Keeper of the Plains in Wichita, Kansas
Watchful
The Keeper of the Plains stands tall with his hands to the skies in Wichita, Kansas. The Keeper of the Plains is a Native American statue located where the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers meet, on a piece of land that is sacred to Native Americans. We visited the Keeper of the Plains during our Thanksgiving trip to Wichita.
The statue was designed by Blackbear Bosin, and it was installed in Wichita in 1976 for the Bicentennial Celebration of the United States. The area received a redesign and some upgrades 30 years later in 2006. The whole scene is an impressive sight!
The statue and the plaza surrounding it are accessed by two footbridges, one over each of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers. The statue itself is 44 feet tall, and it stands on a 30-foot tall base, making it visible from a long distance all up and down the rivers.
The footbridges were inspired by bows and arrows, they say, and I can see that in the design now that it has been pointed out to me. But I must admit that I did not realize that when we were there. I guess I was too busy taking lots of photos of the statue. And even with as many photos as I did take, I could have taken more.
Family Photos with the Keeper
Of course, among all of the photos that we took, we had to take some family photos, too. So here they are.
Here are Laura and Jaylin on the bridge over the Arkansas River, with the Keeper of the Plains behind them. The whole reason that we were in Wichita was to spend Thanksgiving with Jaylin. And while researching things that we could do there, Laura found the Keeper of the Plains and knew we needed to go visit it.
My parents also joined us on the trip, as you might know from reading our Thanksgiving post. And as you might guess from these photos, it was rather cool on this particular morning. However, it did warm up later on in the day.
And here we have Laura and me in a photo that Jaylin took with my camera. As you can tell from all of our smiles in these photos, we had a wonderful time being together, and a wonderful time seeing the Keeper of the Plains.
Watch for more photos of the Keeper of the Plains in the future, because I took several!
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. - 2 Peter 3:18
About the Photos
These photos really did not require much in the way of processing work. I brightened them up a bit and increased the color saturation just a little. But otherwise, I let the beauty of the area speak for itself. It is always nice to photograph places like that.
Photo: Each photo is a single JPEG exposure, processed in Luminar AI. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: November 26, 2021
Location: Keeper of the Plains, Wichita, Kansas
