Sunday, June 4, 2017

New Evel Knievel Museum and What To Do in Kansas


Problem
I'd like to see the new Evel Knievel museum which opened in June 2107 in Topeka, the capital of Kansas. In case you can't quite place who he was and what he did, he was a stunt man who used to ride his motorcycle up a ramp through the air and over a bus, or two, or more.

He drew large crowds in his lifetime. Today his story still has the 'how did he do that' factor.

So, something unusual to see in Topeka. The latest museum. And somebody has spent millions on it.  Millions of dollars. I always want to translate American dollars into pounds sterling. Then into Singapore dollars. But, except when you are buying a meal, the exact price and exchange rate doesn't really matter. They have spent millions on it.

However, Topeka is not exactly on most tourist's circuit. Not unless you are already in Kansas. What else is there to see in Topeka, or Kansas?

Do I really want to go? I am running short of time. Until today Topeka was number 101 on my list of 100 places to see before you die. Even though I would like to live to 101 and travel to a new place every year, I was not expecting to make it to Topeka. I may have to think again.

TOPEKA
Topeka is on the Kansas river.  The name Topeka in the local native language means a good place to dig potatoes.

Wikitravel tells me the amusing story of the history of the founders. Three brothers married three Indian sisters. (Red Indian - now called native American.)

Family gatherings must have been jolly. A new wife's sister-in-law is her sister. I wonder if they had a joint wedding, or whether the best man fancied the chief bridesmaid at the first wedding. I have at least one case of two brothers marrying two sisters. I remember being surprised and asking my mother about this when I researched my family tree and found out about it.

My mother explained it was quite common in the old days. Before the days of motor cars you didn't travel far. You met people who lived on the same street. A girl went out with her sister as company or as an escort. When you held a party, or an engagement party, or a wedding, you were a large family with lots of brothers and sisters.

So, the city apparently has an interesting history museum. After that you could visit, plus an award-winning zoo and a rose garden. All of which you might find in any major city in America and worldwide. But it's the Evel Knievel museum which is only in America, only in Kansas and only in Topeka.

What's so special about the 'award winning zoo'. It was the first to have an indoor rain forest.

My short list of Topeka sights:

1 Evel Knievel Museum.
2 Capitol building. Free tour. Climb up inside dome.
3 Kansas Museum of History.
4 First Presbyterian church with Tiffany windows. All the stained glass windows are Tiffany windows.
5 Gage Park containing a zoo, a waterpark, rose garden, Children's Discovery Centre, loads of things to see and do.
6 Library with free film shows (check movie times).

You might also like other topeka museums: The Computer Museum; the Combat Air Museum and the Museum of Military History.

Kansas Museums
My favourite would be the Amelia Earhart museum. You can also learn about Mennonites, cowboys and more. Amusing and memorable museum names include the museum of Also Rans (failed Presidential candidates) and the presumably regularly updates museums of Yesteryear. Oddities and special interest museums, some of which are open by appointment, since presumably they don't get enough visitors to keep open regular hours. The ones I remember from the long list are the museums featuring elevators (in Britain people would call them lifts), a museum on oil fields, and one on barbed wire.

If you are a keen traveller, interested in all forms of transport, Kansas has museums on every kind of transport from a caboose, railway trains, military aircraft and motorcycles. What is a caboose? The lookout shelter at the end of the train for the crew to keep an eye on the train.

Topeka may be the capital but Wichita is the largest city in Kansas. (I remember the country and western song about the Wichita line man.)

Where is Kansas?
Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. The state is divided into 105 counties with 628 cities, and is located equidistant from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. 

Why is it called Kansas? Wikipedia says:
Kansas Listeni/ˈkænzəs/ is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States.[10] Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area.[11] The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the (south) wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning.[12][13] 

National parks and historic sites[edit]

Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include:[22]
Confusingly, there's a Kansas City in Kansas state and another in the state of Missouri. Remember that when buying a bus ticket or when driving setting your satellite navigation.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4569628/Museum-honoring-daredevil-Evel-Knievel-opens-Kansas.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Topeka
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka,_Kansas
http://www.kansastravel.org/kansastravel.htm (Lists all cities and towns with links to websites of attractions in each area.)
http://www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org

So, if you are interested in seeing the Evel Knievel Museum, the Amelia Earhart museum, or learning more about computers, the pony express, military history, civil rights and emancipation, or barbed wire, Kansas is the place to go.
See next post on Amelia Earhart.
Angela Lansbury, travel photographer, author . Please share links to my posts.
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