2024 Summer Road Trip – Part 1

Sometimes you just need to hit the road, to get away from the grind. After a stressful week, I had to get some windshield time and my supportive family let me loose to take in many small towns throughout Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. There were a number of communities that I had been eyeing to check out and this road trip turned out to be the best chance.

Hebron, Nebraska

After various delays, I was finally able to escape the office one June Friday afternoon to run down the road to my first stop, Salina, Kansas. But after a couple of hours, I had to hit the brakes, slowing my journey into Kansas. As I followed the curves of Highway 81 as it proceeded past the little town of Hebron, Nebraska, I was intrigued by the monument entry sign on the north end. But I didn’t stop as I wanted to get to Salina before the setting sun made picture-taking problematic. As the highway bypass proceeded around the community my eye caught two more signs that marked additional pathways into the community. The third sign, one that stated “Hebron – Nebraska’s Porch Swing Capital”, clinched it for me, I just had to head back.

I stomped on the brakes, turned around, and headed into town. With the quick pass through town, I was pleased to find that the community had latched onto their branding and had incorporated it into their wayfinding and park signage. Implementing your community’s brand into a variety of forms of media is key to expressing it to residents and visitors. Signage is one key medium to express that brand.

Tucked in behind the rows of commercial buildings that lined Lincoln Avenue, their Main Street, was Roosevelt Park. There sat the focal point of their branding effort. Although the community had its share of front porch swings, it also boasted the “World’s Largest Porch Swing”. That’s quite the claim, but the swing that hung from a shade structure in that park was quite long.

Salina, Kansas

Leaving Hebron, I raced down to Salina (@Salina_KS_Gov) to catch some pictures before the sunset. This community has worked diligently over the years to make its downtown an iconic hub of activity. The overall streetscape is well-designed and clearly focused on the pedestrian experience. In addition to the bold intersection corners with pillars and bollards in an Art Deco style, public art is sprinkled along both sides of the street. These art pieces varied in size and style, creating visual interest wherever you walked.

The community also shut down an alleyway that connected Santa Fe Ave and South 5th Street. It was converted into a pedestrian plaza with picnic tables and a stage at the far end. That evening a band was playing as string lights provided an ambiance for those in attendance.

In fact, nighttime was when downtown Salina really shined. The pillars and bollards light up the pedestrian crossing points at the intersections. But the main pedestrian crossing points REALLY stood out. Knowing mid-block crossings are the safest form of pedestrian street crossings, the City took it a step further. They built massive structures over the crossings to bring attention to these crossings. Each of these structures was lit with LED lighting that provided a glow that was constantly changing.

Downtown Salina will certainly be the subject of at least one or two more posts on Rural Resurrection.

Lindsborg, Kansas

As the day started on the second day of the road trip, I moseyed on south, down to Lindsborg, Kansas. Those of you who have followed this blog have seen me mention Lindström, Minnesota a few times. One of the first Star Communities for Rural Resurrection, this community lays claim as “America’s Little Sweeden”. But Lindsborg (@VisitLindsborg), Kansas can certainly give Lindström a run for its money on that claim. This quaint town of nearly 3,800 residents has bought into the draw of its Swedish history.

In addition to the Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, the community’s downtown is thick with the Swedish theme. Dala horses stand guard along the sidewalks, each adorning its own artistic design. Many of the building facades, shops, and restaurants in the community also exude a strong traditional Swedish look and feel as well.

Look for more to come on this Destination Town.

Marion, Kansas

Next on my list was Marion, Kansas. I targeted this town as it sits nestled in between two lakes to the southeast of Lindsborg. I wanted to see if the community leaned on these recreational amenities to market the town to the others.

Despite some good eye-catching signage and a nice downtown, I was somewhat disheartened that they didn’t take more advantage of their location. But it was a nice little town and they also had a great example of adaptive reuse with how they repurposed a train station into a library.

El Dorado, Kansas

As day two wound down, I once again looked toward another community that was poised to take advantage of its proximity to a lake to create a draw for visitors. But once again, as I drove through El Dorado (@cityofeldo), I was a little disappointed by the lack of focus on this attraction.

They do have a great Experience Eldorado website though that provides a comprehensive listing of the activity centers and events throughout the year. It is a wealth of information in a visually pleasing format that includes El Dorado Lake. But I feel there is so much more the community can do to become a Destination Community that really takes advantage of what the lake can offer the community.

More to Come…

The sun set on me on the second day of my road trip when I was in El Dorado. But there was more to come as I made my way towards Kansas City and Missouri. Check out next week’s post for more on the Summer 2024 road trip!