nick was able to get his to fly about 250 yards.

After the slingshot we headed over to the play area where there was a giant slide down the side of a big hill. They had layed plastic down and you had to sit on a burlap bag. Hands down, this was Ben's favorite part of the day. He must have slid for a half hour. I stayed at the top with him and helped him onto his sack.

He flew down the hill so fast it was scary. The first time I thought 'There goes my baby!' He wanted to do it over and over and over and kept right up with all the big kids. Sophie enjoyed watching Ben from the comfort of the toddler area. Finally, we had to stop the sliding and pick some pumpkins. We weren't able to snag a wagon until we were in line to pay so I don't have any pictures of pumpkin picking. By this point Sophie was exhausted, and Nick's arms were full of pumpkins. Benny picked out all of the pumpkins and assigned one to each of us. He can't wait to carve them next week.

While we were in line to pay we were surprised to meet up with our friends the Hogans. They had been there most of the day too, but our paths had not yet crossed. I took a quick photo of the kids-Emma, Anja, Ben, Nicky and Sophie. Ben and Nicky see each other everyday at school, at CCD on Wednesday night and play together twice a week after school. They just can't get enough of each other. Nicky's little sister, Anja, has developed a crush on Ben and talks about him constantly. The kiddos played together a few minutes and then we went our separate ways.

Our trip to the Bison Farm was fun! It certainly can't compete with a trip to the orchard, but it was a great way to spend a fall day!