Our visit to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson was incredible! We can't figure out how a tiny town in the middle of Kansas, with no interstate within 30 miles, accumulated such an amazing collection of space history. Among the many significant items, we especially enjoyed seeing the actual Apollo 13 return module and the "Glamourous Glennis"--the plane flown by Chuck Yeager when he broke the sound barrier. Our six hours there included shows in the domed IMAX theater and the planetarium, as well as a live show highlighting the history of rocketry (we saw lots of stuff blown up!). We barely scratched the surface of the museum, which features so many pieces from the US, German and Russian space programs. Well worth the trip.
Campgrounds are interesting places. Many folks are just stopping for the night, heading toward their true destination the next day. Others are full-time workers who put in rugged hours at nearby job sites, far away from family and home. The other day, a fancy, "mack-daddy" rig pulled in next to us. Stan chatted with the owner and learned that he was in town for a few weeks because of a trial. Lawyer, we assumed. Wrong! The next day, we saw two yippie terriers emerge from the rig and, in a follow-up conversation with the man, learned that the dog trials began last week!
Tomorrow we'll visit the Eisenhower Library and Museum in Abilene on our way to the eastern edge of Kansas City. We've truly enjoyed these few days in Kansas and won't be so quick to joke about its supposed shortfalls; our time here has been great. Next stop, Missouri.
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| the "white room" for the Apollo 13 mission (from which the astonauts were loaded into the command pod for blast-off) |
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| the Apollo 13 module |
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| walking in Neil Armstrong's footsteps |
Sounds like a great place. Love the pic with the big foot prints.
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