Elk Falls — Pay Phone

How long has it been since you've seen one of these bad boys? Seriously .... think about it. And how long has it been since you actually USED a pay phone? My last time was probably in high school.


Erik couldn't resist looking at the number and calling, just to see if it worked. So he called and talked with Miss Susie. He said "Can you hear me?" and of course she COULD because he was standing 3 feet away. Silly GOOSE!


And also ... the variety theater .... looks like the place has seen better days. Poor lonely building!

Elk Falls — Odds + Ends

There's this super-cute little pottery studio. If you're ever in Elk Falls, you gotta stop by!




We saw this chair on the way to the studio. On it, it said "crime scene." Not sure what that's all about ..... but funny, I guess.


Then, they took us over to their new farm area .... I didn't even know the place was there!!!!! It was very interesting!


Beautiful, eh?


This old piano was hanging out in the house, which really showed its age. But they're going to totally re-do it and I will want to check back in a few years when it's ready. :)


The main reason we wanted to go here was b/c the lady who lived there had people in the depression commissioned to make these concrete animals and other things in the yard. It's REALLY interesting.






I gotta say, the little toenails were pretty adorable. Clever, eh?


This is a fun fact: when this was made, it contained a rock from each of the states in the US. They were even labeled at one point .... but some of the rocks have grown legs and walked off .... :(


Beautiful, colorful flowers!


Seriously interesting looking tree. I bet it's awesome for tree climbing!


Interesting little detail.


They put in a bathroom in the barn ... isn't that faucet/sink combo awesome?!?!?!??


The back wall of the barn was repaired from reclaimed wood from other buildings around the place. I love the color .... and that it re-used it. :)


Grabbed this quick pic of the 'high school gym' ... for people who have never been in Southeast Kansas ... it's just a whole other country down there. ;)

Elk Falls — Outhouse Capital of Kansas :)

Well, on our way down to Independence, I insisted we stop in Elk Falls, the outhouse capital of Kansas.

Laugh if you will ... but it's true. They tell me it's a self-proclaimed title, but no one else is exactly claiming it.

The "official" tour is the weekend before Thanksgiving. So at the end of June, we were a *bit* out of season. Oops. Anyhow, if you have time and are interested, check it out in the fall.

In the meantime, here are a few of the outhouses that we checked out.


The postal outhouse is always pretty amusing. :)


I laughed SO hard when I saw this sign .....

Erik made the comment 'all these outhouses and no public restroom in this town' .... I think Erik had to take a leak and leaked in this actual outhouse. ;)


I think this is from the phone company. Cute!


HA!


And the insides are decorated, too! :)


This was new since my last visit about 5 years ago.


tee-hee-hee