Symphony In The Flint Hills

On June 14, 2008, Chuck and I attended the 2008 Symphony in the Flint Hills featuring the Kansas City Symphony. This was the third year for the event which is held in a different prairie location each year. This year the Symphony was held in Chase county near Council Grove. I experimented and took this over-exposed picture in Council Grove. I like the look of the shot.

Council Grove was named in 1825 when U.S. Commissioner George C. Sibley met with the chiefs of the Big and Little bands of the Osage Indians in a large grove of trees along the Neosho River. A treaty was signed allowing safe passage along the Santa Fe trail in exchange for $800.00.

Council Grove is an interesting town and I would really like to come back another day and visit all the historic sights in the area. We only had time to grab a quick bite at the local Dairy Queen which I noted by the plaques on the wall had won several awards in 1994. Apparently this was quite historic as well.

The headwaters of the Neosho River begin about 15 miles from here and run through Council Grove. The Neosho is the second largest River in Kansas and eventually becomes a tributary of the Arkansas River (pronounced "Our Kansas" River in Kansas, not like the name of the state Clinton is from).

We arrived early in order to secure a good seat. You may bring your own chair or you can rent a chair for $2.00 each. Next year we will bring our own chair and bug repellant.
Chuck has staked his claim.

The concert doesn't start until 6:30pm and is designed to end as the sun is setting behind the Flint Hills. From 1-6pm you can take a ride in a covered wagon, take a walk on the prairie with guides from the Kansas Native Plant Society or the Audubon Society or even listen to discourses on early homesteading, the Kanza Indians or the Santa Fe Trail.


I took this picture out of the back of the wagon on our ride. The lines of people are walking in from the parking area which is about half a mile from the concert site.


Cowboy on Horseback

This was on view from our "seats".

The symphony played from the shelter below. The site was a natural ampitheather.

Chuck and Natalie at the Symphony.

Pure Kansas

A meadowlark I saw on our nature walk.

There are lots of wildflowers on the tallgrass prairie. This is Daisy Fleabane. The early settlers thought this flower was a flea repellant.

For those of you not from Kansas, this is a horse.

We bought a nice dinner at the concert, BBQ beef sandwich and two sides-potatoe salad, cole slaw, baked beans or pasta salad & either lemonade or tea for $10.00 each. People at the concert were very friendly and we met a lot of people, mostly from Leawood, KS. Leawood is a very wealthy suburb of Kansas City. I didn't met this lady but I secretly took her picture because I thought she personified the Leawood symphony matron.

As you listen to the concert, you can watch events take place around you on the giant Flint Hills stage. As the concert began, we watched all the wagons leave in formation and disappear over the hill behind the symphony.

1840?

The Santa Fe trail was about 2 miles North of the symphony site. The Santa Fe trail was primarily a "commerce" route. Over one-half of the trails 800 mile length crossed through Kansas. It took 6-8 weeks to get from Missouri to Santa Fe since the wagon trains could only average 12-15 miles per day.

During another portion of the concert, we watched a cattle drive over the Flint Hills around us. Until the late 1890's, cattle were often driven from Texas to the Flint Hills where they could be "fattened" on the tallgrass prairie before being taken to market in Abilene to be shipped by rail to Kansas City, St. Louis or Chicago.


I don't know this little girl but thought she was cute enough to take her picture.

In Council Grove the largest bank is still the "Farmers & Drovers Bank". I wonder how many people today even know what a "Drover" is?


It was wonderful to listen to the concert with a background symphony of birds singing, insects buzzing & cows bawling.

The concert site was called "North Lakeview Pasture". There was never a lake here rather the property was owned by a family named "Lake" from 1882 to 1942. The ranch was known as the Lakeview Ranch.

Chuck bought me a couple of prints designed to advertise the symphony which I am having framed for my new guest bedroom.

I think this is my best cattle picture.

Dusk in the Flint Hills.

Each year the symphony is held in a new location. Next year's concert will be held near Florence, Kansas on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

Last year National Geographic did a story on the Flint Hills which included some beautiful pictures. To view the article, go to: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0704/feature5/index.html

Third Annual Syphony in the Flint Hills

Sold Out in 2 Hours

5,000 in attendance

Two of the fortunate attendees


Below is a little video I shot of the cattle drive as the concert plays in the background. The music you are listening to is "Overture to the Cowboys".

The Cowboys was a John Wayne film which required a vigorous musical score to accompany horseback riding, calf roping, etc. The movie is about a 60 year old man who loses all his ranch hands to gold fever and thus must hire a bunch of school boys to help him drive his cattle to market. I have seen and like the movie. Of course, if you know me at all then you are aware I love John Wayne who is possibly my favorite actor, next only to Johnny Depp.