Haskell-Baker Wetlands

The Haskell-Baker wetlands in Lawrence Kansas are paradise. Most marshlands are paradise because they contain enchanting and secretive birds, like rails and bitterns. But there's something particularly magic about this almost 600 acres of land, located just off of 31st street in the southern part of this college town in prairie country.

I was in Lawrence for the ASLE conference (Association for LIterature and the Environment). I'm not a conference person--but if ever there was a conference for me, this is it. Friday afternoon is devoted to fieldtrips, one of which is to kayak down the Kansas River. And, a ten-minute drive from my extraordinarily bleak dorm is the Baker wetlands.