Drive to Cottonwood Falls, part 2

In my previous post I put some photos from the drive down from Manhattan to the Chase County State Fishing Lake and back to Council Grove lake, where I got to see a really beautiful sunset. I did get to photograph some fires on my way down to Chase county, which was the purpose of my trip, but they were early in the evening, I was really hoping to catch some nighttime fires as well...and the drive from Council Grove to Manhattan did not disappoint. Here are some photos of some of the fires I found on this part of the drive into Manhattan.

If you are wondering why the prairie is burned off in the spring, read this article. The spring time burning is necessary to maintain the grasslands found in the Flint Hills...without the burning trees would eventually take over the prairie. Many people are not aware that the prairies were being burnt long before Europeans settled the Midwest... and even without human intervention the prairies often burned when ignited by lightning strikes.

If you haven't ever seen the Flint Hills being burned off in the spring, mark it down on your calendar and plan to visit...just use common sense and stay out of the ranchers way and stay safe...and enjoy the smell of the smoke, it just isn't spring without it.