Sculptures in Wichita

Another very nice day here in mid Kansas. We’ll be leaving here tomorrow morning heading west again to – who knows?

I mentioned I bought a new purse in Yoder – here it is. Has a zippered partition inside plus four other interior pockets. Plus the ones on either side. And a big pocket in the front. Makes it easy for traveling with all the stuff I carry.

This morning we drove into Wichita to see all the sculptures on Douglas Avenue. Before getting downtown we passed a couple of neat buildings. This certainly was from an earlier era. Even the color!

And we can’t forget Wichita is a COW town.

Another interesting building – it is very shiny – like a mirror.

Entering downtown Wichita on Douglas Ave. Very neat area. Lots of great buildings and 31 bronze sculptures by Washington state artist Georgie Gerber. They we set up in the late 1990s and are well worth the trip to see. I think we found most of them.

A mother and child – what is she pointing at?

A little girl, her horse and dog.

Two boys playing

A little rabbit sitting all by himself on the corner watching the traffic go by. 

This is one of my favorites. A business man, suit and all, with his pants rolled up standing in a puddle.

His brief case and shoes sit by the bench.

A girl and her cat

Little boy and his toy car.

Street musician and his dog

In the same little park is a young boy and a ball – the last time we saw this there was a small water fountain under the ball.

And two boys on their scooters – in the background a soda fountain. A Woolworths used to sit in this area.

This one you really have to look at. The dog is looking at three birds perched on the top of the shelter.

And he caught one.

Just taking in the sun with his catch of a little bird.

And a little squirrel running along the sidewalk 

I took a lot of pictures of the interesting buildings in Wichita but will keep them until another day.
But I do want to include these pictures of The Keeper of the Plains. It is 44 feet tall and made of cor-ten steel. Sculpted by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin. It is at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers. 

And then out through the plains on our way home. There will be a 2nd part of Wichita and area and the rest of the day. 

Part 2 Cosmosphere and Yooder

I'm going to finish up our trip to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS. But I will cut this part short I'll only share a few of the many pictures I have left. 

We really enjoyed going there and if you’re ever in the area don’t miss it. While in Hutchinson we also washed poor Willie, he was so dirty from the rain and dust we could hardly see the graphics on him.

While I was posting last night Bill also was adding to his blog. But didn’t add any pictures to it – hasn’t mastered that part yet.

AND we lost TV reception last night – just went out. No amount of resetting the box worked. But this morning it is working fine. Good thing too as the Talladaga race is this weekend. Couldn’t miss that.

But back to the museum - The next part of the museum was about the flights to the moon. 

 Astronauts on the moon. Cannot believe it was that long ago. What happened to our space program? 

 Apollo XIII Command Module, Odyssey. 

Cramped quarters

 We've got a problem - understatement!

Upon splashdown, NASA recovered the Apollo 13 command module Odyssey – the craft housing the mission’s astronauts during their ascent and decent from Earth – from the ocean’s surface on April 17, 1970. Due to problems that plagued Apollo 13 and its crew, the mission was considered a “successful failure” and Odyssey was disassembled and its parts shipped to museums, manufacturers and space centers across the world.

Years later, the Cosmosphere accepted the task of retrieving Odyssey’s 80,000 missing parts and restoring the spacecraft back to its original post-flight condition – a 12-year endeavor. The craft was restored in the Hall of Space Museum by the Cosmsophere’s craftsmen, in full view of museum visitors.

So much history - that I wonder if the young people even know anymore. 

There is also an huge underground salt mine in Hutchinson but after much thought we didn't take the tour. Two minutes in an elevator down 650' underground - kind of turned me off.

Leaving Hutchinson we went down the road a piece to the tiny town of Yoder. Originally settled by the Amish. We went to Carriage Crossing Restaurant for lunch. Plain and good food.  

Of course they had a gift shop! And I had to wander around in it. Some of the beautiful wall hanging quilts there. 

 And I found my favorite purse - I had one like it for years but it finally wore out. So glad to find another one - will take a picture of it later. 

So had busy day - and Bill felt great. 

Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS - Part 1

Another really nice weather day here in Kansas. And as always our plans changed this morning when we got in the car. Instead of going to Wichita we went to Hutchinson and Yoder.

#s 1 and 5 are  the campground. 

Our first stop in Hutchinson was a restaurant to eat breakfast. I won’t say which one. We walked in and waited for the hostess, as we waited another couple finished their meal and stood waiting for the cashier. And we waited and stood and waited and stood. No one seemed to be paying any attention to the front area. The other couple was looking for a bell to ring. About then I glanced out the window and saw an employee walking up the sidewalk towards the front door. Joking I said, “ Here she comes she was outside.” We all laughed – until that employee came inside and asked who was there first. She picked up menus to seat us and told the other couple she would be right with them. I wonder what she was doing outside?  So we got our booth and waited some more for the waitress. She finally came, “Wad da ya want to drink?” We both ordered coffee. Soon she was back, slammed the cups on the table and gave them a push. Kind of like a bartender sliding a glass of beer down the bar. Then she huffed and took our order. I couldn't help but laugh at the outraged look on Bill’s face. After that all went well.

After breakfast we went to the Kansas Cosmophere. It is a space museum in Hutchinson. A marvelous museum. Had to believe it is in the middle of Kansas. [I’ll warn you – I took 187 pictures – going to be hard to choose which ones to share.]

The museum was finished in 1997 but started as a dream of one woman in 1962. It has one of the largest collections of flown American spacecraft and the largest collection of Russian spacecraft and space related artifacts in the world. 

Before going in we check out this marvelous sculpture of an Astronaut. Some information about it. The last person to leave a footprint on the moon. 

The sculpture

The first thing you see as you go inside is a Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird. It is a wondrous airplane. Looking at it from the nose back. It is 107” 5” long. With a wingspan of 55’ 7”. Top speed was [they admit] 2,200 mph.or 3200 feet a second.

A look underneath it at the belly and one of it’s engines. It used 8,000 gallons of fuel per hour. When it was sitting on the ground fuel would leak from the plane. As it flew the skin expanded with the heat and sealed the fuel tank.

A look at it from the back to the front. Bill and I actually saw one of these on the ground at Edwards Air Force base many years ago. No words to describe how powerful it looks sitting still.

It was delivered by the Air Force to Hutchinson airport in five pieces, then assembled and towed to the museum. The room it is in was built around it.

Behind it is a replica of the Space Shuttle the Endeavor. It is really big.

Just a picture in the lobby.

An little bit about the concept for the museum. Sorry about the reflections. 

Some information about the Apollo program. 

A stained glass window leading into the museum. 

The first part of the museum is about the development of weapons by Germany during WWII. V-2 technology made space exploration possible. 

The next section of the museum is about the Cold War and the U.S. and Soviet space programs. 

Test pilot – Chuck Yeager.

The soviet space dog.

This part of the museum really interested me. An actual section of the Berlin Wall.  

 And more information about the Soviet space program. 

 Would you get into this and let yourself be shot off into space? "What did my job description say? I need to look at it again. " This is one of the few Vostok Capsules in America. 

Some information about the Gemini program. And the drogue chute.

 One of the chutes.

 I found this kind of interesting. 

One of the flight suits - imagine sewing this - a part of history. 

 Always wondered about this. ICK!

 Liberty Bell 7 - the actual Mercury capsule flown by Gus Grissom, recovered from the Atlantic Ocean floor in 1999 and restored by the Cosmosphere. 

Going to post this much now and will finish it later - lots more information and pictures to go.