WaKeeney, Kansas

We traveled to Kansas today.  Up and out early due to the predicted thunder storms.  The pic on left shows the clouds as we drove west.  We also had major traffic issues on the highway.  The three lane highway went to one lane so it took forever to get out of Missouri this morning.  The next pic is of the Topeka capitol building, which is under repair.  Another hectic place with lane closures.

We finally got to my kind of area, wide open space.  We drove along acres of corn then rolling hill prairies dotted with cattle and acres of amber grain, wheat I think.  I love the windmills.  There were 100's all along the highway in the open fields.  These ones were huge, bigger than others we have seen.  Hard to believe that Kansas is flat because we hit some good elevations today.  Most of the hills were gradual climbs so it didn't seem all that bad but the gas mileage showed it.  Another funky issue, road construction where we were on the east bound side with two way traffic and the exits on the west bound side were just closed. There were two or three, of course it was right when we needed gas.  Many exits with nothing on them but farms.  Photo on right is the office of our latest KOA.

Our little camper baking in the almost 100 degree heat.  At least we have a little baby tree.  Next is the field beyond the campground property.

This last one is the sky around 9:15.  We must be getting close to the next time zone, Mountain, since the sun didn't set until close to 9:45.  Not sure if we will do much tomorrow.  Supposed to be a bit warmer.  Maybe a little house work.  You will have to wait and see.  Until tomorrow.....

Crown Center

 Joyce C. Hall created Hallmark cards in 1910.  In 1968 he and his son created a place that would "help revitalize a part of Kansas City's decaying urban core.  It is a vibrant shopping, dining and entertainment center.  Two million square feet of office space and the city's two largest hotels.  You'll find more than 60 unique places to shop and eat and fun places to be entertained."  The top 2 photos are of the outside of the visitors center.

Every year the employees designed a Christmas tree for Joyce C Hall including the year that he died.  Each was unique and many of the designs were added to the Hallmark line.  Hoops and Yoyo for Sara :P

On the left, an embosser working on a design.  The right a bow maker.



The Center is huge.  It is on three floors and includes many little shops, theaters, and places to eat. We ate at "A Street Car Named Desire"  get me a burger quick.  The facade was a street car.  

As we got off the escalator we were overtaken with the smell of chocolate.  The smell just drew us into Chips Chocolate Factory.  That is a batch of fudge on the table waiting to be cut up.  There were cases of various kinds of candy all with some form of chocolate.  Also had bins of different colored M & M's.  Most of which are not sold by the bag.  We did have to get a little something. (I really wanted one of everything but settled on one thing)  On the right is a cinnamon bun.  I think the name of the bakery was Mamma's something or other.  Again we were tempted but left it sitting on display.  We did show some restraint :D
Another five hour travel day tomorrow, to Kansas where we will stay for two nights again.  Update tomorrow if the internet service allows.

Kansas City, MO

 Today was a travel day.  Six hours on the road with a stiff head wind.  Not the best day for mileage.  We traveled through farm country, acres of corn and amber grain of some kind.  Not sure if this is unique to Missouri but I don't remember seeing it in any other state.  The state roads/highways are not numbered but use letters.  We crossed the Mississippi for the last time today and crossed the Missouri River a couple of times.  Both are still very high.

1. We are staying at Trailside RV Park.  It is nestled between Route 70 and a busy local throughfare and as a bonus has  railroad tracks nearby.  Not the best place we have stayed but we are only here for two nights. We do have internet access here at our site.  It is much stronger now that the wind has gone down.  The pics might not be up to par today since I took them.  Owen is feeling a little under the weather, looking a tad green around the gills so to speak.  Hopefully a good nights sleep will have him back to "normal".  Hope everybody is doing well, until tomorrow.

Anheuser-Busch

Went to the Anheuser-Busch for a tour.  The tour took a little over an hour.  It is an amazing facility.  Huge but with landscaped grounds.  Brick walkways and flowers and trees everywhere.  The first pic is of the sign you see on the road into the facility.  The next is on the entrance of the building entrance.  The St Louis property is the largest of the 12 US breweries.

No tour would be complete without the Clydesdales.  Just one of many on the grounds.  Their stables are cleaner than some houses.  Every day each horse eats 50 pounds of hay, 23 quarts of mixed feed and 30 gallons of water.  The next is just a sample of the kinds of beers brewed here.

After going through the brew house you see the 50 degree aging cellars.  The beer actually ages over beechwood and is in the tanks on the left which are stacked 4 high, that's a lot of beer.

This picture is on the bottling/canning line.  Again there is a lot of beer going through these lines on a daily basis.  The tour ended at the hospitality suite where two free samples was available for everybody on the tour.  Soda was available for kids and non drinkers.  From there we went to this historical site, it gave me another stamp in my Passport for National Parks and was part of Grant's Farm.

Both of these homes belonged to Ulysses S Grant.  The one on the left was where he and his wife lived most of their lives.  The one on the left, Hardscrabble Farm, was built in 1885 but they lived there for only a few months.  The property was bought by August Busch Sr. and today is an exotic animal park, petting zoo and Bavarian-style farm.   You ride a tram through fields with animals that are free to roam and are dropped at a courtyard where there is a hospitality house (2 more samples) and places to purchase food.  There are also more Clydesdales on one side of the parking area.  All in all it was a great day.

St Louis

Went to the St Louis Science Center today. Before I talk about the museum note that there are no pictures today. We are using a server (tengonet)that restricts how much you can download and yesterday's pictures got us kicked off. I can still access with the IPad but can't do pictures. That said we had a good day at the science center. Saw 2 Omnimax movies, Sea Rex and Tornado Alley. Both were excellent but the tornado one was very scary since we are in tornado alley right now and had a watch this afternoon. (YIKES!). We also went to Body Worlds and the Brain. Sara and I went to a similar show in Detroit but it was a bit different. The show has real body parts that have been plasticised. People donate their bodies to this company to preserve with plastic and put on display. You see all of the internal organs in situ as well as all the muscles, bones, and nerves. If you ever get a chance to see one of these shows we highly recommend it. We are here until Thursday, not sure if we will be allowed back on line only time will tell.

St Louis Arch part 2

It is Marine week in St Louis.  They will be at various venues until the 26th.  Helicopters, Humvees and weaponry on display.

The next pictures show how high the Mississippi is compared to what it should be. That little pink island should be accessible to walkers, the riverboat cruise was not available because you couldn't get to the gangs without swimming.  Most of these were taken inside of the Arch.

On the right is the Old Court House, where the Dred Scott case was heard (he was a slave that sued for freedom) at street level and then from inside the Arch.  The next picture is inside the court house looking up at the dome/rotunda area.

This last pic is of a Dad with his 3 sons.  Not sure if you can read the t-shirts they are wearing.  It says Mancation with a least of tourist stops and the date.  We thought it was quite clever.  I'm sure Mom appreciated the time also.


We are getting closer to our destination and have time to spare so have decided to extend out stay here in Illinois.  Still plenty to see in St Louis so will be here until Thursday.

St Louis Arch part 1

Our view of the Arch as we walked toward it. 

 View of the Arch, looking up.

This is what the tram that takes you up to the top of the Arch looks like.  View of the doorways into the tram, each holds 5 people knee to knee.  It is a 4 minute trip to the top and a 3 minute trip down.

View of Busch Stadium from inside the Arch.
Owen under the sign saying it is 620 feet tall.  The tallest monument in the park system.
An extremely hot and humid day but there was a lovely breeze which was closer to a gale when we came out of the Arch complex.  The entire complex is underground.  To enter you must go through a security screening much like airport security.  We went to the top of the Arch and watched two movies, one about Lewis and Clark and the other about the building of the Arch.  The Arch was completed in 1968, I found that interesting thought it was older than that.

St Louis Granite City KOA

Just a few pics of our latest campground.  It is a KOA so it is pretty nice.  Usually has trees and a picnic table.  The office and a couple views of our site.

A little pool which is nice since it is still in the 80's and it is after 8.  It is going to be an air conditioner night.

A little bounce mat for the kids.





We began the day quite early today with a fierce thunder storm.  The thunder was very loud with lightning right after each clap.  The rain came down in torrents.  It let up enough for us to unhook and get on the road right around the time we wanted to leave.  We drove out of the storm into blue skies.  The terrain went from hills and forests to open farm land.  I just love it, you can see for miles.  Most of the bodies of water are high and there was standing water in many of the fields, a testament to all of the rain in the area.  We are now in the Central Time Zone so it is after 8 and still very light out and the sun won't be up until after 6 in the morning.  As I look out the window I see 20 to 30 lightning bugs!  Haven't seen them in years.  Looks like a little rabbit in the same area.  What a great place :-)  We are getting closer to Estes Park, only about 15 hours away so will have to slow our pace a little.  That means we will stay here for an extra day or two.  There seems to be enough to do in the area to keep us busy.  Until tomorrow...