Them Thar Hills

 

"There's gold in them thar hills."

According to folklore, in 1849, from the steps of the Lumpkin County Courthouse, a Dahlonega, Georgia mint assayer, Dr. M.F. Stephenson, yelled to the townspeople, "There's gold in them thar hills." He wanted to keep people looking for gold in Georgia, rather than leaving for California.

We found some "gold" in the Flint Hills of Kansas during a recent golfing excursion. But the gold was in the form of wildflowers - not minerals. 

At a senior golf tournament Randy played in this summer, some of his golfing companions talked about playing the Wabaunsee Pines Golf Course. We had a day between tennis and volleyball matches while in Topeka, so we - like the gold prospectors - went west.

Of course, we weren't going as far west as California, but just to Wabaunsee County. 

 

Wabaunsee Pines is a nine-hole public golf course featuring limestone berms and native grasses of the Flint Hills. It's been called “The Gem of the Flint Hills” and we now know why.

The course was constructed and maintained with volunteer labor and has irrigated greens, tees, and fairways.Wabaunsee Pines Golf Association, Inc. was incorporated in 1993. In 2014, a group of patrons joined together and created the “Double Eagle Club” which funds the course's only employee. Before that time, it was maintained by all volunteer labor.

The beauty of the Kansas Flint Hills is just natural - no grooming required. 

 This time of year, the fall wildflowers provided a beautiful backdrop to a nice course.

 

The course is adjacent to Lake Wabaunsee.

Kansas may have a reputation for being flat. But the Flint Hills are just one exception to that rule.

My golfer would recommend it. 

On the way back to Topeka, we had lunch at the Sommerset Cafe in the tiny town of Dover. 

Photo by Taylor Hunt from Facebook photos

 I didn't take any photos (believe it or not.) But we would recommend it, too. The cafe is housed in a 19th-century clapboard building and serves homestyle cafe fare and classic pies. Yes, we had the pie. Randy had banana creme and I had Dutch apple. Yum! We would definitely make a return visit, if the opportunity arises.