A few weeks ago at the Grow Ellsworth County Annual Meeting, Marci Penner was telling those gathered that the upcoming Big Kansas Road Trip is an opportunity for city folks to come experience rural life. She used the example that some people have never seen a cow before.

Her joke fell pretty flat in the room filled with Ellsworth County residents.

It seems incomprehensible that someone has never seen a cow in a pasture. You might be thinking, ‘Seriously, drive down the road, people.’

I get it. The banquet ended with a drawing for home-grown farm products. We have incredible access to local produce and meat.

The reality, though, is for our visitors from Kansas City, Wichita or beyond, they truly might not see a cow in their daily living. Driving through the “rural” part of their county, they still might not see a cow. As shocking as it might sound, they might not purchase a cow a quarter or a half at a time. To them, hamburger comes in pre-sealed packages at the grocery store only. They might never have walked into a processing plant to pick up meat.

Hard to believe, I know.

Sometimes in Ellsworth, the cows even saunter down our city streets and wander through residential neighborhoods. It seems incomprehensible that there is a human being who has never seen a cow.

Let me tell you, though, my father was one of those people.

He grew up in the Chicago suburbs and it wasn’t until he was a student at K-State in Manhattan that he saw his first cow in a field. Truly, until that point, he had only seen a cow in the Brookfield Zoo.

It’s hard to comprehend, I know, but I have friends who live in Chicago, and they take their kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo. This is where they experience barnyard animals ... in the zoo.

My mother-in-law, who lives in Kansas City, loves to take our son on outings when he spends time there. One of the outings we’ve gone on is a trip to the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead. It is a beautiful facility with a plethora of barnyard animals for children to see and experience. For my son’s best friend, who now lives in Kansas City, this is how he “experiences” the farm.

The upcoming Big Kansas Road Trip could possibly be a scene from Green Acres. Our fellow Kansans from Sedgwick or Johnson counties will have the opportunity to experience the “other” side of Kansas. From the expected attractions such as the Czech Egg in Wilson to the less obvious, such as a cow in a field, we have the chance to share our slice of Kansas with a wider audience.

We’re ready for the excitement to come May 2-5 as we welcome visitors for the Big Kansas Road Trip.

Bonar is the editor/publisher of the I-R and can be reached via email at kbonar@indyrepnews.com.