Monday, October 27, 2008
Starsky And Hutch-inson
Man, I used to watch that show all the time. Even weirder, I had a red Gran Torino as a kid, although it was a '73, not a '75...and mine was a fastback. I know, it's kinda like that joke about having a shirt just like that one, only mine was short sleeve...and blue...and (well you know the rest).
Well, enough reminiscing. Day five dawned with a well rested crew departing the Hutchinson Mall parking lot. A short drive later we arrived at our much anticipated destination, the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. This was a really cool tour and one of the best things about it wasIt's FREE!, OK it wasn't free, but children under the age of 4 weren't allowed! So I got that going for me.
The $13.50 admission was well worth it. We happened to get there in time to get the last two spots on the morning tour. So far, my Karma was holding. Our guide, Linda, begins her talk with "If ever there was a mine tour designed for Mr. and Mrs. Armchair American, this is it." I'm liking it already. After we watch a safety film, we're given hard hats and rescue breathing apparatus's. (RESCUE BREATHING APPARATUS? What happened to the Armchair American thing?). From there we're herded in the service elevator. The 90 second ride down is a pitch-black descent, clanging, banging, and rattling inside a bare metal box that sounds at times as if it's being whacked with a sledgehammer.
The door opens and we find ourselves 650 feet below the surface. However, this is unlike any cave or cavern I've ever been in. For one thing, it's clean...and well lit...and the floors are paved! All the floors are made of a concrete and salt mixture and are so flat and smooth you could play tennis on them. (You could play tennis on them, I might manage ping pong.
We turn the corner and there I see something that is going to make this tour very doable for me.
No, not Linda...The tram. There were these golf cart-like things pulling trailers which everyone rode. Nice. LeAnna and I got in the front seat of the front cart, and I only had to push one old guy down. Just kidding, I didn't have to push him down, I just did it for fun. The mine is one, endless room, with a floor and ceiling as flat as a Kansas prairie, broken into identical squares by columns of un-mined salt that support the roof. There are no twisty tunnels or deadly floor shafts. You could drive a truck down here for miles and never hit anything. Well, not this truck.
Actually, this truck was used to ferry miners around. They stripped it and converted it to run on electric. It's over 70 years old. Linda told us that the salt preserves it, but at a price. "Everything that comes down here, stays down here." "You can never take it back up or it starts to instantly corrode." Not really like the "What happens in Vegas" thing, but you get the idea.
A company called Underground Vaults and Storage occupies part of the mine and provides storage for things like medical records, government files, even Hollywood props and costumes.
Master prints of Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and thousands of other Hollywood films are here as well. I wonder if any parts of Hoffa are down here? Here is a link to a short video that gives you a good idea of what it was really like there.
Did I mention that this mine is the only one open to the public in the western hemisphere?
We left Hutchinson and ended up in Wichita by late afternoon. If you ever find yourself in Wichita, Kansas, you gotta do two things. One, ask yourself what the Hell you're doing there, and two, you've gotta go to this place. Three words...OH - MY - GOD! It was, arguably, the best pizza I've ever had. The flavor, the aroma, even the service was great. This isn't your fathers pizza parlor. The place is also a micro brewery, although it seemed to me they pushed the vino more than the brew. We both had 21 ozers and a pie. Since I can't say enough about it, I won't. We left well sated and headed towards our stop for the night, (say it with me) Wal-Mart.
Today went against my declaration of war on spending, but it was well worth it. We'd been doingwell not too badly up until now, so we deserved it.
Anybody who shows up for the next chapter of our saga gets a years supply, absolutely free. Promise.
I bid you Adéu
Well, enough reminiscing. Day five dawned with a well rested crew departing the Hutchinson Mall parking lot. A short drive later we arrived at our much anticipated destination, the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. This was a really cool tour and one of the best things about it was
The $13.50 admission was well worth it. We happened to get there in time to get the last two spots on the morning tour. So far, my Karma was holding. Our guide, Linda, begins her talk with "If ever there was a mine tour designed for Mr. and Mrs. Armchair American, this is it." I'm liking it already. After we watch a safety film, we're given hard hats and rescue breathing apparatus's. (RESCUE BREATHING APPARATUS? What happened to the Armchair American thing?). From there we're herded in the service elevator. The 90 second ride down is a pitch-black descent, clanging, banging, and rattling inside a bare metal box that sounds at times as if it's being whacked with a sledgehammer.
The door opens and we find ourselves 650 feet below the surface. However, this is unlike any cave or cavern I've ever been in. For one thing, it's clean...and well lit...and the floors are paved! All the floors are made of a concrete and salt mixture and are so flat and smooth you could play tennis on them. (You could play tennis on them, I might manage ping pong.
We turn the corner and there I see something that is going to make this tour very doable for me.
No, not Linda...The tram. There were these golf cart-like things pulling trailers which everyone rode. Nice. LeAnna and I got in the front seat of the front cart, and I only had to push one old guy down. Just kidding, I didn't have to push him down, I just did it for fun. The mine is one, endless room, with a floor and ceiling as flat as a Kansas prairie, broken into identical squares by columns of un-mined salt that support the roof. There are no twisty tunnels or deadly floor shafts. You could drive a truck down here for miles and never hit anything. Well, not this truck.
Actually, this truck was used to ferry miners around. They stripped it and converted it to run on electric. It's over 70 years old. Linda told us that the salt preserves it, but at a price. "Everything that comes down here, stays down here." "You can never take it back up or it starts to instantly corrode." Not really like the "What happens in Vegas" thing, but you get the idea.
A company called Underground Vaults and Storage occupies part of the mine and provides storage for things like medical records, government files, even Hollywood props and costumes.
Master prints of Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and thousands of other Hollywood films are here as well. I wonder if any parts of Hoffa are down here? Here is a link to a short video that gives you a good idea of what it was really like there.
Did I mention that this mine is the only one open to the public in the western hemisphere?
We left Hutchinson and ended up in Wichita by late afternoon. If you ever find yourself in Wichita, Kansas, you gotta do two things. One, ask yourself what the Hell you're doing there, and two, you've gotta go to this place. Three words...OH - MY - GOD! It was, arguably, the best pizza I've ever had. The flavor, the aroma, even the service was great. This isn't your fathers pizza parlor. The place is also a micro brewery, although it seemed to me they pushed the vino more than the brew. We both had 21 ozers and a pie. Since I can't say enough about it, I won't. We left well sated and headed towards our stop for the night, (say it with me) Wal-Mart.
Today went against my declaration of war on spending, but it was well worth it. We'd been doing
Anybody who shows up for the next chapter of our saga gets a years supply, absolutely free. Promise.
I bid you Adéu
