Kansas City nature buffs: Lace up your hiking boots
Black Hoof Park, in Lenexa, loops Lake Lenexa and winds through woods, bluffs and spans the lake with a boardwalk. Photo ©KCHiker.com.
Don’t miss the beauty the metro area has to offer.
By Roy Harryman
Publisher, Kansas City Hiker
Tourism marketing is designed to create the “grass is greener” syndrome: “It must be more beautiful wherever I am not.”
No doubt there are untold benefits of traveling the world. I’ve learned much from the people of many nations and have no regrets.
But that’s not where we live 50 weeks of the year (or more). Because of this practical reality, we’ll experience the vast majority of our outdoor time within 20 miles of our home. If you live in Kansas City, that must be a real bummer, right?
I’ll answer with a dogmatic “no” for two reasons.
There’s more here than meets the eye
We’re creatures of habit and we gut stuck in ruts. We’re not aware of splendid escapes into local nature, so we assume they don’t exist. It’s similar to always dining at the same restaurants. If you only go with what you know, you’ll always do the same thing. Kansas City Hiker is here to help you broaden your horizons and imagine new possibilities. We’re the Thai spice that displaces your meal of KFC.
The Blue River Trail in South Kansas City includes a stop on the historic Red Bridge, which is now adorned with thousands of “locks of love.” Photo ©KCHiker.com
Your environment is what you make it
The second reason Kansas City is a wonderful place to enjoy is that, metaphorically, the outdoors rests between our ears. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis:
You may have found the world’s most beautiful spot on vacation. Upon returning home, you begin making plans to move to this stunning locale. Don’t do it. Because, after arriving in paradise, you’ll soon acclimate to your surroundings. They’ll become as ho-hum as your hometown. “Paradise must in fact be somewhere else,” goes the thinking. So you set out in search of it once more and remain forever dissatisfied.
Lewis’ point is there is much to celebrate, enjoy and be thankful for, no matter where we live or what we do. In my opinion, if we can’t learn to enjoy the stunning beauty of a wildflower in the Midwest, we’ll never be able to fully appreciate the wonders of nature anywhere else. We can move to Niagara Falls, Yosemite or Glacier National Park. But before we know it, we’ll be humming “The Thrill is Gone.”
Keep on exploring
So branch out in your hometown and find a new park, trail or stream. Enjoy it. Find contentment in it. But don’t stop there. There are six counties in our immediate bi-state area. And if you add in day hikes, you can’t possibly take it all in.
Enjoy the journey and keep on exploring.
Roy Harryman is the publisher of Kansas City Hiker.