Chris Kirkham (CK) isn’t a native Kansan. He was born in California, had stints in Washington State and Montana and relocated to Garden City for his job with FedEx in 2025. You may be familiar with Kirkham from his videos on Facebook and TikTok about the places he visits. Although Kirkham has nearly 50,000 followers on Facebook and almost 60,000 on TikTok, his passion for sharing the places and food of Kansas isn’t about the follower count; it’s about the connections he’s building with people who also love Kansas. Kansas Living (KL) sat down with him to learn more about his videos and why he’s doing this work.

KL: Chris, welcome to Kansas. When you got the opportunity to move to Kansas, what was your reaction?

CK: We weren’t sure what to expect, honestly. As a matter of fact, when I told my wife about the position, she said, “Well, what is even in Kansas?” And I said, “You know, I don’t really know.” When we got here, though, we were really surprised with all the things there are to do and see.

KL: You’ve traveled to a lot of different states, and you’ve lived in a few different areas. What is the thing about Kansas that feels special to you?

CK: I’ve been to a lot of other states and in no other state have I been treated with so much kindness as I have in Kansas. There’s so much welcoming energy, and it’s an interesting thing that my wife and I both kind of agree on now is when we're traveling to other states, it's not that we don't feel welcome, it just doesn't feel as homey as Kansas.

KL: Tell us about your video project. What made you want to start that?

CK: I started doing this 365-day photo challenge because I watched a YouTube of a guy who said if you want to get better at photography, the best way to do it is to go out every single day and take a photo for a year. You have to post the photo to social media so there’s accountability. I started it originally back in 2022 when I first moved to Montana and there were days I missed and that turned into multiple days. It wasn’t a success for me in any way. After 99 days, I gave up completely. I had a lot of excuses — weather, time — the ones we’re all familiar with. But to be honest with you, I’m not a person who likes to fail at anything. I take a lot of pride in trying to see things through. Not finishing that project really bothered me and it bothered me all the way until May 3 of 2025 when I decided to try the challenge again. Since the photos didn’t work the first time, I decided the video route would make me more accountable.

KL: You moved from Montana to Kansas in the middle of the new challenge. Did that worry you at first?

CK: About 98 days into the challenge is when we got the opportunity to move to Kansas for my job. I told myself I was going to continue the journey even though I didn’t really know what Kansas had to offer at the time. A friend of mine said, “Well, Kansas does have a lot of water towers.” What’s funny is I love water towers and I do take a lot of pictures of water towers. When I got to Kansas, I made the video that said, “Hey, it’s my first day here and here’s a picture of Garden City.” There was so much support behind it — people were commenting that I was in their hometown and it grew from there.

KL: After your initial video of your first day in Kansas, what place did you visit first?

CK: I've always been a fan of trying to tell a story with video, and I wanted to do more of that, so one of the first videos that I did more research into before going to was Monument Rocks. I went out to Monument Rocks with some history and I posted that video, and it did very well. Slowly but surely I started thinking, “Wait a minute, if I just do more research into some history and put more effort into these videos, I think they could be more enjoyable,” and that is what started really more of this journey. It became more than just taking a photo and posting it with video attached, it’s more of a story about places I'm going to. I loved the reactions I got because people have so much pride in the towns they live in or are from.

KL: The videos you share are great storytelling, most of the time about the history of a town. What made you love history?

CK: I’ve always been a history buff, and I think it came from my grandfather on my mom’s side. He would always have the History Channel on and when I was younger, I would sit with him and watch. Kansas has a lot of history, and I think from some people’s perspectives, they don’t know how much there is to do in the state, or all the things Kansas has to offer. To me, history is so impactful because when you go through, let's say, a museum, you're not just seeing one person's vision of what the past was, you're seeing a collection of people's lives and people's experiences from a certain time period.

KL: From the storytelling aspect, where do you think the love of storytelling came from?

CK: The storytelling comes from my mom. My mom passed away 13 years ago, but I have fond memories of going on road trips growing up. My mom would always talk about the towns we’d pass through or stop in. She would remember the experience she had with her mom and dad, and I was always entranced by what she was saying. I loved listening to the stories she had and that carried into my life. I love hearing people’s stories about their life. It’s like opening up a book and listening to this person.

My mom also taught me to always be curious and that has become both a blessing and a curse. I’m constantly thinking of questions, like, “Why did this town get named this?” or “How did this town develop into what it is today?” and even wild things like, “Who was the first human who thought they should drink cow’s milk?” I’m lucky I live in a time when research is so easy.                                                     

KL: A year-long video/photography challenge must have filled up your memory cards. How many videos and photos did you take?

CK: I took more than 320,000 photos in a year and 1,200 videos. That’s a lot more than 365.

KL: Congratulations on completing the year-long challenge. Not only did you reach the goal you set, you were able to show your kids the importance of following through on things you say you’ll do and seeing the compromises you made. What other lessons do you hope you’re showcasing through your videos to your family?

CK: That’s a good point. There were a lot of times I could have called it quits — our youngest son was born in the time of the challenge, my middle child was hospitalized, I was hospitalized and we moved two states — and yet, I kept pushing through because I said I would. I’m also able to keep these videos as a legacy of these experiences and show my kids later on in life to remind them they can do hard things. The other thing this project did for me was get my family out of autopilot. We were getting up, going to work, going home. That’s it. We didn’t do anything. We didn’t go see anything. We weren’t really living our lives and just doing what we were supposed to be doing. Now we’re taking it all in, everywhere we go. I’m constantly appreciating the places we go now. We’re making incredible memories.

KL: Is there a specific place or event throughout your project that clicked the love for Kansas you have?

CK: It didn’t take long, honestly. Within the first few days of being in Kansas, the amount of support people gave here was amazing. The first video I posted, I had about 15 to 20 people who commented, “Welcome to Kansas.” Kansans have a very welcoming spirit about them.

But then also, another time I felt that click was my first community event in Kansas. Even though I grew up in a smaller area in California, we never really had community events like they do here. The first one I went to was in Garden City and not only was everyone super welcoming and saying hi, but they were also involving us — even though we were strangers. Then we went to a different community event in Scott City, and they were the same way there, so it clicked how people were just this nice in Kansas. The community events here are something I cherish a lot about Kansas.

KL: In addition to history, food seems to be a popular topic for some of your videos. Do you have favorite food stops in the state?

CK: I stick to two things when it comes to food on my videos — Mexican food and cinnamon rolls, but not together. It’s not that I don’t like other food, but those are the ones I stick to. To be completely transparent, I wasn’t a cinnamon roll fan before I moved to Kansas. There’s not another place on the planet like the cinnamon rolls in Kansas.

Mexican: 805 Tacos in Salina and Tacos Los Primos in Great Bend — both incredible flavor and great owners.
Cinnamon rolls: This one can cause quite a controversy, but the best one I’ve had so far is from Neighbors Café in McPherson. The cinnamon rolls were almost the size of my head and unbelievably good.

KL: Speaking of food, how have you seen the influence of agriculture and farmers and ranchers in your video work?

CK: It’s everywhere you go. Agriculture is really the foundation of almost every Kansas town I visit. No matter where you go, you’re going to see a grain elevator or grain silo — they’re like the “skyscrapers of the plains.”

Early on, I actually mixed up a standpipe water tower in Holcomb for a grain elevator in one of my videos. I expected people to roast me in the comments, but instead they were incredibly kind and encouraged me to come back and see a real grain elevator. I eventually got to tour one, and that experience gave me a whole new level of respect for the people who work in that industry and everything that goes on inside those facilities.

That ties into something bigger I’ve seen across the state: the farming and agricultural community really shapes the welcoming spirit of Kansas. People in those towns tend to be very open and kind and meeting them has been one of the best parts of this journey.

I’ve also done videos on places like Wolf, a near-ghost town in Finney County where I focused on its history and ties to agriculture, and Big Bow in Stanton County, where I learned about a winter wheat variety named after the town that Kansas State University helped develop. All of this reinforces how deeply agriculture is woven into Kansas life, whether you’re in a tiny town or a larger city like Salina or Wichita.

KL: There are so many neat places in Kansas, but do you have any favorites?

CK: It’s tough because I’ve been to more than 120 towns and so many of them are amazing for different reasons. Colby is up there for me, but also, I love Lucas because it’s got such a unique character; Wilson has really neat Czech eggs; Lindsborg with their Dala horses; Abilene with its cowboy boots.

Ultimately, there really is no place like home, though, because Garden City has truly become my favorite. It’s home for us now and no matter where we visit, it always feels good to come back to Garden City. If I had to pick just one, that’s what I’d choose.

KL: You completed the year-long video and photo challenge. What’s the future hold?

CK: That was actually a really difficult decision after it was done on what I wanted to do. At first, I was considering being done, but I had so much fun doing this throughout the last year and experiencing new places. I came back to asking myself, “Do I want to go back to autopilot?”

Some of the things in the future I would love to do is make more of a spotlight on the people of Kansas and their everyday jobs that keep the state running. One of my favorite shows was Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe so I would love to showcase the behind-the-scenes work like a grain elevator. I want to continue to highlight Kansas history and support mom-and-pop restaurants and support locally owned businesses.

After one video, 805 Tacos sold out of the dish I featured for four weeks straight, and a restaurant in Liberal told me my video helped them get through a really tough financial stretch and reminded them why they do what they do. That kind of feedback is what keeps me going.

KL: Is there any advice you’d share with someone thinking about starting their own project or journey?

CK: If there’s one thing I hope people take away, it’s this: don’t wait. If you’re thinking about starting something — whether it’s a creative project, a journey or just something you’ve had in the back of your mind for a long time — start now.

Deciding on May 3 last year to begin this journey was the best decision I’ve ever made. I wouldn’t trade the last year of my life for anything. It was hard at times, but it was everything I hoped it would be and more. So I tell anyone who asks: if you’re waiting, just do it. There’s never going to be a better time than right now.

 

Stay up to date with Chris and his video work on his Facebook page and TikTok — maybe he’ll be in your neck of the woods for his next video. Welcome home, Chris. There’s no place like it. 

(Photos courtesy of Chris Kirkham)