The Land of Oz

Hello from Kansas, our 15th state so far. Kansas is famous for Dorothy, Toto and tornadoes. We haven't encountered any tornadoes or the yellow brick road, but we've driven past plenty of grazing cattle. Cattle are a major industry here...

The Kansas capital, Topeka, is somewhat bleak, but we did climb the capitol dome (higher than the U.S. Capitol), 296 dizzying steps. We also toured the Hallmark card factory, watching the multi-step manufacturing process. "Flittering" is the step in which machines glue glitter onto cards, an unpopular job because workers become covered in shiny particles by the end of the day. More useless information: All Hallmark envelopes start out as white paper (lower initial cost). A machine first paints the paper the desired color, then cuts the envelope and glues it together. Try this: tear across a Hallmark envelope and you'll see white underneath the colored exterior.Voila!

Outside of Topeka is Truck Henge, a thoroughly amusing site. The owner was told by the local government to clean up the eyesore on his property by "picking up his trucks." He literally did just that, suspending the trucks at an angle in the air. The chatty owner took great delight in recounting tales of his cleverly bucking the authorities.

Earlier in the week we spent time in Independence, Missouri, home of Harry Truman and the Truman Presidential Museum. Truman had some tough decisions on his plate: use the bomb? integrate the armed forces? attack Korea? support the establishment of an Israeli state?

In Independence we also visited the Frontier Trails Museum and got a feel for the mid-1800's fever to head west. Independence was an important departure town, with three main routes branching out from there. It was an exhausting and slow journey in caravans of covered wagons. Imagine crossing hundreds of miles in a tiny wagon through often inhospitable territory, with muddy roads, disease, inclement weather and hunger confronting you.

Kansas City featured the Harley Davidson factory tour, where we saw robots in action, cutting and pressing sheet metal, welding, and sanding metal seams. Humanoids also did some of the work, attaching wheels, checking tanks for possible leaks, and painting (BTW, painters aren't allowed to eat fried chicken for lunch because they might get greasy smudges on the paint!). The factory runs on a progressive philosophy; team members change roles during the workday and supervise each other.

Last but not least, we visited the original Pony Express stable. Started in 1860, the Pony Express service existed for only 18 months because trains and telegraph made it obsolete soon after its inception. Riders set out from St. Joseph, MO and made the frantic ride west, changing horses every 10-15 miles, with only 2 minutes to make the change. Four small saddle pouches carried the mail, which cost $5 per letter (almost $90 in current funds). Each rider covered about 100 miles before another rider took over, until the journey to San Francisco was finally completed.

Whew, we're learning a lot-

Love and Greetings to all, Patty