As a current Wichita, KS resident, I can proudly say that I haven't had the real chance to explore what the city has to offer. This week that changed. I'm sure everyone knows what it feels like to "need a day away". This was that day. I took the time to sleep in and watch TV and breathe.
I received a text from a friend about getting coffee. I'm thankful that it was such a beautiful day because that meant we could go exploring around the city we now call home. When moving to Wichita, you learn very quickly that the city itself is referred to as "ICT", which stands for Information and Communication Technology. While I don't want to get into a history lesson, Wichita (at one time) was considered the air capital of the United States. Around the time the airport was finally a fully functioning air space, the Federal Communications Commission prohibited airport codes starting with "K" or "W", so the town used the second letter in "Wichita" instead. Thankfully, the idea for "ICT" worked alongside the city's technological growth.
On many t-shirts located in various shops in Old Town, you can see the abbreviation "ICT" and a silhouette of an American Indian raising it's hands to the sky. This man, is the Keeper of the Plains. Kansas, being known for it's obnoxiously flat lands and plains, was a place that many American Indians have been known to converge. This statue, donated to the city of Wichita in 1974 by Blackbear Bosin, is a symbol for strength and remembrance. We remember and look back on the hard times the American Indians lived through and are still living through today, and we can admire their strength as a culture.
This 44-foot-tall statue sits on a rock pedestal for all to see, at the convergence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers, with two bridges coming from either side made to look like bow-and-arrows. It's large and hard up close, but from across the bridge, its soft. It's face is looking up to the skies for help in the face of trouble. It reminds me that we all need help sometimes, and that it's not wrong to ask for it.
Following are some pictures I was lucky enough to snap on such a beautiful day.
Photo Credit: Caitlin Langdon
Photo Credit: Caitlin Langdon
Special Thanks to my friend India for being a great model!
Photo Credit: Caitlin Langdon
Photo Credit: Caitlin Langdon
Seriously, such a great model. At this point, we were standing on the monument, looking at the pedestals around it. These held the giant rings that get lit on fire every night just as the sun is setting.
Photo Credit: Caitlin Langdon
The light in this picture made me smile because it shimmered off the water perfectly. You can see the two bow-and-arrow bridges on either side of the raised Keeper.
"Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better." --Albert Einstein
"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." --Pablo Picasso
Take the time to explore your city. Every single one has something small, or something big, like this, that lets you experience and see it in a new light.
