No idea why the song from the early 1900’s sprung to mind. I think it found fame with Judy Garland in a film of the same name.
Still I had an urge to visit the famous city mentioned in the song. Especially as it is also home to the smallest national park in the USA as I understand it.
Tickets purchased, a quick bite to eat & we were ready to be whisked skyward in a pod that spirits you up the inside leg of the arch to reach a platform at the top.
Arch With a View
From here you can peer out the various windows & note various landmarks on the skyline.
We were driving a ‘chevvy’ & due to the height of the van had to find alternative parking which turned out to be on the ‘levy’!
This ‘taking the chevvy to the levy’ appealed to our sense of humour & remarkably we could actually see the van from the top of the Arch.
A Night By A Lake
Home for the night was a spot in the Finger Lakes State Park. So the next day we could head for Topeka,Kanas & more specifically the Expocentre.
Here we got to wander about the Evil Knievel exhibition which included various memorabilia, his motorbikes & even the tour bus.
The museum is located in the Harley Davidson dealership building where you could treat your self to buying a bike or something to eat.
As we from the UK it had to be lunch. Largely because I don’t think airport staff would not consider a Harley as part of your normal luggage allowance!!
The next day saw us trundling through miles of countryside that was generally open & flat. Until that is we until arrived in Hutchinson.
Authors Note : The Evel Knievel Museum was located in Kanas but now has moved to Las Vegas.
We spent the night at another KOA which this time had a Wizard of Oz theme. Giving us no doubt that we were in Kanas where thankfully there were no tornadoes.
Dropping In?
This led to an impromptu stop to investigate a salt mine. The Strataca experience took as about the same distance underground as we had risen above ground in St Louis.
The atmosphere is very quiet & the geology quite fascinating. The trip involves a mixture of walking & short train ride to see the various tunnels & find out about salt mining.
The place is also home to a storage facility as the atmosphere makes is a suitable stable environment was such purposes.
Use the link to visit the Strataca website to find out more if planning to visit.
As the sun began to set we arrived in Dodge City where we booked in so we could take a look around the following day.