We left Abiquiu COE campground and headed to White Rock, New Mexico, elevation 6,365, just outside Los Alamos. This was a short two night stopover, mainly to visit the Valles Caldera National Preserve, one of three super volcanoes in the United States. The 89,000 acre Preserve is one of the newest additions to the National Park Service in October, 2015. The Valles Caldera supervolcano erupted 1.2 million years ago and the center of the volcano collapsed, creating a volcanic caldera 13.7 miles wide.
Since they only allow thirty cars a day to drive around the backcountry of the Preserve, we got up earlier than we normally do to make the thirty minute drive there in order to arrive when they opened at 8:00 A.M. It was a good thing we did because archery hunting season has begun and by the time we arrived fifteen of the passes had already been given out to hunters looking for elk.
We received our car pass from the ranger at the Valle Grande Contact Station and began our drive around the Preserve. We were at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet and the car thermometer registered 28 degrees! Can’t remember the last time we were in weather that cold. As we began the drive in the Valle Grande Valley, we saw a couple prairie dogs. We drove on unpaved roads around the dormant volcano caldera with expansive valley meadows, lush forested volcanic domes and streams where we saw an occasional fisherman. Even though herds of elk and black bear also live in the Preserve, we only saw deer, cattle and prairie dogs. Scenes from the 2013 movie “Lone Ranger” were filmed here.
Prairie Dog
Los Alamos is famous as “The Secret City”, site of the top secret Manhattan Project during World War II which focused on atomic bomb design and testing. When we were here in 2015 we toured the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos History Museum Campus. You can read the blog about that visit here: Los Alamos, NM May, 20 2015
This visit we wanted to see the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park operated by the National Park Service. It is one of the few national parks that focuses on American science, technology and industry during World War II. We watched the movie about the Manhattan Project and looked at exhibits in the Visitors Center which focused not only on science but also the social and cultural life of the people who lived and worked in the “Secret City”. Located in the Historical Park are life size bronze statues of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie R. Groves, leaders of the Manhattan Project.
This is Where Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer Lived
Since we were last there the History Museum had been remodeled and additional exhibits added so we paid a second visit there.
The Road To Los Alamos
The two days went by quickly and it was time to head to Cochiti Lake, outside of Santa Fe.
As we continued our stay in Eagle Nest, one day we drove ten miles to visit the nearby town of Angel Fire. The name Angel Fire comes from the Moache Ute Indians in the 1780’s. During their autumn celebration they noticed red and orange flickering in the northern sky. They saw it as a blessing of the fire gods and named their yearly celebration “Angel Fire”. Years later Kit Carson mentioned seeing the Angel Fire at dawn and dusk and accredited the glow to sunlight striking frost on the branches of trees.
Eagle Nest and Angel Fire are very popular ski resort areas in the winter and fishing in the summer.
Some of the TV series “Lonesome Dove” was filmed around Angel Fire. We drove to the location where the closing cabin scene was filmed here at Black Lake and meadow. The property is now privately owned and we could not get close for a great picture.
After lunch at the local barbecue restaurant, we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This Memorial was the first major Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the United States. It was built by Dr. Victor and Jeanne Westphall to honor their son, 1st Lt. David Westphall who died in combat in a 1968 ambush in Vietnam. In 1994 Dr. Westphall visited the site in Vietnam where his son died. He took with him a handful of soil from the Memorial to scatter at the site of the ambush. He also brought back Vietnamese soil from the site and scattered it at the Memorial.
This Memorial received national attention in the 1970’s and was the inspiration for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C in 1982. In 1987 the Angel Fire Memorial was recognized as a Memorial of National Significance.
Today the Memorial is maintained by the David Westphall Veterans Foundation and the New Mexico Department of Veterans Affairs.
At the entrance to the free Memorial is a Huey helicopter which served two tours in Vietnam. On its first tour it was badly damaged with 135 bullet holes, repaired and sent for a second tour.
Along the sidewalk leading to the Visitors Center are sponsored bricks with names of veterans. The dates are dates of service. Two stars signify a person killed in action and one star is missing in action. New bricks are added every September and bricks were being added while we were there.
Pop Music Was Nostalgic Reminder of the World They Left Behind
This statue is of a soldier in the field trying to write a letter to keep in touch with family back home. It is called “Dear Mom and Dad”.
The Visitors Center has exhibits and a very moving ninety minute HBO documentary titled “Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam”. It was extremely moving; there are no words to describe the power of the movie.
The Visitors Center has over 2,000 photos.
98 Pairs of Empty Boots Bear Witness to the 173rd Airborne Casualties from the Battle For Hill 875
Just like the Memorial in Washington, D.C., notes and mementos are left around the Memorial. They collect them and put them on display in the Visitors Center. One brief, heartfelt note caught my attention. Well said!
This painting shows a shackled eagle, representing the frustration and futility of being captured. The Statue of Liberty in the distance and sunshine represents freedom and a ray of hope for the future.
In a separate area is the Peace and Brotherhood Chapel which displays a photo of David Westphall and rotating photos of thirteen men also killed in the ambush.
Many Native American volunteered and died in Vietnam.
We left Hutchinson and headed west, passing fields of yellow flowers and pumps pumping oil. We have seen quite a few of these pumps throughout Kansas. As we drove through the small town of Kingsley we saw that it is nicknamed “Midway, U.S.A” because it is halfway between New York City and San Francisco.
We made a stop in Dodge City, nicknamed “The Wickedest Little City in America”.
In the late 1800’s its Front Street was one of the wildest on the western frontier. There was one saloon for every twenty citizens, as well as card sharks and brothels. Cattlemen, buffalo hunters, soldiers, settlers, railroad men and gunfighters crowded the streets with drinking, gambling and fighting. Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp were two of the most famous lawmen who tried to bring law and order to the town.
Dodge City grew up near Fort Dodge which offered them protection.
This is General George Custer taken at an Indian Village near Fort Dodge
Dodge City was a stopover on the Santa Fe Trail, and by late 1872, a station on the railroad. Buffalo hunting was popular and the trading and selling of buffalo hides, meat and bones brought considerable wealth to the area. By the time buffalo became almost extinct, the cattle trade had taken over with herds of Texas cattle being the main source of income. Dodge City was one of the largest cattle markets in the country. Today it is still a meat processing, major cattle shipping point as well as a supply and trade center for wheat.
Boot Hill was the highest point in Dodge City and the original location of the Boot Hill Cemetery. From this lookout point you could see wild game and buffalo as well as enemies approaching. Huge herds of buffalo roamed the prairie. Boot Hill was a burial ground for about six years from 1872 to 1878. During the town’s first year nearly thirty people were killed, a large number for a town of 500. Boot Hill became a cemetery for those who did not have money for a proper burial at Fort Dodge. They were stripped of their valuables and any clothes worth saving, and buried without a coffin or ceremony. They were buried with their boots on, thus giving the area the name Boot Hill. They thought it better to bury bodies on a slope so they would be better preserved because the water would run down the hill and not soak in. One theory is burying them on the hill gave them a boost to Heaven which they thought some needed. In 1878 a new cemetery was built east of town. The bodies in Boot Hill were moved to the cemetery. Today there are no known bodies remaining at Boot Hill and the markers and boots sticking up are there just to entertain and fascinate tourists.
“When Gabriel blows his horn, verily it will be a motley crowd of sinners that the graves on Boot Hill send forth to attend the final judgement.” May 4, 1878 Dodge City Times
We paid admission to visit the Boot Hill Museum and tour Front Street. We began our visit by seeing a short movie on the history of the area, with some emphasis on the settlement’s impact on the Native Americans. We were saddened to learn that the U.S. soldiers and settlers purposely killed off the buffalo herds to take away the Native American’s food supply and force them off their land.
After the movie we toured the Boot Hill Cemetery, the jail and the museum with exhibits on Native Americans and life in 1876 Dodge City. They had fake storefronts of shops such as the general store, post office, gunsmith, undertaker, bank and doctor’s office. They had a working saloon but we were the only ones there when we walked through. I was disappointed to see it really didn’t look much like the Long Branch Saloon on Gunsmoke. Supposedly they have Miss Kitty there and fake gunfights only on the weekends.
We visited the one room schoolhouse but didn’t bother with the Victorian house or church.
Inside the museum they had a room of Gunsmoke memorabilia which we enjoyed. I guess Gunsmoke is what brings many people to Dodge City, including us. But if you come thinking it will look like Dodge City on Gunsmoke, you will be disappointed. We didn’t have high expectations and knew ahead of time it was a tourist trap.
We didn’t have a campground reservation and had considered staying overnight in Dodge City, but our museum visit didn’t take long and we had most of the afternoon ahead, so we decided to press on.
As we continued west we passed one tiny town after another with mile after mile of flat land and frankly, pretty much a lot of nothingness. Each little town had a few houses and each one seemed to have a huge grain elevator, nicknamed “Prairie Cathedrals”. It was a long smelly ride since we passed a lot of very large feedlots crammed full of cattle. The horrible smell was overpowering at times, taking our breath away.
There were also many wind turbines, wildflowers and crops of corn and sorghum as well as other vegetables.
We stopped for the night in the little town of Elkhart, right on the border of Kansas and Oklahoma at a small and economical RV park with full hookups. It was perfect for a one night stopover and sure beats a Walmart parking lot!
We noticed a nearby geocache a few miles down the road so after dinner at the local cafe we drove over to it. The geocache was located at a tri-state point, a point where Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado states meet. We took pictures standing in three states at once!
After a great night’s sleep we continued west, crossing into Oklahoma. We took a two mile detour to find another tri-state point, this one for Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. So in twelve hours time we stood in five states!
We left Oklahoma and crossed into New Mexico, our home for the next two months. We were excited to see the mountains of New Mexico ahead of us. We love the west and are really excited to be back!
We arrived at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico for a five night stay.
Famous Kansans:
Robert Dole, U.S. Senator and war hero
Clyde Cessna of Cessna aircraft
Russell Stover of the candy company
Edward Asner, actor
Kirstie Alley, actress
Burt Bacharach, singer and songwriter
Martina McBride, singer and songwriter
Walter Chrysler of Chrysler Motors, established in 1925
Amelia Earhart, female pilot and first woman to fly nonstop and solo across the Atlantic Ocean
Aneta Corsaut, played Helen on “The Andy Griffith Show”
The day after the eclipse we left Milford and headed southwest to Hutchinson, Kansas. Hutchinson is nicknamed “Salt of the Earth” because the mining and processing of salt as been a major industry since 1888. Instead of the natural gas they were looking and hoping for in 1887, they discovered a salt bed 300 to 350 feet thick and 600 feet below the Kansas wheat fields. If they had dug a little deeper they would have discovered oil that is now part of Hutchinson’s economy along with wheat.
We camped at the nice Hutchinson County Fairgrounds at a full hookup site. Our last days in Milford the heat index had reached 104 degrees, so we were glad to see cooler temperatures forecast for our stay here.
We visited the excellent Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center which is affiliated with the Smithsonian. It has one of the largest internationally acclaimed space artifact collections in the world. We were amazed at the wealth of information and number of items on display. It is hard to choose what information and pictures to share without overwhelming our readers.
In the lobby area they have a Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird spy plane and a full size mock up of the Shuttle Endeavor.
We were beyond amazed to see they have an actual V-1 and V-2 German rocket, one of the few complete sets of “V” weapons in the world. They also have the Russian Sputnik I backup unit, the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule recovered from the ocean floor, the Gemini X, and the Apollo XIII Command Module.
Some information we learned:
One of the most destructive weapons from World War II was the German development of the modern ballistic missile. However in the years after the war the same technology would be used to begin the peaceful exploration of space.
The Treaty of Versailles after World War I forbid German from building offensive artillery weapons. But Hitler found a loophole in the treaty did not mention ballistic rockets. This oversight would present a huge challenge to the world in the years to come. “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” Ecclesiastes 9:18
Hitler’s top weapons were his V1 and V2 weapons with needle noses that were packed with a ton of explosives. The V stood for Vengeance. Hitler had many weapons that were technologically far ahead of their time.
V-1 Rockets Were Made by Volkswagen for $500 Each
Fortunately they were finished too late in the war to have much of an impact. It is estimated that if the war had lasted another six to twelve months it was possible the Germans would have had ready a giant multistage rocket capable of reaching New York City. During the war, Germany maintained an active program to develop atomic weapons and were even ahead of the Americans in nuclear research. They had plans to have enough radioactive material for a test explosion in late 1943 or early 1944. Documentation was found indicating a modified V-2 rocket was being designed to carry an atomic warhead for attacks against Allied Forces in Europe. Allied bombing raids successfully delayed them. I don’t even want to think about the what ifs!!
The birthplace of the modern rocket was located in northern Germany on the coast of the Baltic Sea in one of the most top secret facilities of Nazi Germany. Later they moved to a facility in the mountains of central Germany. This would become the largest underground factory in the world. The Germans produced as many as twenty V-2 rockets and nearly 100 V-1 flying bombs a day.
This underground facility had over 11,000 male prisoners of Soviet, French or Polish descent, but no Jews. They worked sixteen hour days and suffered from hunger, disease and torture. By the end of WWII, more than 20,000 men had died here. “Pay no attention to the human cost. The work must go ahead and in the shortest possible time.” General Hans Kammler. (Kammler was the builder of the Auschwitz gas chambers and the underground factory)
Wernher Von Braun and his German rocket team used the concepts created by the American rocket engineer Robert Goddard. The American government and military had ignored Goddard’s work but the Germans understood its importance.
The V-2 was known as “Phantom Thunder” since it could hit suddenly and without warning at speeds of more than 3,200 mph. Except for the Atomic Bomb, it was the most terrifying and sophisticated man-made weapon of its time. “If I had had these rockets in 1939, we should never have had this war…….Europe and the world will be too small from now on to contain a war. With such weapons, humanity will be unable to endure it”. Adolf Hitler after watching film of successful V-2 launch
The V-2 (A-4) Rocket, Germany Spent $3 Billion (in 1945 money) to Develop
Dr Wernher Von Braun’s work led to the development of Germany’s V-2 rocket that would kill tens of thousands. But he saw his work as a way to fulfill his dream of space travel. He has been seen both as an engineering genius as well as an opportunist who supported Hitler’s efforts to pay for his dreams.
The only way the Germans knew if the missiles were landing in London was by secret radio communications with German spies located throughout London. The Germans did not know that toward the end of the war and during the time of the “V” weapon blitz on London, the Allies had captured all the German spies and had turned some of them into double agents. The information on coordinate impact they were sending back to the German launch crews were inaccurate. The misinformation caused the launch crews to change their trajectory of the missiles which sent them west of London. The Germans thought they were impacting the center of London. The German double agents were so convincing that one received the German Iron Cross from Hitler and then later the Victoria Cross from Winston Churchill.
By 1945, WWII had directly affected nearly half the countries of the world. Fifty countries had joined the Allied Forces of Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union with 60 million military soldiers. They fought against 30 million soldiers of nine Axis powers led by Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan. By the end of the war nearly five percent of the world’s natural resources were used up. In today’s terms several trillion dollars was spent by the sixty nations. More than 16 million soldiers and 50 million civilians died.
With WWI and WWII occurring within two generations of each other, Great Britain and France were brought to their knees, never to recover their world domination. With Germany destroyed, it left the United States and the Soviet Union as the two new superpowers. While they had been close allies during the war, they now struggled with different ideologies. This struggle would shape the world for the next fifty years or more with both nations wanting to provide global leadership.
The Germans had committed more than twice the financial resources to developing the V-2 than the United States had spent on the entire Manhattan Project to invent the atomic bomb. The United States and the Soviet Union knew that capturing the German V-2 rocket technology and hardware after the war was the greatest technical victory of World War II. Because the rocket design center and production facility were in areas the Soviet Union intended to occupy under the conditions of the Yalta Conference, the Soviets thought they had the upper hand. But Von Braun and his rocket team thought the United States offered the best opportunity to continue their dream of space travel. So Von Braun and his team ignored Hitler’s orders to destroy all V-2 information and instead moved fourteen tons of V-2 blueprints and documents by truckloads to safety in mountain caves. When the United States arrived, they surrendered themselves and the documents. Von Braun and his team was considered one of the great technological prizes of the war as well as one of the greatest scientific and engineering “brain pools” ever assembled. “Each of the conquerors will want our knowledge. The question we must answer is: to what country shall we entrust our heritage?” Wernher Von Braun
The Russians were furious when they arrived to a gutted facility. As a “token of friendship” the United States sent the Soviet Union a trainload of hardware from the region. The Soviets were even more furious to discover it consisted of more than a hundred rail cars of nothing but old, rusted farm machinery. This would have a profound impact on United States and Soviet Union relations for over 50 years. “This is absolutely intolerable. We defeated the Nazi armies; we occupied Berlin and Peenemunde – but the Americans got the rocket engineers. What could be more revolting and inexcusable? How and why was this allowed to happen?”. Joseph Stalin
Stalin was determined to acquire advanced rocket technology at any cost. Some German officials, who Stalin felt might have V-2 knowledge, were invited to a Soviet summit. While they were there Soviet Secret Police and Red Army soldiers raided their homes and rounded up family members. They sealed off entire cities, including East Berlin looking for anyone who could help with technology. They kidnapped more than 6,000 German technical specialists and about 20,000 members of their families. They were put on trains and shipped to various research centers throughout the Soviet Union. Many of them would never see their homeland again.
Much to the surprise of the United States, in August 1957 Khrushchev announced to the world that the Soviet Union had successfully launched a giant rocket capable of carrying a payload more than 4,000 miles. Named R-7, it was the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. “The U.S. is the hotbed for the greatest technology the world has ever seen…..We give the Soviets too much credit. They are basically a backward nation with limited technical capabilities….Why should we fear a people that can’t even build a decent tractor?” Charles Wilson, U.S. Secretary of Defense, 1956
Russia’s Sputnik I, the world’s first artificial satellite, was launched on October 4, 1957.
This Sputnik I is the Backup Unit Obtained from the Russian Manufacturing CO that Built Them
This put the United States and the world on notice that if they could launch a satellite, they could also place a nuclear warhead into orbit.
On January 31,1958 the United States entered the Space Race when Explorer I became America’s first satellite.
This Explorer I is the Backup Unit
On March 17, 1958 the Americans launched Vanguard I which was the first solar powered satellite. They lost communication with it in 1964 and it is the oldest man made satellite still in orbit. It is estimated it will stop orbiting in 2198.
Vanguard I
The Soviets were the first to have a spacecraft escape the Earth’s gravitational pull. To the embarrassment once again of the United States, the Russian Luna III spacecraft would be the first to impact the moon and photograph its far side in October 1959.
President John F. Kennedy accelerated the space program. “I’m tired of America being second in space.” President John F. Kennedy.
The Apollo Gallery included space suits, lunar lander, lunar rover and the ill-fated Apollo XIII Command Module Odyssey.
This Apollo XIII took Twenty Years to Re-assemble
This 1/6th Scale Model Show The Results of the Devastating Explosion
In 1972 President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Brezhnev opened the doors for a joint manned mission in space.
Shuttle Program and International Space Station facts were also displayed.
A 1/48th Scale Model of the ISS, Most Accurate Model Ever Built
We really enjoyed this museum and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area.
Next stop: On the hunt for Marshal Dillon in Dodge City, Kansas
From Topeka we headed west to Milford Lake State Park in Milford, Kansas. Milford Lake is the largest lake in Kansas made from the 16,000 acre Milford Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Kansas.
One day we made the short drive to Abilene to visit the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.
Eisenhower is the 34th President and the only five star general to ever be elected President.
Located on a twenty-two acre site, the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is made up of five buildings all within close walking distance. Within the site:
twenty-six million pages of historical records and papers
335,000 still photographs
768,000 feet of original motion picture film
70,000 artifacts
First we stopped by the Visitors Center and saw a twenty-five minute film on his life. Next we visited his boyhood home. Even though he was born in Denison, Texas in 1890, he always considered Abilene his hometown since his family moved there when he was a year and a half old. He was one of seven sons. All the boys were called “Ike”, an abbreviation of their last name. By World War II, only Dwight still used the nickname.
In the parlor of his boyhood home sits the radio the Eisenhower boys bought their mother so she could keep up with the news of the war.
The Boyhood Home was opened to the public in 1947. The Eisenhower family lived here from 1898 until his mother died in 1946. His parents were deeply religious and belonged to the River Brethren, a Mennonite sect with Dutch Pennsylvania origins. The family often spent time reading aloud from the Bible. His mother was a pacifist who was very saddened to learn Dwight wanted to enter the military. Growing up on the farm in Abilene his parents taught Ike humility, the value of hard work, respect for learning, discipline and spiritual devotion. Dwight’s mother sometimes had to take history books away from him so he would pay attention to his other subjects in school.
His childhood heroes were Hannibal, George Washington and Robert E. Lee. In 1909 the high school yearbook predicted that Dwight would become a history professor at Yale and his brother Edgar would be President of the United States. Both his parents attended a small college and four of the sons graduated from college. Every President since Eisenhower has had a college education.
Next we visited the museum, dedicated in 1954. This museum was noticeably different from the previous Presidential museums we have visited. Ten percent was dedicated to cowboy and pioneer life in old Abilene (Chisholm Trail), fifty-five percent to World War II and his military career and about thirty-five percent to his personal life and Presidency. It is one of the very few Presidential Library and Museums we have been to without a replica of the Oval Office.
Abilene was originally founded in 1856 and called Mud Creek, the town was renamed Abilene in 1860 after a Bible passage in the Book of Luke. The American style cowboy boot is believed to have started in Abilene when bootmaker Thomas C. McInerny made a pointed toe boot with a high heel that would stay in the saddle. It replaced the Confederate Cavalry boot. McInerny advertised his boots in the late 1860’s, probably making his shop the first to produce the modern cowboy boot in America. At one point McInerny employed fifteen men in his shop.
Eisenhower enjoyed reading westerns and watching western TV shows and movies. He loved receiving western theme gifts. On display is a pair of cowboy boots specially made for him. Notice the capitol building on them. He was a cattleman on his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where he raised Angus cattle (see our previous post of October 1, 2016).
Eisenhower accomplishments:
Graduate of the United States Military Academy and a professional soldier. Actually he had wanted to attend the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland but at age twenty was too young to enlist there.
At the Military Academy he was more interested in sports than academics. His final class standing was 61st in grades and 125th in demerits.
Served as Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in Europe during WWII
Military governor of the American zone of occupation in Germany
Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
Supreme Commander of NATO
Three Display Cases Contained His Metals and Awards
President of Columbia University
34th President of the United States. He was the first Republican president since Herbert Hoover left office in 1933.
He began his presidential address with a prayer which is mounted on the wall of the chapel where he is buried.
Initiated the country’s first civil rights legislation since post-Civil War Reconstruction
Ordered U.S. Army troops to enforce the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, a highly controversial decision
Construction of the Interstate Highway System which contributed to economic expansion and improved daily lives of Americans
His diplomacy kept the “Cold War” cold.
Under Eisenhower’s administration the North Korean and Chinese believed nuclear weapons would be used if necessary. The two Koreas signed a truce agreement in 1953.
Between 1955 and 1961 the U.S. provided over $1 billion in weapons, financial aid and advisors to the South Vietnamese government, but no military troops.
During the Geneva Summit Eisenhower met with leaders of Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The “Spirit of Geneva” that resulted in the meeting provided hope that a post-Stalin Russia would be less hostile to the United States.
President Eisenhower recognized Castro’s threat in Cuba and approved a covert plan to replace the Castro regime. His plan continued after he left office.
Created Department of Health, Education and Welfare which Congress had refused under Roosevelt and Truman. Through HEW, he extended Social Security benefits to previously ineligible retirees. He pushed vocational rehabilitation to provide assistance to physically disabled people and also increased the minimum wage by 33 percent.
Instituted the National Defense Education Act authorizing $1 billion in loans and grants over seven years for college students majoring in science, math or foreign languages. This was in response to Russia’s launching of Sputnik.
Supported nationwide distribution of the polio vaccine and appropriated $28 million to inoculate those who could not afford it.
Convinced Congress to accept a larger public housing program because of a decline in urban cities due to middle class movement to the suburbs, leaving behind mostly poor, black Americans.
In response to Sputnik and at Eisenhower’s urging, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act in July, 1958, creating NASA.
Today many people view the technology revolution and breakthrough in satellites, atomic energy and jet airliners to be one of the most lasting accomplishments of the Eisenhower presidency. He approved the development of reconnaissance aircraft and satellites to provide better technical information about Soviet military efforts.
Eisenhower suffered a serious heart attack in 1955 but agreed to run for a second term in 1956. He won re-election against Adlai Stevenson by the largest landslide in history, carrying 41 out of 48 states. He suffered a stroke in 1957 that left his speech slightly impaired from then on.
The end of the Eisenhower presidency and the beginning of Kennedy’s signified the end of one era and the beginning of another in many ways. Eisenhower was the last president born in the nineteenth century, Kennedy the first born in the twentieth. At that time Eisenhower was the oldest man ever elected president, Kennedy the youngest. Leaders around the world knew Eisenhower from his leadership roles for over twenty years. Many foreign heads of state barely knew Kennedy.
Eisenhower once wrote that he admired above all others three presidents – Washington, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
Interestingly, a ranking of presidents in 1965 placed Eisenhower well below average. Over the years as more became known about his presidency, by the year 2000, he was ranked in the top ten. As part of C-SPAN’s third Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership in 2017, almost 100 historians and biographers rated him as fifth best President.
We finished our visit by stopping by the Place of Meditation, a chapel where President Eisenhower, Mamie and their son Doud are buried. Doud died at the age of three of scarlet fever. Eisenhower said his son’s death was “the greatest disappointment and disaster in my life”.
Eisenhower passed away in 1969 and was brought home to Abilene where he was buried in a regulation U.S. army casket.
I think you can learn a lot by reading a person’s quotes, or what others say about him.
Quotes by and about Eisenhower:
“The final battle against intolerance is to be fought – not in the chambers of any legislature – but in the hearts of men”. Campaign speech, 1956
“Always try to associate yourself closely with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you, who do better than you, who see more clearly than you. Apart from the rewards of friendship, the association might pay off at some unforeseen time – that is only an accidental byproduct. The important thing is that the learning will make you a better person”.
“Desire may sometimes have to give way to a conviction of duty”. (Eisenhower was reluctant to run for president, calling the idea absurd. In 1945 President Truman told Eisenhower he would support him for President in 1948, even joking he would agree to be Vice-President. In 1952 when leading Republican candidate Senator Robert A. Taft refused to support the United States providing troops to NATO, Eisenhower agreed to run. By 1952, an estimated eighteen million American homes owned a television set, making it the first televised campaign.
“God help the nation when it has a President who doesn’t know as much about the military as I do.”
“Ike could be reelected even if dead.” columnist Walter Lippmann on Eisenhower’s possible third term as president even though he was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term. Eisenhower had an average approval rating of 64%.
“My principal political disappointment was the defeat of Dick Nixon in 1960.”
“There is no victory in any war, except through our imagination, through our dedication, and through our work to avoid it.”
“One of my major regrets is that as we left the White House I had to admit to little success in making progress in global disarmament or in reducing the bitterness of the East-West struggle. But though, in this, I suffered my greatest disappointment, it has not destroyed my faith that in the next generation, the next century, the next millennium, these things will come to pass.”
“If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison.”
“I wish to say a word directly to our young people. It will soon be your country to run, and you should be interested and personally involved.”
“America will be a lonely land without him. But America will always be a better nation – stronger, safer, more conscious of its heritage, more certain of its destiny – because Ike was with us when America needed him.” Lyndon Baines Johnson
“He was a general who truly hated war, but who hated the Nazis more. He was the President who made a peace and kept the peace and this provided the conditions that made it possible for the American people to exercise their rights to pursue happiness.” Stephen E. Ambrose
Our time in Independence, Missouri was over and we made the short trip over the border into Kansas, a new state for us. We were excited about our plans to explore Kansas over the next several weeks.
First stop was at Rock Creek State Recreation Area in Perry, just outside of Topeka. We had a lovely view of Perry Lake. Bill has really reserved some campsites with wonderful views!
Topeka is the capital of Kansas, so on Saturday we headed into Topeka to tour the Capitol building.
The Capitol was built between 1866 and 1903 and is designed after the U.S. Capitol. On top of the dome is a 4,420 pound, 22 foot high sculpture of a Kansa Indian. It is named “Ad Astra” after the state motto “ad astra per aspera” meaning “to the stars through adversity”. The arrow in his hand is pointing to the North Star.
Kansas was named for the Kansa Indians, a Siouan tribe in the region. The French explorers were the first to write down the name Kansa. One French explorer wrote Kansas on a map and soon everyone was calling it Kansas.
We don’t usually take guided tours of Capitol buildings because we prefer to take our time and wander around looking at exhibits and taking pictures. But since a tour was about to begin when we arrived, we decided to go along.
The building has beautiful murals and statues to famous Kansas people including Dwight Eisenhower, Amelia Earhart and Charles Curtis, the first Native American Vice-President of the United States.
Dwight David Eisenhower 1890 – 1969 Soldier – US President
Amelia Mary Earhart 1897 – 1937 (?) Aviation Pioneer
The murals depicted pioneer life with one mural of abolitionist, John Brown. Notice the tornado in the distance.
The flags in the Rotunda represent all the nations that have claimed all or portions of Kansas: United Kingdom, French Monarchy, the French Republic, Mexico, Spain, Texas, United States and Kansas. Representative Hall featured marble, gold leaf, and pink columns made from faux marble.
The Senate chamber featured several types of marble, original native Kansas wild cherry wood desks and hand cast columns with ornate circular grills that helps with air circulation.
Senate Gallery
House Gallery
We rode the cage elevator, installed in 1923 which requires an elevator operator.
In 2014, a thirteen year, $330 million dollar renovation was completed.
After touring the Capitol we drove to the nearby Brown v Brown Board of Education National Historic Site. It is the only national park named for a U.S. Supreme Court case. It is located in the former Monroe School, at one time one of four schools for black children in Topeka. In 1949 parents of six students who attended the school participated in the Brown v. Board of Education lawsuit.
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “in the field of public education, separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”. Inside the school today is a museum to the Civil Rights Movement, especially in the field of public education.
Kansas became a state in 1861, the 34th state.
President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act in 1956 which began the effort to build a nationwide system of highways. Today the national system is called the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and stretches over 46,000 miles across the country. Kansas was the first state in the country to open an Interstate highway with a portion of Interstate 70 passing through Topeka.
Some early travelers crossed the Kansas plains in wind wagons–wagons outfitted with sails. It is said they traveled up to forty mph as the wind blew over the plains.
The state bird is the western meadowlark. It is also the state bird of Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming!
Kansas is part of “Tornado Alley”, an area of the country hit by more tornadoes than any other place in the world, along with Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Kansas doesn’t lead in states with the total number of tornadoes, but it has the record for the highest number of F-5 intensity (most intense) tornadoes since 1880.
Kansas state flower is the wild native sunflower. The sunflower image is on their state road signs. They flower from July to September and can be up to ten feet tall.
Kansas state tree is the cottonwood.
Topeka was established in 1854 by a group of antislavery settlers, seven years before statehood was granted in 1861. It had one of the most complex Underground Railroad networks in the country, with as many as 23 stops.
Payless Shoes was started in Topeka in 1956. Mars, Inc came to Topeka in 2015 and now produces Peanut M&M’s and Snickers at its Topeka plant. If you see TOP on the wrapper, it was made in Topeka!
While we were staying near Independence we drove one day into Kansas City to visit The National WWI Museum and Memorial, the world’s most comprehensive WWI collection. The museum was amazing!
On the top of the Memorial are two Assyrian Sphinxes. One, named Memory, faces east toward the battlefields of France, shielding its eyes from the horrors of war. The other Sphinx is named Future and faces west, shielding its eyes from an unknown future. Around the top of the Tower are carved Guardian Spirits of Honor, Courage, Patriotism and Sacrifice. We began our visit by taking an elevator to the top of Liberty Memorial, a 217 foot tower completed in 1926 with views of Kansas City.
Sixty-five million people served in the Great War (later referred to as World War One), nine million died and the war involved over thirty-six countries around the world.
On the outside wall of the museum is the Great Frieze, one of the largest sculptures of its kind in the world. Dedicated in 1935, it is 148 feet by 18 feet and represents the progression of humankind from war to peace.
The current museum was expanded in 2006 and designated a National Historic Landmark. To enter the museum you walk on a glass bridge over a symbolic red poppy field, a symbol of the war because they grew profusely on the European fields of war.
These 9,000 Poppies Each Represent 1,000 Soldier Lost
Inside are two main galleries, 1914-1917 and 1917-1919. The amount of information presented through pictures and exhibits was overwhelming. Each year 500,000 people visit this museum.
One of the best known symbols of WWI was trench warfare. Both sides dug deep trenches and by the end of 1914 there was a network of over 400 miles of trenches across Belgium and France. By 1917 there were 35,000 miles of trenches across the Western Front. Poet John Masefield who served in the British Army called it “the long grave already dug”. Replicas of trenches were located throughout the museum.
President Woodrow Wilson signed the declaration of war against Germany on April 6, 1917. Millions were inducted, given basic combat training and by June 1917, U.S. troops had arrived in France. The army was small and poorly equipped with uniforms the same as those used in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Equipment was scarce so in some cases they had to train with wooden guns and rifles. For many, it was their first time in the military.
Americans across the country answered the call to help by rationing food, buying war bonds or stamps, worked longer hours and enlisted. Industries switched to producing weapons, ammunition and uniforms. The American Red Cross auctioned wool from sheep grazing on the White House Lawn, raising $100,000. The wool was used by Americans to knit socks and sweaters for the troops. Within a year, America had a military force of four million men and women.
Bill’s Grandfather Robert Tucker was a dispatcher motorcycle rider on a motorcycle like this for General MacArthur, 42nd Division, Rainbow Division.
20,000 1917 Harley-Davidson Motorcycles were sent Over There!
By November 11, 1918 fighting ended on the Western Front and Germany signed an armistice and began to withdraw its forces. The Treaty of Versailles to end the war was drafted in January by the leaders of the United States, England and France. In June, Germany signed it but protested the harsh conditions.
At the end of the year the U.S. Congress rejected both the Treaty and the recently formed League of Nations. The United States later signed its own treaty with Germany and never joined the League of Nations. The League of Nations was replaced 26 years later after World War II by the United Nations.
What else happened during WWI:
Herbert Hoover announced the United States sent $1.4 billion worth of food to the Allies in 1917.
Wartime Prohibition began with the Food Production Bill, making the U.S. completely “dry” until demobilization was completed.
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Selective Service Act which required all men between the ages of 21 to 30 to register for the draft. It was later extended to men 18 to 45. On the first day, over 9.2 million men registered at their local draft boards. Only 252,294 men failed to report.
June 1917, Congress enacts the Espionage Act allowing the government to censor mail and making it a crime to aid enemy nations or interfere with the draft. On July 20th, the first American draftees are chosen by lottery.
U.S. Post Office began airmail service and issued the first airmail stamps.
“Over There”, a patriotic song written by George M. Cohan was recorded by Enrico Caruso.
The first Choctaw Code Talkers, in which Indian languages was used as a substitute for code, occurred during WWI. They translated field telephone calls, radio messages and field orders. The code was never broken by the German intelligence. This led to a greater use of Navajo and other languages as codes by U.S. forces in WWII.
March 31, 1918 U.S. begins daylight savings time by Congressional Act to save daylight.
The American Legion was formed in 1919 as well as the Women’s Overseas Service League was formed to aid returning WWI veterans. Congress authorized disability compensation and vocational rehabilitation.
“I am back from the front and believe me!!…I have just come out of one of the worst battles and the most deciding battle of the war. The American soldiers are the most gallant, brave, witty and stubborn fighters in the world”. Corporal John Lewis Barkley, 4th Infantry, 3rd Division in a letter home, November, 1918
After touring the museum we were famished and made the short drive to Kansas City, Kansas to have dinner at Joe’s Kansas City Barbecue. Bill had ribs and I had beef brisket. Both really, really good. Located in a gas station, the long line attested to their reputation. A newspaper clipping on the wall named them one of the thirteen best places to eat before you die (see #13).
Kansas City Missouri Facts:
Population 460,000
Has more than 200 fountains, giving it the nickname “The City of Fountains”; more fountains are here than almost anywhere else except Rome. In the 1800’s the fountains were used as water troughs for horses.
Locals say Kansas City has more barbecue restaurants per capita than any city in the country, earning it another nickname, “Barbecue Capital of the World”.
During the 1800’s Kansas City was the last stop for travelers to get provisions as they headed west.
During the 1920’s and 1930’s, Kansas City was known as “The Paris of the Plains” because of the many jazz clubs, gambling halls and disregard of Prohibition.
Across from the museum was Union Station, built in 1914 and formerly a train station but now a science museum. We read that more than 79,000 trains passed through the terminal in 1917 and half of all GIs deployed during World War Two passed through this Union Station.
Under rainy skies we left Iowa and entered Nebraska. We prefer to not travel in the rain but the area really needed it. We reached our campsite at Walnut Creek Lake Recreation Area in the city of Papillion outside of Omaha and set up before the really heavy rain began to fall. It would be the last rain we would see for awhile. It was very hot in Iowa and the heat continued in Nebraska. Papillion was named by French settlers after its beautiful butterflies. Walnut Creek Lake Recreation Area is located on a 150 acre reservoir. They do not accept reservations so we were very glad to find an available spot with a view of the water.
On Thursday we made the short drive into Omaha, population 450,000. Our first stop was the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail – Headquarters located inside the National Park Service’s Midwest Regional Office.
Nearby was the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, completed in 2008 and spanning the Missouri River which Lewis, Clark and the Corps of Discovery navigated over 200 years ago. The neat thing about this bridge is that it is the longest pedestrian bridge to link two states.
When walking across the bridge we started in Nebraska and crossed into Iowa about midway. The 3,000 foot cable stay bridge connects Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Cables suspend the bridge sixty feet above the river and the curved shape symbolizes the meandering Missouri River.
Next we drove downtown to the Pioneer Courage Park with amazing bronze and stainless steel sculptures depicting pioneer families and westward expansion.
Omaha is the home of the College World Series so we drove by TD Ameritrade Park. My hometown University of Virginia baseball team won the World Series here in 2015.
Nearby we visited the President Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens. The house burned to the ground so there is now a nice portico that resembles the West Wing and a rose garden dedicated to Betty Ford. The 38th President was born as Leslie King, Jr. He moved with his mother to Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was adopted by his stepfather and took the name Gerald R. Ford.
Omaha is also the home of Warren Buffet. We rode by his home and office building. His home is surprisingly small for such a wealthy man.
Of course we had to shop at the Nebraska Furniture Mart, the largest home furnishing store in North America. It has 420,000 square feet of retail space spread over 77 acres and several buildings. It was founded in 1937 by Mrs. B who sold a majority interest in the company to Warren Buffet in a handshake deal in 1983. Now you are probably wondering why people who live in an RV would take the time to visit a furniture mart. Besides furniture they also have flooring, appliances and electronics. They also have locations in Iowa, Kansas and Texas. One noticeable thing to us was how quick and helpful the employees were. If you stopped to look at the store map or looked the least bit confused, someone was right there to help you with a friendly smile and cheerful demeanor.
Next we toured the Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters which is the location of the Mormons’ main settlement on the Missouri River. Historical exhibits memoralized the hardships the pioneers faced, especially during the winter of 1846-47.
We finished the day at Kenefick Park where we saw “two of the greatest locomotives ever to power Union Pacific Railroad”: the Union Pacific Big Boy #4023 and the Union Pacific Centennial #6900. We climbed sixty steps from the parking lot to where the locomotives sit high on a hilltop visible from the interstate.
On Friday we visited the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Aerospace Museum in nearby Ashland. It has the largest collection of Cold War aircraft including exhibits of spy planes, fighter jets including a F-101B Voodoo jet fighter, the FB111A Aardvark medium range bomber, the rare XF-85 Goblin fighter escort (one of only two ever built), helicopters, rockets, missiles, spacecraft, a Space Shuttle Atlantis training simulator and other airplanes. SAC was disestablished in 1992. SAC was responsible for control of two of the three components of the U.S. military’s nuclear strike forces.
This Link Aircraft Simulator was the very first simulator used to train pilots. Bill worked early in his career on a Weapons System Simulator (fighter jet) for this Phantom II jet by McDonnell Douglas.
There is an exhibit on what was discovered about the horrors of World War II.
Two of the most famous planes used for reconnaissance is the U-2 and SR-71. On Saturday we had a nice dinner with Bill’s cousin Jimmie who lives in Papillion.
Next stop: Lincoln, Nebraska
Nebraska Facts:
Nebraska has nearly 100,000 miles of roads.
Its nickname is the Cornhusker State and it is celebrating 150 years of statehood in 2017.
Omaha and Lincoln are the two largest cities.
Lewis, Clark and the Corps of Discovery navigated the Missouri River on their quest to find the Northwest Passage. They averaged 10-12 miles a day as they moved upriver in a 55 foot long keelboat and two pirogues. They were in the Omaha area in July and August of 1804.
Tuesday we drove to Winterset to visit the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum. Wayne was born in the small four room house in 1907 and was named Marion Robert Morrison. He weighted thirteen pounds! Adjacent to the birthplace is the museum with original movie posters, wardrobes from his films, movie scripts, contracts, letters, artwork and sculptures.
They had his last customized automobile in which the top had been raised to accommodate his height of 6’4”.
Did you know John Wayne got his nickname “The Duke” from a dog? He had a dog named Duke and they were together so much they became known as “Little Duke” and “Big Duke”. Wayne from a Revolutionary War General he portrayed.
There was a small movie theater where we watched a documentary on Wayne’s life and career. We sat in seats which originally were used at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
Winterset is located in Madison County, Iowa, the setting for Iowa novelist Robert Waller’s 1992 novel The Bridges of Madison County which was also made into a movie in 1995. Scenes for the movie were shot in Winterset and the town of Adel, Iowa. People still talk about seeing Clint Eastwood sitting at the lunch counter of the local restaurant! At one time Madison County had nineteen covered bridges and there are currently six remaining. The bridges are covered to preserve their large flooring timbers which are expensive to replace. We drove to the 1883 Roseman Covered Bridge, 107 feet in length and featured in the movie. It is the most popular of the covered bridges and is located far out in the county on a dusty gravel road.
Before leaving Winterset we also drove to Clark Tower in Winterset’s City Park. Erected in 1926, it is an unusual monument to the county’s first pioneer family by their descendants. Constructed of native limestone and 25 feet high, it made for an interesting drive up a very narrow one way road to the top of a hill to the monument. We climbed to the observation point of the tower but trees prevented a clear view of the Middle River valley below.
We really enjoyed our visit to Des Moines and Winterset.
Hoping we left the terrible mosquitoes behind, we headed further south to the tiny town of Aitkin, MN. We settled here for the Fourth of July holiday, glad to be off the busy highways. Our four days went by quickly and since there wasn’t much to see or do in the area, we used the time to do some chores around the RV. We installed extra insulation in the pantry and the upper cabinets to hopefully keep those areas cooler. We cleaned the vents and Bill changed the water filter and ice maker filter. We vacuumed out the tow car, washed it, and Bill applied wax. He also applied 303® Aerospace Protectant™ to the dashboard. He worked hard getting all the dead bugs off the front of the RV. We even managed to get a couple blogs published. It was a busy and productive four days! And on Independence Day the RV park had a golf cart parade.
On Thursday we moved to the Farmington, MN fairgrounds located about thirty minutes south of the Minneapolis/St Paul area.
After settling in we drove up to Bloomington to the Mall of America. The Mall of America is the largest entertainment and shopping destination in North America with 520 stores and more than sixty restaurants. It is four stories, sits on 96 acres and has 12,500 parking spaces. The most amazing thing was the amusement park in the center with a roller coaster, a boat ride as well as many other thrilling rides. After dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp we spent a couple hours walking around the colossal complex.
In the Mall is a memorial to Thomas Burnett who died on 9/11 after his plane was overtaken by terrorists and went down in the fields of Pennsylvania. Burnett was born in Bloomington and attended school there during his childhood years. He was married and the father of four daughters when he died. I found it interesting that a year before the plane went down he started attending church because of a strong sense of foreboding which he expressed to his wife. On the day of the attack Burnett was one of four passengers to storm the cockpit, foiling the terrorists’ plan to crash the plane into the White House or U.S. Capitol. He is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minnesota.
On September 11, 2002 the Mall of America dedicated the Tom Burnett 9/11 Memorial with a plaque entitled “Do Something” and an open door representing the cockpit door with the message “To Deem Life Important and to Act Affects All of Those That Bear Witness…”. The open door also represents a door to a brighter, safer future and encourages people to walk toward the future intent on doing something good, something kind, something noble and something right.
On Friday we had our six month blood work done and got service done on the Honda tow car.
Sunday we took advantage of lighter traffic and drove into Minneapolis and St Paul. Minneapolis and St Paul are ranked first and second by the Trust for Public Land for best city parks in the nation. Minneapolis-St Paul claims to have the coldest average temperature of any major metro area in the lower 48 states and because of this Minneapolis has a continuous network skyway system with enclosed pedestrian bridges that is purportedly the world’s largest. St Paul has five miles of glass tunnels to allow people to go from building to building. About 18 years ago Bill worked for six weeks in Minneapolis in late November, early December and he will never forget how cold it was out on the streets. Especially for someone from Florida!! He used those enclosed pedestrian walkways a lot!
We had quite a lengthy list of places to visit so we got a very early start. First up was Minneapolis which is a large city with many tall buildings. Very different from smaller St Paul.
We stopped by the Minneapolis Visitor Information Center to see the statue of Mary Richards. Who can forget this popular character from The Mary Tyler Moore Show! The statue was given by TV Land to the city. It used to be outside but construction on Nicolette Street forced the statue to be moved inside. We then drove to a nearby neighborhood to see the turn of the century Victorian house shown on the series where Mary supposedly had an apartment. We noticed the private residence is now for sale. There are other locations around the city featured on the show but there just wasn’t enough time to see them all.
We visited the St Anthony Falls Visitor Center Lock and Dam. At one time St Anthony Falls was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. After the falls partially collapsed in 1869, the natural falls were replaced by a concrete overflow spillway. In the 1950’s and 1960’s a series of locks and dams was constructed to extend navigation.
From 1880 to around 1930, Minneapolis was the “Flour Milling Capital of the World”. Evidence of this can be seen in the Washburn Mill ruins of what was once the largest flour mill in the world located near the falls.
The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (a U.S. National Park) protects a 72-mile and 54,000-acre corridor along the Mississippi River from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey, Minnesota to just downstream of Hastings, Minnesota. In the middle of Minneapolis is the St Anthony Falls Lock and Dam.
Overlooking St Anthony Falls Lock and Dam on one side and the mills ruins on the other is the beautiful Stone Arch Bridge. Constructed in 1883, this is a former railroad bridge which crosses the Mississippi River and is the only arched bridge made of stone on the entire Mississippi River. The second oldest bridge on the Mississippi, it is made of native granite and limestone and measures 2100 feet with 21 stone arches. The bridge is now a pedestrian and bicycle bridge and is an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. We enjoyed walking on part of the bridge with beautiful views of St Anthony Falls, the Mississippi River and the Minneapolis skyline.
Next we visited Guthrie Theater because we wanted to walk on the Endless Bridge. This 178 foot long cantilevered structure is neither endless nor a bridge but a steel truss that is counterbalanced by the weight of the building. The Endless Bridge is in the left of the picture of the building. The attraction here is the magnificent views of the city, the Stone Arch Bridge and St Anthony Falls Lock and Dam.
We drove by the U.S. Bank Stadium which is where the Minnesota Vikings play football. The massive stadium is in the shape of a Viking ship. Really neat but hard to get a good picture of the entire stadium from our car.
Next was Target Field where the Twins play baseball. They had a home game today but we were early enough to avoid the crowd and traffic. The Twin Cities will host the Super Bowl LII in 2018 and the NCAA Final Four in 2019.
The Basilica of St Mary, named the first basilica in the United States by Pope Pius XI in 1926, is located here. It was completed in 1915, has a 200 foot high dome and a rose window.
We went by the Sculpture Garden but since we were running out of time and parking was scarce, we snapped a couple pictures of two of the most popular sculptures, the cherry and the blue chicken.
By now it was lunchtime and time to move on to St Paul, the capital of Minnesota. Minneapolis and St Paul is divided by an “S” shape carved by the Mississippi River. It is approximately a six mile drive between the two cities. At 26.2 miles, St Paul has more miles of Mississippi riverfront than any other city in the U.S. It is known as a “City of Neighborhoods” which celebrates different heritages and diversity. After grabbing lunch at a barbecue joint, we headed to the State Capitol building.
The Minnesota State Capitol is a Renaissance Revival Style building, with the second largest self supported dome in the world after Saint Peter’s. It was modeled after Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the dome inspired by the U.S. Capitol dome. The building is made of 25 different types of stone including 16 varieties of marble from around the world as well as Minnesotan granite and limestone. Construction on the capitol was started in 1896 and completed in 1905 at a cost of $4.5 million. Above the southern entrance is a gilded chariot with four horses representing the power of nature; earth, wind, fire and water. The women leading the horses symbolize civilization and the man on the horse, prosperity.
Near the capitol is the Cathedral of Saint Paul, the third largest churches in North America, seating 3,000 people. It has a 175 foot copper dome and six chapels. The cornerstone was set in 1907 and the design was Inspired by churches in France.
Charles Schultz of the Peanuts cartoon fame, was born in Minneapolis but spent most of his childhood in St Paul where his father owned a barbershop. During this time Schultz and his father were known to purchase newspapers from Minneapolis and St Paul to be sure they saw every cartoon strip printed locally. For five summers after his death in 2,000, artists from all over St Paul designed and displayed renditions of Peanuts characters. In Rice and Landmark Parks as well as throughout St Paul you can see the Peanut characters.
We ended the day with a stop at Minnehaha Regional Park to see the beautiful 53 foot Minnehaha Falls, one of the most photographed sites in in Minnesota. The name Minnehaha comes from the Dakota language and means waterfall. Even though he never visited Minnehaha Falls, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made the Falls famous in his poem, “The Song of Hiawatha”.
Enjoy the following video:
A bronze statue of Hiawatha carrying Minnehaha is located on a small island in the park. The statue was created in 1893 and placed in the park in 1912.
We enjoyed our time in Minneapolis and St Paul, however the two cities, especially Minneapolis, are very frustrating to drive in with many confusing one way streets complicated by construction and road closures.
Next up: Albert Lea and our last days in Minnesota
Can’t remember the last time we were in weather that cold. As we began the drive in the Valle Grande Valley, we saw a couple prairie dogs. We drove on unpaved roads around the dormant volcano caldera with expansive valley meadows, lush forested volcanic domes and streams where we saw an occasional fisherman. Even though herds of elk and black bear also live in the Preserve, we only saw deer, cattle and prairie dogs. Scenes from the 2013 movie “Lone Ranger” were filmed here.
