Friday 25 April 2014

Family Easter on an American family ranch

This Easter was a little different to the easter I am used to back in Australia. To start off with, the season is spring, rather than autumn and so there isn't the camping and fishing like there is back where I am on the coast of NSW. Instead, there is a ham and egg decorating!

I was fortunate enough to spend my Easter with a ranching and feedlot family in Emporia in eastern Kansas. They gave me a great American family easter experience. It is these types of experiences that I am so grateful for, because no matter how much money you spend on a trip or a tour, you won't get the first hand experiences of American life like I have been fortunate enough to have.


Decorated Eggs

In America, Good Friday and Easter Monday are not recognised as public holidays, which is one of the main reasons that it is not as big of a holiday as what it is in Australia. Good Friday, for my host family and myself, was celebrated with a 'Pot Luck' dinner and Mass. A 'Pot Luck' dinner, is simply where everyone brings a main or dessert to share. It was really lovely to meet some of the people from the surrounding communities of Emporia.

Easter Saturday I rose early to help feed the cattle in the feedlot. My hosts own some of their own cattle on feed, as well as custom fed cattle as well. It was a beautiful morning and they really took the time to tell me how they run their operation. Very early that morning a load of steers had arrived for feeding all the way from Georgia on the east coast. One thing that I will remember, is how many states these US cattle see in their lifetimes.

Doing the morning rounds on Easter Saturday

In Emporia, I rode with the daughters in to town where we went to a bridal and formal and shop so that the youngest daughter could have a prom dress fitting, then went to the rural produce store (which is like a hardware store, produce store and western clothing store all in one).

These Formal dresses are everywhere. It's just like the movies...and a nice change from dirt and dust sometimes!!

We went to the David Traylor Zoo in Emporia, where I saw the iconic American Bald Eagle and some other animals, such as a raccoon, bobcat, vultures and bison.

Bobcat

Bald Eagle. Fun fact: their white feathers on their head does not appear until they reach 4 or 5 years of age.

I also visited some nice spots such as the Cottonwood River, and a great little chocolate shop in Emporia.

The falls on the Cottonwood River

Saturday afternoon was spent dyeing and decorating Easter eggs, which is a tradition that most American families do. They are then hidden for the children the next morning. You're never to old to be a kid right?

These are some of the eggs that we decorated.

Easter Sunday was spent with Mass and then an hour and a half drive to Wichita which is a city in south east Kansas, where we met up with some more of my hosts family and had lunch.

Some popular confectionery at Easter time in America.

On my way back to Manhattan from Wichita, we stopped at some small little country towns along the way and enjoyed a beautiful drive through the iconic limestone Flint Hills- some of the best grazing cattle country in the nation.


Some cattle grazing the Flint Hills.


Some of the limestone rocks that lay on the surface of the Flint Hills.

Cottonwood Falls is a very small town with an impressive Court House.

See if you can spot me in standing in front of the Cottonwood Falls Court House.

We pulled in to visit the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

This house was built back in the 1800's. 

An American barn built back in the 1800's for cattle in the winter. You can see the ramps running up to the upper level for the livestock.

I am still buzzing from my great weekend, a family easter on a family ranch. You can't beat it.


Easter Sunday photos with two lovely girls- Sarah and Arissa. 

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