Michael Strickland
It sounds like a sequel to Field of Dreams, albeit with less baseball: Grow sunflowers, and they will come. That’s pretty much what happened in an otherwise unremarkable field near Lawrence, Kansas, where the owners planted sunflower seeds alongside their more profitable corn and soybeans. Now, farmers Ted and Kris Grinter tend to 40 acres of the eye-popping blooms, and their arrival around Labor Day each year causes a burst of excitement—and traffic. The Grinters don’t charge admission to their little slice of paradise, which draws throngs of camera-wielding visitors who show up when the stalks are at their tallest and blossoms at their most eye-catching. Among Kris’ tips for first-time visitors: There are no restrooms in a sunflower field, so plan ahead. Carry out whatever you bring in. Come with a sense of wonder and maybe a selfie stick. Don’t bother the bees. If you must take a sunflower or two, stick a few bucks in the donation tube at the field entrance. Pull off the road to park. (And, Kris notes wryly, “To the person who brought the ice cream truck last year: No!”) After all that outdoorsy fun, head to town for dinner at 715 on Massachusetts Street, which serves a farm-forward menu. On your way back to St. Louis, make a stop in Overland Park, Kansas, for another one-of-a-kind attraction: Museum at Prairiefire, the first significant satellite venture by New York’s American Museum of Natural History. “Outnumbered: Incredible Lives of Insects” opens in October.
