Kansas 101

Dorothy and Toto are two of the cutest characters from the famous film, Wizards of Oz. And aside from Dorothy’s red shoes (which by the way was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for its hefty price tag), one of the most memorable part of the film was when Dorothy’s house was picked by the tornado and carried away from Kansas.

Fans of both the book and the movie know very well where the house was blown to. The land is known for having frequent really strong violent storms and typhoons along with big tornadoes, hailstorsms and scary thundershowers. When you find yourself in the middle of this place, be not in despair. You have just reached the Cyclone State also known as Kansas.

The state, however, is not all that scary. In fact, it is the home of the country’s most beautiful landscapes that includes the smooth, green colored hills, rich woodlands, wide farmlands and fairly modernized cities in the eat.

The High Plains of the wets on the other hand is filled with all the golden wheat farms and art-like sand dunes. The sunflowers from the state’s prairies also give the warmest welcome to the visitors, giving Kansas’ another nickname: Sunflower State. This is the oddest thing about Kansas because despite the frequent visits of large typhoons and storms, the state becomes the warmest and most beautiful landscape of sunflowers and wild trees after a bad weather.

And because the State has been famous because of the story of Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum which was first made into a film in 1939, the government established a tourist destination that allows tourists to come see where in Kansas Dorothy’ s house landed. And with the million fans of the movies around the globe, it is then not surprising that Liberal, Kansas is one of the most visited regions in the state.

The house of Dorothy is presently within the premise of the Coronado Museum but it was first built in 1907 which was donated to the Seward Country Historical Society some years after. Because Dorothy’s adventures all started in Kansas, it is just practical that the fans of the movie goes to the state and hope to get a little touch of magic that filled the life of Dorothy.

But wait, there’s more. Because fans surely won’t be satisfied with just the view of Dorothy’s house, Liberal, Kansas also offers the thrill of experiencing the Land of Oz for real. The five thousand square feet theme park is filled with animated entertainment complete with the good and bad witches, winged monkeys, and even with talking trees.  You can also get the chance of meeting the Tin Man and the darling cowardly lion in person as you play with the adorable Toto.

Auntie Em and Uncle Henry will serve as the tour guides in the Yellow Brick road to give you more of that Land of Oz experience and a chance to ask anything about the magical land.

So ask a Wizard of Oz what is great about Kansas and you’re sure to get an endless list of answers.