We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

But we were last night—in Topeka to be exact, which, by the way, is the capitol of Kansas. I sure didn’t remember that. The capital building is lovely. The dome is taller than the U.S capitol. It is copper but has been treated with chemicals to give it a patina. You can climb to the top, 295 steps. We didn’t!

Then on to the Great Overland Station, one of the Union Pacific Railroad Passenger Depots, now a museum. It was built in 1925.

There is another surprising historic site in Topeka that commemorates the landmark decision of the Supreme Court in the case Brown v Board of Education aimed at ending racial segregation in public schools. The site is in the Monroe school. The NAACP recruited 13 African American parents to file the suit contesting the state law that allowed cities to segregate students. 

And, lastly, a visit to the Evel Knieval museum, housed in a giant, historic Harley Davidson dealership. The daredevil performed from 1965 to 1980. He made 168 jumps and crashed 19 times. Does everyone remember when he attempted to rocket across the Grand Canyon? They itemize the number of broken bones (left femur 5 times, back 4 times, every rib at least once, as examples).  He actually died in 2007 of natural causes. 

Road trips are such fun and a treat during this pandemic. 

Arizona Adventure

I have been lax in reporting on our Arizona odyssey. So here it goes. We are just finishing our week in Scottsdale. The weather has been lovely (70s and sunny).  We went to a Brewers spring training game today against the Dodgers and the Brewers won.  Yay.  The American Family Fields is quite a complex. 

Prior to Scottsdale, we had a terrific 12 days in Sedona with the Bruce’s. We hiked nine of those days in beautiful red rock country. We tried some new trails and revisited some of our favorites. Pete’s two new knees got quite a workout. He’s legs are so straight we hardly recognized him!  Lots of good laughs with the Dunn’s and Baldauf’s. 

Now it’s on to New Mexico, then Texas. We will be stopping in wine country around Fredericksburg before heading to Houston where we’ll stay with friends. Then finally another stop at Erich’s before heading home. We should be in Milwaukee by March 10th if we don’t run into weather issues.