Summer Travels - Las Cruces to South Dakota via Milwaukee

Some of the stuff we did this summer, I've talked about in separate blog entries.  This, as Paul Harvey used to say, is the rest of the story.

This must be where Big Foot is buried.

Located in Hutchinson, Kansas, this may be the largest grain elevator in the US

Dinah with Maxine at the Hallmark Visitor Center in Kansas City, MO

 In the Chicago area, we visited Dinah's sister Pat and husband Dick (no pictures - Pat is camera shy), and with Oliver Witte, Dinah's long time friend and author of a magazine article on our solar system.
We stopped near Milwaukee to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Dinah's grade school friend Linda, and her husband Warner, Schafer. The pictures Dinah took of the Schafers were lost when Noodle, the dog, chewed her camera's memory chip.

Anniversary pillow from Dinah's Quilts & Embroideries

Also in the Milwaukee area, we visited with Dinah' brother Bob & Ellen Gardiner, their son & his wife, and later met Bob & Ellen at their boat for a brief visit.

Ellen,Steve,Anne, and Bob Gardiner

Keira, Bob, Ellen, and Dinah on Bob & Ellen's sailboat

Allen also had a visit with his old navy buddy Mike Sherman and his wife Martha as they were emptying their apartment in preparation for becoming full time RVers.

Martha & Mike Sherman

WW II Submarine at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum

We visited the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, billed as "The most explosive Museum in the world" where we learned a little about wheat and how it is processed.

A visitor tries on a King Tut mask at the Science Museum of Minnesota

The cockpit of a DC-3 at the Fargo Air Museum

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD

A mural made of corn on the cob specially grown in multiple colors.

These wild turkeys strolled through our campground in Rapid City, SD

This turkey was on display at the Central States Fair

Next stop, Escapade!  On to Gillette, Wyoming!

The Museum of Broadcasting

Today I visited the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting in St. Louis Park, MN near Minneapolis. This is a great place for anyone interested in the history of radio and TV.  Their collection starts with spark generators (as used on the Titanic), then moves on to early tube radios with many varieties on display.

Early Tube Radios

I was fascinated by the first tape recorder in the US, The Magnetophon K4, imported from Germany immediately after WWII by a signal Corp guy, Jack Mullin.

The Magnetophone K4

At that time Bing Crosby had a radio show, the Craft Music Hall, but did not like the inflexibility imposed by performing live, and the sponsors and audience did not like the poor quality of wire or disk recordings. Crosby's technical producer decided to try the K4 which solved the problem. Because there were only 2 of these machines in the US, Mullin encouraged Ampex to develop a machine and the first Ampex 200 recorders went into use in 1948.

The Ampex 200 used by Bing Crosby's Radio Show

Right after I got out of the Navy, I assembled four DynaKits: an FM tuner, preamplifier, power amplifier, and a switching unit.  To my delight I found these four units in the museum's collection.

Dynakits like the ones I built

The last item I'll talk about is the Theremin, a musical instrument played by moving your hands near two antennas. One controlled the volume and the other the pitch of the note being played. The museum has a working original RCA theremin that I was allowed to try to play and I learned it is not easy to do.

1929 RCA Theremin

If you are ever in the Minneapolis area with some time to spare, check out this place!

Herber Hoover Presidential Museum

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum

My impression had always been that Hoover was a failure as president, and beyond that I knew nothing of the man. I now know a bit more about him.

Hoover graduated with the first class from Stanford University with a degree in geology and had a distinguished career as an international mining engineer. He became involved in humanitarian work, founded the Hoover Institution, and became Secretary of Commerce before being elected president.

But soon came the stock market collapse of 1929 and the depression followed. Hoover did much to relieve the distress but, like Obama today, found his popularity dropping as he was blamed for the economic conditions. He lost to Roosevelt in 1932.

Well worth the time to visit this museum.

Harry Truman Presidential Museum

Truman is the first president that I can remember; his predecessor, President Roosevelt, having died in office in April, 1945 when I was not yet 2 years old. So I found it fun to relive the world events of that part of my childhood by visiting his Museum in Independence, MO.

Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan, ending WW II. During the Korean war he famously fired General McArthur for insubordination. He presided over the formation of the United Nations, the Berlin airlift and the birth of NATO. An interesting man whose story is well presented at his museum.

Harry Truman Statue in the lobby of his Presidential Museum

A Visit to Eisenhower's Library & Museum

Statue of General Eisenhower at his Presidential Library & Museum

I spent a fun day here checking out Eisenhower's career. The museum devoted a large section to his part in WW II. A day well spent.
But the museum was extremely well air conditioned; so much so that I had to go outside periodically to warm up in the close to 100 degree temperatures.
And on the grounds I discovered a large thermal solar collector.

Solar thermal collectors at Eisenhower Library & Museum

The information sheet says that (as of May 1983) this is one of the largest solar collectors at a federal facility. It is used for heating, hot water, and humidity control and generates around 900,000,000BTUs per year. Hot water from the collectors is stored in two 2,000 gallon tanks.
Next time you get to Abilene, Kansas be sure to check it out. (The museum, that is).

Pratt, Kansas

I have been friends with the Pratts for years, so couldn't resist visiting their town and taking a few pictures.

Located in the county of Pratt ...

Is the City of Pratt

And Pratt's most famous landmarks are the hot & cold water towers

The Pratt High School Greenbacks are also known as the Fighting Frogs

I spoke with a lifetime resident of Pratt who said she found the mascot embarrassing. "We would be playing other teams like the Lions or the Tigers and here we are the Frogs!"

The community college teams are known as the Beavers!

Pratt has something for everyone.  Stop by some time.

Our Summer Travels have started - and so has our Blog!

We fired up the motor home today and left Las Cruces heading northest, all 8 of us - Dinah & me, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and a foster kitten. We plan to make our way toward Milwaukee where we will celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of a grade school friend of Dinah's, then amble on to Gillette, WY for an Escapees Escapade (RV Rally).

Obie, settled in and ready to start the summer's travels

We have been writing and emailing travel reports for several years, and recently started posting the reports on our new web site www.lifeisgood2.com. But the modern way to keep in touch seems to be by blog, and so here we are blogging!
 Using this blog, we expect to be writing items covering a single event rather than the events of several months.  This way we can be in touch more frequently, and you can pick and chose the entries that interest you and skip the others.