cool! looked like a neat trip. I like the home engineering on the farm equipment
I love that stuff! That one appeared to be designed to pull behind a wagon or flatbed and elevate bales to the truck bed, using the tire as drive for the elevator. They had also rigged up a hydraulic pump to raise and lower the elevator.
I took him to Diamond Springs, this is a very historic spot in Kansas, the first major watering hole on the Santa Fe Trail west of Council Grove. This is private property and you will find a lot of conflicting stories on its location on the web. I will try to simplify this spot's location for you and clear of some of the confusion. Diamond Springs, the spring, is south of White City. The easiest way to find it is to drive on US 56 between Herington and Council Grove. When you get to the White City turn off, instead of going north on the blacktop road, go south on the dirt road. Enter through the Diamond Springs Ranch gate and stop at the ranch office, a mobile home on the north side of the driveway. Just ask if it is okay to go down and visit the spring.
The confusion comes from the Railroad passing through this area and naming a station "Diamond Springs." There was a small settlement there and it is close to the Diamond Creek, however, it is a far cry from the famous spring. I would highly recommend taking the road from the now ghost town of Diamond Springs down to US 50, the beauty of the Flint Hills does not disappoint you at all, at least it never has me. That road by the way is.... Diamond Creek Road and it zig zags back and forth across Diamond Creek. You will find that there are very few intersections, like three in that 20 or so miles.
The spring has been captured and now flow into a holding tank, from which the ranch pumps water for remote watering tanks. The spring produces all the water the ranch can possibly use and sends a lot of water downstream. I wish I could have seen it like it was, but I understand that the ranch is making the best of the resource at hand. The concrete tank has an in spout and a leveling drain tube. It is pretty obvious how much water flow there is here.
Glen