Triple J Campground, Russell, KS

We made it to Kanas and we didn’t even have our ruby slippers with us! We stopped in Russell twice on our way to and back from Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri to visit family. Russell is a small town with a population of around 4,500 just off of I-70 highway.

In our first visit we stopped in the nearby town of Wilson (pop. 724) to visit the largest Czech egg in the world. The community promotes itself as the “Czech Capital of Kansas” due to the role of Czech immigrant settlers in its early history.

Here we meet Leon and Patty at Triple J and ended up parking next to them. They had a brand new Tiffin so we had lots to talk about. We ended up going out to eat, antique shopping and movie night with them on both stays. We also went to the Czech Festival in Wilson and had a great time tasting Czech beer, food and listening to the band. And strangely enough Leon ended up knowing one of the band members from his childhood! Small world indeed.

We had time to visit the Garden of Eden in Lucas, KS. S.P. Dinsmoor, a retired Civil War Veteran, started building the Cabin Home and Garden of Eden in 1904, at the age of 64 as a home and source of income. Its a strange and interesting place place to visit.

You can read more about it here: http://www.gardenofedenlucas.org/

This was an unusual public restroom we found in Lucas. Figure out the entrance shape?