Bob and I had planned to spend time in southern Kansas as it is a state we haven't traveled through in over 20 years! Well, as we were planning our route on Sunday, Bob checked the weather forecast for the week. It didn't look good from Tuesday evening through Thursdayin the area we wanted to visit. We immediately started looking for a new route or a new plan. Finally, we decided on a new route and a new plan.
Monday morning we left Siloam Springs and followed the route we took to Ponca City several years ago. As we were driving outside Pawhuska, Bob and I commented on the burned fields and how green the growth was in the fields that had been burned. About that time, I spotted the entrance to Drummond Ranch. For those of you not familiar with the name, that is the home of Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman on Food Network! I often watch the show and I enjoyed seeing the property--even from the highway--that I often see on television.
It was quite a drive for us as we were going to go 320 miles instead of our150-200 per day. But, we wanted to get ahead of the severe weather coming to Kansas. As we drove through Wichita, Bob's sister called and wanted to know where we were. She and her husband were on their way from Colorado to Siloam Springs. It turns out they were northwest of Wichita--about 2 1/2 hours away. They decided to meet us for the night at Stataca Salt Mine Museum in Hutchinson where we planned to spend the night. Once we arrived in Hutchinson, we found that the museum was closed on Mondays. We were given permission to park in the parking lot overnight.
Our RV and car were filthy! There was a misting rain most of the day and we were traveling down dusty back roads in Oklahoma and Kansas. Bob and I were hungry so we drove back to Yoder to eat at the
Carriage Crossing Restaurant. We had heard good things about the restaurant and they were all true! The cinnamon buns looked delicious, but we (Bob, especially, since those are his favorite) were strong and didn't get any.
After dinner, we went in search of a car wash since it was still early. We found one not far from Strataca and washed the car before returning to the rig to wait for Paula and Bill. We enjoyed catching up with them and hope to see them on the road again---maybe in the fall.
Tuesday morning, after Paula and Bill headed south, we went to the salt mine. The mine is deeper than the St. Louis Arch is tall.
This was our first visit to this salt mine, but not our first to a salt mine, as we toured one in Germany about 30 years ago. You can see the layers of salt and mud in the walls. The salt in this mine is used for rock salt to melt snow and ice off highways. About 4 miles west of this mine is one run by Morton Salt. They pump water into their mine and dissolve the salt, bring the brine to the surface and evaporate the liquid to get food grade salt.
Here Bob and I are standing in front of a machine used to undercut the salt wall. It makes a cut about 6 inches tall and several feet deep along the wall. Then holes are drilled in the wall, explosives are inserted and blown. The undercut keeps the salt from flying out into the open area--it just falls to the floor with the explosion.
This is not really Mike Rowe, just a cardboard cut-out. He filmed one of this
Dirty Jobs episodes in the mine. He rode in this vehicle, the Myronmobile, during his visit.
This is another of the machines used in mining salt. It was used to move the salt to an area to so it could be taken above ground. All of these machines were lowered through a shaft about 20 feet square. Yes, the machines were disassembled above ground to make the trip down where re-assembly occurred.
One section of the old mine is now used for storage. Thirty-eight of the available 180 acres are currently in use for stored items such at old movies, movie memorabilia, art, records, artifacts from museums, etc. Computers are no longer used to store data underground. This display shows the cost difference between early computer data storage and an Ipod nano.
We were told that nothing that comes down to the mine returns to the surface, except humans. This is an example of an early mine bathroom. After showing us this, the tour guide reminded us not to lick the salt. Yes, that is an Easter egg near the wall. We saw many hidden along the way as we toured the museum.
This is an example of paper storage files in the vault. I don't know if you can see the detail of the ceiling, but it has been specially scraped with grooves to keep it safe from a fall.
As we rode the Dark Ride, we were shown an old Chevy truck. The guide told us it was used because "Chevy's run deep." I groaned, and listened to the alterations that had been made on the truck--engine removed and replaced with an electric engine, doors, hood, and most of the body removed, a different steering wheel installed--I told the guide the truck must not have been any good if it had been sent down in the mine and all the important parts removed.
The tour of the mine lasted about 2 hours. When we returned topside, it was time to get on the road. Our first stop was the car wash---again, but this time for the RV. There was a bay for large vehicles.
Once we got on the road, we only went about 80 miles. We stopped at a COE park on Wilson Lake. After looking at the weather map again,we decided this would be a safe place to stop. We had no trouble finding a site as we were the only ones at the park! I wonder what adventures we'll have tomorrow....
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