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. 

Discovering More U.S. History

On our road trips to Arizona, we always take the opportunity to learn more about U.S. history and culture. This time we drove through Springfield, MO, and visited the flagship Bass Pro Shop, billed the grandaddy of all outdoor stores. It’s huge and includes the National Museum of Archery, the NRA Sporting Arms Museum, Bass Pro Museum, a Motorsport museum, and Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, plus education and conference centers, and housing!!

Then on to Ft Smith, AR, via Branson. Fort Smith, a National Historic Site on the Arkansas River, was first built to keep peace between the native Osage and newly arriving Cherokees. The Trail of Tears ended here. Beyond was Indian territory. 

Kiwi Country

We are nearing the end of our month in NZ but still discovering new and exciting places. Huka Falls at Taupo thunders through a narrow chasm and drops only 35 feet, but it supplies 50% of the North Island’s required power. 

At New Plymouth we hiked to the Te Rewa Rewa bridge, constructed to frame the Taranaki volcano. 

Also in New Plymouth is the Govett Brewster Art Gallery and Len Lye Center. The building is a stunning architectural drama of glass and steel twisted towers. Reflected here is a huge clock tower across the street. 

Len Lye is a New Zealand artist acclaimed for his Modernism and kinetic art works. He created the Wind Wand along the coastal walkway. It sways with the wind. 

We are currently on the north end of the North Island at the Coromandel Peninsula where we hiked to Cathedral Cove, a beautiful beach with a huge stone arch. 

Tomorrow we head toward Auckland where we will depart on December 1st.  But not before a couple more rounds of golf. We are not looking forward to cold Wisconsin weather. Dare I say that it has almost been too warm for us here. 

Moving Northward

We finished off New Zealand’s South Island in Blenheim, wine country, Had a wonderful day of tastings at six different wineries, plus a stop at a chocolatier to finish it off deliciously. In this part of the country, vineyards now out number sheep ranches. 

And just to remind you what spring looks like......,..

Luckily we had a smooth crossing from Picton to Wellington on the North Island. The boat is a car ferry, but you can’t take a rental car from one island to the other. So you drop off the car on one side and pick up a different one on the other side. Both of our cars have been Holdens—Australian made. 

We drove to the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington and stayed in Paraparaumu where we golfed and visited Kapiti Island which is a nature reserve. Saw and heard many birds while climbing 1700 feet to the island summit. Here’s  friendly Weka just waiting to steal your lunch. 

Then on to Napier which is known for its Art Deco architecture. After a big earthquake and fire in 1931, the entire city was rebuilt in the favored style of the 1930’s. They hold a huge Art Deco weekend every February and everyone dresses in period pieces and there are Gatsby parties. We took a tour in a vintage auto to see the buildings. 

We also golfed at Cape Kidnappers, one of the premier courses in the world. And it really was spectacular. 

We are now in “Gizzy”—Gisborne where we rode on the only Railbike operation in the world. Rode about 8 miles on the actual train tracks. 

A few more stops before we get to Auckland and head home. The Kiwis have been so welcoming and fun. 

New Zealand Adventure

We’ve been in New Zealand just a week, but we’ve already seen much of the South Island. We started outside Christchurch at Windwhistle where the wind was really whistling as we golfed along the Rakaia Gorge. 

Next south to Dunedin where we visited the lovely old railway station. Lime electric scooters are pervasive in NZ as well, here in front of First Church. 

Its spring here and the flowers are lovely, especially the rhododendrons. 

Then even further south to Invercargill, the most southern city, home of Burt Munro, famous for setting many motorcycle land speed records. The movie The World’s Fastest Indian is about him—it’s a great film. 

Our weather has not been as nice as we expected, but we’ve golfed 3 times and has two good hikes. Unfortunately, our Siberia Experience was cancelled because of weather. The cloud cover was too low to fly us in to the drop off point for the hike. But we have no real complaints after reading about the Milwaukee weather!!

Wild Weather

Having a great time in Colorado. Spent a day with brother John and family before three days of golf under sunny skies. 

This is Wednesday—79 degrees and on the course in shorts and short sleeve shirts.

Then this is Thursday in Golden—21 degrees and about 4” of snow. Almost a 60 degree drop!!  So glad we brought our long underwear.  It could go down to 10 degrees tonight and set a record. Should be nice by the weekend, however.