Kansas

Kansas is known for many things.... Tornado's, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and Toto, The Yellowbrick Road, Munchins (my peeps), Wheat, the big rivalry of Kansas State and Kansas University, The Kansas City Chiefs, Prairie Dogs.... just to mention a few.... but... did you know they are famous for their salt mines, or that they have the largest grain elevator in the United States (2nd in the world in size.... Russia having the largest)... or that they have a Cosmosphere/Space Center with the 2nd largest collection of space memorabilia in the world (again... Russia having the largest).  All of these interesting sites are not only in Kansas.... but.... in Hutchinson where we now live.  And who said.... what the heck is in Hutchinson Kansas???  I must also add that the folks of "Hutch" are quite proud of all they have to offer to locals and visitors alike.  I have not yet had the opportunity to visit either the Salt Museum or the Cosmosphere... but they are both on my list of "to see and do" the first chance I get.  Anyone who plans on visiting us here in Hutch has many things to look forward to as they learn about this little town in the middle of the United States of America.


These exerpts are from the site I googled about the Cosmosphere and the Underground Salt Museum....


The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson has the 2nd largest collection of US space memorabilia anywhere and the largest collection of Russian space memorabilia outside the former Soviet Union.  Spacecraft and aircraft on exhibit at the Kansas Cosmosphere include Apollo 13, a Blackbird SR-71 spy plane, a flown Vostok spacecraft, a Sputnik, space suits & tools, items that have been on the moon. The Cosmosphere is the permanent home of Liberty Bell, the Mercury 7 capsule that was recovered from the bottom of the ocean and restored here at the Kansas Cosmosphere.

Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson, Kansas is unique in the western hemisphere. Although there are some similar salt mine museums in Europe, there are none in the Americas. And there are just 15 active salt mines in the United States.To take a tour of the underground museum you have to take the two level lift and ride down 650 feet in the dark - "because that is the way the miners do it."  The salt mine is still in operation and the mine is a bit of a time capsule, near the end of the tour, there is a stop where everyone is allowed to get off the tram, sort through a pile of rock from the active salt mine and select a rock to take home as a souvenir of their visit to the Underground Salt Museum.

Not only do we have those two cool tourist sites to encourage visitors but here are the things that I see daily and enjoy watching.... little wind gusts that pick up a leaf or piece of prairie brush.... these wind gusts are like teeny weeny mini tornado's that seem as if they are actually playing with whatever item is being swirled and twirled... the wind gusts actually look like they are performing a dance for you... you just can't help but to be mesmerized by the dance.  On any given day my husband and I watch deer (bucks, does and babies) wander around our yard.... and we also see the flock of wild turkeys that roam around our yard all day long.  Because our house is truly nestled in the woods and we have windows all around the house, we can actually stand in the middle of our living room and see out of our windows in the front, back and sides of the house without taking a single step, so we get to watch these wild animals on all sides of the house as they go about their grazing and roaming.... which I have to admit is really cool!  

Joe and I look forward to having visitors to share in these tourist sites and experiences with us.  Our Welcome mat is always out!  And.... if none of these things entice you to come visit.... Chef V is always in the kitchen cooking up something yummy for your tummy!  


PS... don't know why the print size of this blog keeps changing... must be because I had to copy and paste the info from google.