For most people, Kansas isn’t the first state that comes to mind when they think of travel destinations. But, for one Nebraska man, visiting every incorporated town in the Sunflower State, no matter how small, is the end goal.
Recent college graduate Seth Varner is the owner of Wandermore Publishing, creating travel books and online content “to encourage individuals to go out and explore their home states.” He’s already made the full state journey in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota over the past three years, and Kansas was his next destination.
Varner’s idea came about after getting sent home from his freshman year of college due to the pandemic. “I got bored of the monotony of working at the local Dairy Queen and cruising main street every day for a month, so I came up with the idea to visit every incorporated town in Nebraska,” Varner says.
According to Varner, the idea had always been in the back of his mind. He has childhood memories of visiting smaller towns with his dad and taking pictures, and a passion for travel from his mom. It just took a global pandemic to push him to do it.
“I enjoy going out and exploring new places, and seeing what kinds of things communities promote in an attempt to bring in more visitors,” Varner says about his love of traveling, “From checking out the ‘World’s Largest ___’ claims to fame, to enjoying tasty eats and drinks at restaurants and breweries, or relaxing at State Parks and talking with locals and touring museums, it’s all fun for me.”
Varner and his friend, Austin, traveled Nebraska for two-and-a-half months, documenting everything on Facebook. He then spent the latter part of 2020 putting together a book with detailed information about each town’s history, what they saw, what they ate, and more.
One year later, Varner did the same thing with Iowa, then South Dakota in 2022. This year, he’s tackling the Sunflower State.
So far, he’s visited about 75% of the state in six-and-a-half months, including our very own Bonner Springs. Some of the stops he’s found most interesting and memorable have been “Big Brutus of West Mineral, the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, the Midland Railroad Hotel in Wilson, the Garden of Eden in Lucas, and Monument Rocks near Oakley.”
Varner doesn’t play favorites. He says people always ask him which town is his favorite, but he can’t pick one because they’re all unique in their own ways. “That’s one of the key purposes of the Wandermore project,” he says, “to show that every community, regardless if they have a population of 30 people, 300, or 30,000, has something to see and do.”
Kansas definitely has towns both big and small. From large cities like Topeka, Wichita, and Manhattan to tiny communities with a population under 100, Varner will cover it all. He grew up in a small town, so he’s very accustomed to small towns like Kansas’ Moran or Kincaid. Even though he lives in Omaha now, he still prefers the small town life.
Varner shares that the bigger cities, such as Manhattan, pose a challenge when it comes to covering their history. Because they have so much to offer, he focuses on the more notable places like museums, downtowns, schools, and churches. In smaller towns, however, he tries to capture every business, park, and public place in the town.
These travels have taught Varner a lot. Besides the history of Kansas, he’s learned that the Midwest is full of hospitable people and communities. “Up in Nebraska we say we’re ‘Nebraska Nice,’” Varner says, “but I’ve come to find that it’s a trait that everyone in the Midwest has.”
Some of his specific experiences during his Kansas travels prove that. Varner recalls getting a flat tire in Dunlap, a town with only 27 people. He was helped by an older guy named Tony, who gave him some tools and helped him get his car moving again.
Another memorable experience Varner had was in the town of Seneca. “I got permission to climb a grain elevator to take panoramic shots of Seneca, despite being a complete stranger to them…They wanted to help make my spotlight on their town special!” Varner remembers, highlighting the pride Midwesterners have in their small towns.
After traveling for years now, Varner has picked up a lot of tips to make trips easier and cheaper. He’s learned how to earn cashback on gas, where to find restrooms, and how to save money on water with a refillable water bottle. There will be an entire page in his Kansas travel guide book dedicated to travel tips.
The main thing Varner wants to show the world is that Kansas, and other lesser-known states, are more than just “flyover” states. “If you leave the interstate and take the time to learn about what makes each region different from the rest,” says Varner, “you’ll find that there’s many lifetimes worth of places to be explored, eateries to enjoy, and things to see and do.”
His ultimate goal with each project, hence the name, is to encourage people to “wander more.”
Next year, Varner plans to visit all 99 incorporated towns in Wyoming. To learn more about his current Kansas travels, read more about his story, and stay up to date with future travels, you can visit his website, wandermorepublishing.com, or follow his Facebook page, Wandermore Visit627Kansas. Be sure to check out his Bonner Springs post and see all the familiar sights, including BSHS!
