Castle Rock
Castle Rock
Location: From Quinter (Exit 107 on I-70), take the road South 15 miles, then East 4 miles. Turn back North and after about 3/4 mile you are there. (There is a sign just South of the gas station at Exit 107 with directions, as well as pointers at all the intersections.)
Important Note: Castle Rock is on private land! Unfortunately, there have been vandalism and trash problems in this area. Please, please, please, pick up any trash left by others who are less appreciative of the privilege of visiting this unique area. If you see vandals at work, by all means report them immediately--your cell phone will work here. The thoughtless and malicious actions of a the small minority of people who vandalize and litter has already closed many private areas to the public in Kansas--a state that already has the lowest percentage of public lands in the nation. Each year, more land owners decide it's not worth the hassle to allow public access. Let's do what we can to prevent that from happening here.
Nearest Town: Quinter
Admission Fee: None
Images updated, 2002
Photos Copyright Harland J. Schuster. Please ask permission before use.
Chalk formations from an ancient sea have eroded into whimsical forms here; the best known is castle rock (photo, left), which is a short distance from the rest of the badlands in this immediate area. This part of the state is lightly populated. The county seat, Gove, has a population of just 148. But the nice thing about all this isolation is that you won't be battling crowds of other tourists. The silence out here has a sound all of its own. The wind blows, a bird sings, cattle graze peacefully nearby, and the sun sets on the unbroken horizon to the west. With all this silent grandeur, the view from the rim above Castle Rock at sunset takes on a near mystical quality, though you won't often hear down-to-earth farm folks--such as myself--refer to it in that way.
Evening light.... A photographer will forsake food and fellowship for this magic time just before the sun sets. The light and shadows paint the landscape with warm colors just before the blackness of the night. Each moment the light changes. The shadows lengthen, the chalk changes from a dull gray-white to a crisp golden white. Nature is painting an ever changing master piece right before your eyes.
The photographer must work quickly, but
thoughtfully. Composition, lines of interest, angle of light,
quality of light, shutter speed, lens aperture, long lens or wide angle,
foreground, background, film speed and type. All these things must
be considered and all must come together--soon. In moments the light will
be gone. Hands struggle with camera, lens, and tripod controls which
were definitely designed for an artist's fine grip, not the clumsy, callused
grip of the farmer operating them now. Meanwhile, a particle of light
leaves the surface of the sun and begins its journey towards earth.
Several minutes later, it enters the atmosphere where some of its wavelengths
are absorbed, and others pass through. It strikes the chalk formations
which absorb some of the light and reflect the rest back towards the camera.
The shutter clicks open for a mere fraction of a second then back shut again,
allowing just the right amount of light to react with a microscopic layer of
silver based chemicals on the back of a plastic strip, and an image is born.
You may have heard that in the summer of 2001, Castle Rock "fell over". As you can see in these images, taken in the summer of 2002, the demise of one of the most famous landmarks of western Kansas has been greatly exaggerated. The top part of one of the spires did indeed fall over to the north, and you can see the rubble on the far side of Castle Rock in this image.
Historic drawings show that Castle Rock was once larger than it is today and larger than it was before the collapse of 2001. Most of these drawings were made when the Smokey Hill Trail passed nearby in the late 1800's. It's obvious that erosion is taking place here at a pretty fast pace. One day, probably sooner than we would like, the rest of the spires will succumb. The same forces which are reducing Castle Rock to nothing are at the same time sculpting the highlands just to the south, and perhaps-- just perhaps--one day one of these will take its place. Erosion gives and erosion takes away. The unfortunate tendency of some visitors to climb the rock has doubtless sped up the process as each scramble to the top removes a little more of the soft stone. The amount of material that it would take the natural erosive forces of wind and water many years to remove are removed in seconds. Multiplied over time and visits, this is bound to take it's toll. Ironically, mankind is the only creature that can appreciate Castle Rock's beauty and is the only creature that is actively destroying that same beauty.
Cattle graze peacefully in the nearby badlands. With ample curiosity but limited intellect, these bovines briefly take a break from grazing to study the occasional visitor to castle rock. What profound thoughts could be on the mind of #31-R as she ponders the latest tourist?