Kansas Part 2 - STR-2021-6

Wednesday, 16 June

We both woke up just before sunrise and were treated to a very pretty sunrise.

Reduced hours, closures and modified schedules necessitated a circular loop route to hit the points of interest in Kansas on our list. From Hutchinson, we travel northeast, then east, then make our way back to Witchita before heading northwest out of Kansas. Basically a loopty loop. Goofy enough to drive an engineer like Darrell nuts. The alternative was to trade time - slow down so the POIs could be done with fuel efficiency. Might have been a consideration if the high temperatures were in the low 80s.

The record setting heat in the southwest includes Kansas.

We decided it would be prudent to pace our adventuring outside, and sprinkle in more indoor (air conditioned) adventuring.

Our first visit of the day was the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum (eisenhowerlibrary.gov) in Abilene, KS. They are only open 4 hours a day, four days a week: Wednesday to Saturday (closed three days a week); and required timed entry reservations. And only the museum, place of meditation and grounds are open - the library, boyhood home and visitor center are closed.

Our ticket was for 10:45AM to allow plenty of time to travel from Strateca in Hutchinson, KS. Enough extra time to make a stop in Salina (where Darrell's mother was born) to take care of a few things.

After getting Sprinty settled in a mostly empty parking lot, we walked past Eisenhower's boyhood home and arrived at the Museum with time to spare.

The sign on the door said masks were required to be worn to enter. People masked up, entered the building, then promptly took them off once inside. The timed entry was designed to limit how many people were in the museum and to space people out - and it did a fine job. Unlike our pre-pandemic visits to presidential libraries, we had full access to the exhibits without getting near anyone else.

The museum exhibits started with Eisenhower's family and childhood, then his military time. Darrell saw a parallel in Eisenhower's initial goal in seeking an appointment to West Point:

"While his initial goal was a free education and a chance to play college sports, Ike discovered his calling. He grew to love the Army and the service to the nation it represented."

Darrell's initial goal in going to Annapolis was sailboat racing and the free education. And he enjoyed a successful Navy career of over 27 years which took him almost completely around the world.

The section on Eisenhower's time as President highlighted his accomplishments in a post-WW II era. One was the Interstate system, which Sprinty used to travel to the library this morning.

"Eisenhower's experience with the Army's 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy demonstrated the necessity for a good transportation system. He understood access to a system of national highways created economic, social, and security benefits for the nation. The interstate highway system he created changed America. No public works project comes close to equaling its impact on the countries economy, security, people, and culture."

A recent blog stated "Charles Kuralt once echoed John Steinbeck by writing, "The interstate highway system is a wonderful thing. It makes it possible to go from coast to coast without seeing anything or meeting anybody. If the United States interests you, stay off the interstates." RV traveling is more satisfying when you stick to the 2-lane roads as much as possible. Where Interstate highways offer a faster way to get between points, they lack the scenic beauty of America's open roads."

Sprinty prefers the blue highways when possible, and is grateful for the Interstate system to allow those in a hurry, or uninterested in the discoveries that come from slowing down, to leave the blue highways to Sprinty and like-minded travelers.

We finished our tour of the museum about noon, and headed east on the Truman-Eisenhower Freeway (a.k.a. I-70) to Wamego, KS, home of the Oz Museum (ozmuseum.com).

Located in downtown Wamego, KS, the museum collection features over 2,000 items on exhibit - considered one of the broadest in existence. It begins with the first edition L. Frank Baum books, and includes the most current collectible pieces. The museum honors over 100 years of Oz history, highlighting how each generation has interpreted this timeless classic.

An interesting tidbit is how L. Frank Baum came up with the name "Oz" - it came from the labels on his filing drawers.

There were many others such as a display about the 124 little people to play the inhabitants of Munchkinland.

Dorothy's ruby slippers were silver in the book. However, silver shoes would look gray in the Technicolor film, so MGM changed them to ruby to take full advantage of the Technicolor film process. The red color showed up better on the yellow brick road.

While we spent an hour in the museum, we only touched the surface. There were three video exhibits (totaling over 2 hours) that described L. Frank Baum's career, frequently asked questions about the Wizard of Oz, and the production of the movie. And for the true Oz fans, the movie "The Wizard of Oz" plays continuously in a small theatre in the back of the museum. The truly dedicated could easily spend four or five more hours in the museum.

But we had another stop planned for the day. We headed further east to Topeka, KS, to the Evel Knievel Museum (evelknievelmuseum.org). We could not dally too long in Oz, Wizard or no Wizard, as the Evel Knievel Museum stopped allowing entry at 3:45PM - we arrived with a few minutes to spare.

We learned how Bob Knievel became known as Evel Knievel from a night in jail after he crashed his motorcycle during a police chase. Bobby changed the spelling to "Evel" as he did not want to be considered "evil"

The museum had displays and short video clips of many of his jumps - both successful and unsuccessful. Despite the many crashes, it seems that most of his jumps were successful.

The museum had original, or like-type, motorcycles he used and attire he wore. The largest exhibit was the custom built Mack truck called "Big Red". Big Red was found and restored to its original glory.

We then turned south for Eisenhower State Park in Osage City, KS for the night. When we arrived, we got to select a vacant site in the shade. We managed to fill the day with inside tours and 260 miles of driving on a day that reached 100 degrees.

Thursday, 17 June

Our main point of interest today was Frank Lloyd Wright's Allen House (https://flwrightwichita.org) in Wichita, KS. Like many attractions, this one is only open a few days a week, and only a couple of tours a day. Tours require tickets in advance and are limited to 8 people per tour. The Standard Tour is only three days a week: once on Thursday and Friday, and twice on Saturdays. The Standard Tour Is described as for Wright enthusiasts who want to learn about the details, design and history behind the Allen House, a 90-minute guided tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Allen House which includes all the main rooms, second floor and interior gardens. For the truly dedicated, there is a 3-hour Grand Tour offered Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Last week we signed up for the first Standard Tour of the week, which was 1PM today.

Eisenhower State Park is about 2 hours from Wichita, so we could enjoy a very leisurely start. That is until Darrell found another point of interest in Wichita to visit before our Allen house tour.

So we departed just before 9AM for the Original Pizza Hut Museum (https://www.wichita.edu/PizzaHutMuseum) located on the Wichita State University campus in Wichita, KS.

In 1958, two brothers - both Wichita University students- started a restaurant in a building on the corner of Bluff and Kellogg. They sold pizza, a dish that was just beginning to gain popularity in America. They staffed their business with family, friends and fraternity brothers and called it Pizza Hut.

The museum is in the original building of the original Pizza Hut - however, the building was moved from its original location to the WSU campus.

No docents were on duty (maybe because it is summer), so it was a self-guided tour. The building either did not have air conditioning, or it was turned off, so at 1130AM, it was already getting warm.

We viewed the exhibits. One that Darrell found particularly interesting was the initial start which was on the East wall (text and audio versions are available using QR codes):

"They had the money, but they didn't have their product. Luckily, Dan and Frank's sister, Sally Carney Jonas, introduced her brothers to John Bender. Bender had worked in a pizzaria in Bloomington, Indiana, before coming to Wichita to serve at McConnell Air Force Base. Bender invited the brothers over to show them how to make pizza. While he had no trouble with the sauce, Bender had never made the dough before and didn't remember the recipe. He resorted to making a french bread dough out of his wife Peggy's Encyclopedia of Cooking. There was no time to let the dough rise, so Bender rolled it out and cooked it as it was. The result was the thin and crispy crust that distinguished Pizza Hut's product from others in the market."

https://pizzahut.wichita.edu/pizza-hut-museum-east-wall/

Pizza Hut also delivered pizza to the International Space Station:

The Allen House was located about 3 miles away. Having scoped out the parking (very small parking lot by the house), we expected to park on a nearby street. As luck would have it, we found a street parking spot, in the shade, big enough for Sprinty, right across the street from the entrance.

Upon checking in, we were advised that a water leak required the water to be shut off, so no restroom facilities were available. We replied, "No problem, we brought our own restroom."

Frank Lloyd Wright's Allen House in Wichita, KS (https://flwrightwichita.org) was commissioned in 1916 and completed in 1918. The Allen House is named after its first owners, newspaper publisher Henry Allen and his wife, Elsie. It was the last of the architect's famous prairie houses, which emphasized horizontal lines, earth tones and a continuous blending of interiors with exteriors.

Architectural writers who have visited the house believe its living room is "one of the great rooms of the 20th century". The home features more than 30 pieces of Wright-designed furniture, all of its original art glass and several new-for-their-time innovations, such as wall-hung water closets and an attached garage. Restored back to 1918, the house exemplifies Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy of living in harmony with nature. The house was pivotal in the movement to the Usonian designs of 1935. Interior furnishings manufactured by Niedecken Walbridge represent the last of twelve collaborations. The Allen House is considered by many visitors "the house of choice to live in!"

USA Today considers the Allen House as one of the "10 great Frank Lloyd Wright home tours" in the nation.

In the 1890s and early 1900s, the affluent lived in what is called Mid-Town. Unfortunately, it was subject to occasional flooding of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers (the confluence of the two rivers is where the Keeper of the Plains statute is located). The flooding caused them to seek a better place to build, and they picked College Hill.

The Allens were in search of a designer for their home, and a friend recommended Frank Lloyd Wright. The first design was provided in 1916. Mrs. Allen had three design changes. As Frank Lloyd Wright had a reputation of rejecting design change requests, the Allens traveled to Chicago to meet with Wright, and he agreed to make the changes: larger bedrooms, larger closets, and buffer between the dining room and kitchen for noise.

A most interesting tour. Having toured several other FLW designed homes (Falling Water, Pope-Leighey, Kentuck Knob, Taliesin West), we recognized similar design features. Fascinating.

The Standard Tour does not allow photographs of the interior - for that, you need to do the 3-hour Grand Tour.

With the conclusion of the tour and temperatures over 100 degrees, we headed for our campsite for the night. Passing through Hutchinson, KS (again), we continued north to Venango Park Campground, a Corps of Engineers campground located on Kanapolis Lake near Marquette, KS. Nearby Kanopolis State Park (also on the lake) was selected as the best state park in Kansas.

By now, temperatures had reached 104 degrees. We quickly hooked up the power cord, got the air conditioning running, and had no interest of exploring the park.

Friday, 18 June

Our first activity was golf. Well, actually golf was the second activity as we stopped for diesel in the way to Lyons Public Golf Course, Lyons, KS. With temperatures forecast over 100 degrees, we wanted to get an early start so we made a tee time for 8:30AM.

Lyons Public Golf Course is a nine-hole course, like many we are finding in this part of Kansas. We were the first golfers to arrive, and went off early. We both were striking the ball well, and the score was neck and neck for most of the nine holes, with Darrell having a slight lead at the turn in just over an hour. By now, two other golfers were on the course. The second time around, Darrell briefly extended his lead, then Kris made a chip-in birdie to turn her score around. We finished the day tied, and way ahead of schedule as we essentially had the course all to ourselves.

With hours back in the day from finishing golf early, we headed west to Larned, KS to visit the Fort Larned National Historic Site (https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-larned-national-historic-site-the-santa-fe-trail.htm).

Along the way, we traveled on, or close to, the original Santa Fe Trail.

The Santa Fe Trail started over trade that promised great profits. Once Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821 Americans were welcomed and encouraged to trade. Trade quickly flourished, creating opportunities and profits linking the economies of Missouri and Mexico.

The Santa Fe Trade developed into a complex web of international business, bringing together a cultural mosaic of individuals who cooperated – and at times clashed. Caught in the middle was the rich culture of the Plains Indian people.

In operation from 1859 to 1878, Fort Larned was one of several frontier forts built to watch over vital transportation routes like the Santa Fe Trail. Beginning in 1858, the Colorado gold rush increased traffic on the Santa Fe Trail and other routes, raising tensions between the Plains Indians and travelers. Raiders attacked coaches and mail stations. The new mail station at Pawnee Fork needed protection. The US Army established Camp on Pawnee Fork on October 22, 1859. In May 1860, the army change the post's name to Fort Larned after Colonel Benjamin F. Larned, the US Army paymaster.

In addition to heat, cold, illness, starvation, and dehydration, trail travelers also had to contend with the Kiowa, Apache, Comanche, Arapaho, and Cheyenne nations who lived along the trail; as traffic increased during the nineteenth, so did violence. Although Fort Larned brought a military presence to the middle of the Santa Fe Trail, it also served as an important site for diplomatic negotiations. 

Because Fort Larned buildings were made of sandstone, the fort today consists of the original buildings which have been restored to what they would have looked like in the late 1860s.

The Fort Larned National Historic Site was more interesting than either of us expected having just recently visited Fort Scott. The fort's role in history was facilitating, the exhibits were very well done, and the restoration of the original buildings was amazing. In spite of it being 101 degrees, we took our time going through the buildings.

Our destination for the evening was Cedar Bluff State Park located about 15 miles south of WaKeeney, KS. As Google Maps was routing us through La Crosse, KS and with some of the day left before our rendezvous this evening, we stopped at the Barbed Wire Museum in La Crosse, KS

From the museum website (http://rushcounty.org/BarbedWireMuseum/index.html):

First there was nothing but a vast open range. Native bison roamed free. Then came the settlers, and with them, a need to define their territory. Soon, miles of fences were built. Territorial disputes ensued, rights came into question, and the character of the land began to change. When the dust settled, people were once again able to live relatively in peace. The days of the open range were gone.

Some say it was the six-gun that settled the west. Others know better. It was an unusual invention that in a few short years grew into a multi-million dollar industry: barbed wire. It was a simple invention originally designed to protect a small family garden. Within a few short years of its invention, its use had spread across the prairie and eventually around the world.

Barbed wire made a number of important contributions to western history. It redefined the landscape. The legal dispute that erupted between its inventors made its way to the United States Supreme Court set a precedent in patent law. It made men wealthy and their wealth built public buildings, and a major university. It was a simple invention that changed the direction of history and its impact resonates today.

The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum in LaCrosse, Kansas is devoted solely to the history and legend of this part of American history often referred to as the "Devils Rope". On exhibit in the 6,500 square foot building are over 2,400 barbed wire varieties; including samples manufactured between the years 1870 and 1890. Hundreds of antique fencing tools illustrate the inventiveness of pioneers.

The museum presents interesting ways to learn about one of the midwest's most important contributions to America's history. Dioramas of early barbed wire use, a theatre featuring educational films, the Barbed Wire Hall of Fame, the museum archives room, and a research library all help to conjure up images of settling the midwest, range wars between homesteaders and cattlemen, and the transformation of the open prairie into America's bread basket.

Just some of the 2,400 barbed wire varieties:

Closeup of some of the samples:

Interestingly, the barbed wire of today looks remarkably like the Glidden & Ellwood patented barb wire from 1874. 

It made us wonder why there were over 2,300 other varieties. Perhaps the museum staff hinted at it when we kep referring to people tinkering with variations to barbed wire as a path to become wealthy?

Another ah-ha from our visit was that barbed wire came about because of the need to keep animals out of the fields, not for keeping animals in.

Another museum located by the Barbed Wire Museum is the Post Rock Museum. Farmers would cut exposed limestone from the fields to make fence posts. The Post Rock Museum was locked and by now the temperature was 108 degrees, which whetted our appetite for any more museum exhibits.

After leaving La Crosse, we headed for Cedar Bluff State Park. When we made the reservations almost a week ago, we found one site available with electric for Friday and Saturday nights, a rarity. We booked it without the typical level of review we normally do. Enroute to the campground, we had to travel about 12 miles on dirt roads. Nicely graded dirt roads, but still dirt.

A couple days after having made the reservation as simply an available place along our planned route of points of interest, we looked at Tom and Heidi's travel plans and found that they were staying at the KOA in Wakeeney Friday night on their trip to Colorado/Utah. We made arrangements to get together with them for dinner in WaKenney.

They got checked in and we went to pick them up in Sprinty as they did not want to unhook their travel trailer from the truck. Sprinty drove us the 1 mile to the Western Kansas Saloon & Grill, one of three restaurant choices in Wakeeney. And a fine choice to celebrate Tom's birthday.

We also got an unexpected two-fer. One of the lower priority points of interest on our list was to visit the North Pole, which is not only in Wakeeney, but right across the street from the restaurant.

WaKeeney has held the title of "Christmas City of the High Plains" since 1950.   This holiday wonderland lights up the prairie skies from the Saturday following Thanksgiving till after New Year's.

At about 7PM, after dinner, the local bank sign said it was 101 degrees. The last time Darrell can remember daytime temperatures like this was when he deployed to Bahrain in December 1990 as part of Desert Storm.