On Kansas Day in January this year, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announced the winners of the contest for the eight Wonders of Kansas.

And now with gas for the car so expensive, maybe some Kansas vacationers, instead of traveling farther, will enjoy visiting some or all of these interesting places.

One of the best known is the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene. Murals in the lobby of the museum are a good beginning of a journey through Dwight Eisenhower's life, with tribute to his role as supreme commander during World War II, and then as president of the United States. He and his wife and their infant son are buried in a serene chapel there.

On the second floor of the library is a display called "From School House to White House." It has class pictures and other mementos of the most recent 12 presidents. There is also a special display called "From George to George" with personal items of each president. It will be there until late December.

The Big Well at Greensburg in Kiowa County has the distinction of being recognized as the world's largest hand-dug well. In 1888 the well of 109x32 feet was completed and provided a free water supply for Greensburg until 1932. There's a staircase of 105 steps for those who choose to go to the bottom.

Cheyenne Bottoms and the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge are noted for the migratory birds there. Cheyenne Bottoms hosts more than 100 species which nest there, and is designated A Wetland of International Importance. At the Quivira Wildlife Refuge a half-million Canada geese and 27 varieties of ducks pass through the grass, salt marshes and woodlands.

Hutchinson is home to two of the wonders: the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center and the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. The first museum has a collection of space artifacts from the United States and Russia and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Salt Museum is the only one in the Western Hemisphere in a working salt mine. It is more than 600 feet under the earth's surface.

In Victoria is found a most beautiful church. When St. Fidelis was completed in 1911 it was the largest church west of the Mississippi. When William Jennings Bryan saw it in 1912, he was so inspired that he called it the Cathedral of the Plains, and it is called this still today.

In Chase County some of the tallgrass prairie is being protected in the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve. Ranch buildings and a one-room school are also found there. Bus tours and hiking trails enable visitors to see and learn about and experience the tallgrass prairie.

Monument Rocks are also known as the Chalk Pyramids. They are vertical layers of soft rocks, and provide a National Natural Landmark. Quite different but also outstanding are Castle Rocks. In the 1860s they provided a landmark of the Smoky Hill Trail. Wind and rain erosion have reduced them some. Both Monument Rocks and Castle Rock are in Gove County.

So the eight wonders provide a varied look at our Sunflower State.