Several in our group did not make it to Kansas for the US Youth Soccer Association's (USYSA's) National Championships and Annual Membership Meeting due to severe weather and rains in Milwaukee. The flooding was disastrous making for very challenging travel. Mitchell Airport in…Read More

Several in our group did not make it to Kansas for the US Youth Soccer Association's (USYSA's) National Championships and Annual Membership Meeting due to severe weather and rains in Milwaukee. The flooding was disastrous making for very challenging travel. Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee was closed until 2:00pm due to the flood waters. I arrived the day before so I was ok, but to watch them using snow plows and blowers to clear the runways of the high water on the national news as a bit too surreal.

Once in Kansas, it was sweltering hot and humid. The athletes had to be very careful to hydrate so as to not fall ill to heat stroke. During the week, games had water breaks throughout to keep the players well. When I arrived at 5:00pm it was 98 degrees and I heard that evening that the heat index was 115 at 9:00pm. YIKES!

Saturday saw late afternoon thunderboomers with very vivid lightning. The championship games scheduled for that evening were delayed up to 90 minutes for the storms to pass through. Once the storms had ended, the skies were such a sight as the sun set behind the storm front. The games were all played under the lights without incident. Congrats to USYSA for a fantastic event!

Sunday was my departure day and I was so happy to see sunny, clear skies as the sun rose . . . and throughout my travel day. My flight was from Kansas City to Minneapolis, where the weather was equally beautiful. The skies were clear for the entire flight that pretty much followed I35 north, a drive I was very familiar with from our time living in Ames, IA. The farms and lakes below were visible for the entire flight.

Once in Minneapolis, I was connecting for my flight home to Milwaukee. From the skies approaching from the west from Madison, it was remarkable to see all of the standing water and what appeared to be creeks and rivers way over their banks. Flying over Muskego, I saw the Muskego Golf Course that looked to be completely under water.

It was very tragic to drive into my neighborhood and see all of the personal belongings out on the curb waiting pick up from homes that had flooded basements. People lost a lot of personal property during this unexpected flood storm. Hopefully the Federal Government and FEMA will help those who lost so much.

It's summer . . . and the weather's crazy!
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As the year 2000 wound rapidly to a close we paid a return visit to Maxwell Game Refuge to see what was afoot. It was a bright day and the ground was covered with crisp white snow. Gone were the campers and fishermen…Read More

As the year 2000 wound rapidly to a close we paid a return visit to Maxwell Game Refuge to see what was afoot. It was a bright day and the ground was covered with crisp white snow. Gone were the campers and fishermen and all seemed quiet on this prairie refuge except for a few other tourists out for a cold winter drive.

As we drove around the bend from McPherson State Fishing lake toward the refuge we noticed a buffalo standing in the road ahead. Cautiously approaching the area, we stopped the car facing another vehicle also stopped. And then we were allowed an extraordinary experience -- the buffalo herd had just begun crossing from one side of the road to the other. Many of them passed within a foot of our car and I worried about my open window as I filmed these massive creatures. They seemed as worried and unsure about my presence as I was about theirs. In the recesses of my mind a primitive impulse arose to step out of the car and walk among them, to experience them without the protective metal cocoon in which I sat. Reason prevailed and I remained in the car, just imagining a time when buffalo owned these plains and humans were merely fellow travelers.

Thousands of shiny disks moving in the wind cover an entire wall of this area. It's a demonstration of how wind works and is absolutely fascinating. A propeller sits high on a scaffold and provides the wind to move the disks, and you…Read More

Thousands of shiny disks moving in the wind cover an entire wall of this area. It's a demonstration of how wind works and is absolutely fascinating. A propeller sits high on a scaffold and provides the wind to move the disks, and you can turn the crank which powers the propeller.

There are flight simulators for you to test your hand as a pilot, as well as many, many other adventures to explore.

Ever see a cyclone inside a building, or dig for fossils in a museum? These are two of the activities available in this area. You can see grasslands, giant cockroaches, snakes, how streams flow, and a dozen other things. There is actually a huge…Read More

Ever see a cyclone inside a building, or dig for fossils in a museum? These are two of the activities available in this area. You can see grasslands, giant cockroaches, snakes, how streams flow, and a dozen other things.

There is actually a huge chunk of shale in the center of the room constructed into a pit where kids and adults alike can try their hand at fossil hunting. This is something everyone should try.

Take a few minutes to get off your feet and sit in front of a live weather studio. Tiered benches are available here to facilitate explorers.

When we stepped into this 1/2 circle shaped room it was night time. The stars were out and a miniature world of Kansas was displayed before our eyes as it would appear at night. Slowly, as if the sun were coming up, the…Read More

When we stepped into this 1/2 circle shaped room it was night time. The stars were out and a miniature world of Kansas was displayed before our eyes as it would appear at night. Slowly, as if the sun were coming up, the light gradually increased and we could see what a wonder of miniatures there was to see.

This display kept us fascinated for quite some time. There was so much to look at -- a carnival with rides that spun and whirred; a backyard with a child swinging on a swing; two railroad lines complete with trains; a town; rural areas; landmarks, and much, much more. It all appeared so realistic.

As we moved around the display, time cycled between day and night. Quite a fascination.

Here one can test out all kinds of things, from discovering bacteria to checking your blood pressure. There were machines and gadgets, test tubes and microscopes all around -- and people, lots of people. There were some things in this area that would…Read More

Here one can test out all kinds of things, from discovering bacteria to checking your blood pressure. There were machines and gadgets, test tubes and microscopes all around -- and people, lots of people. There were some things in this area that would be of interest to kids, but mostly it is an area where adults were having fun exploring. I think any adult with an ounce of curiosity could spend an entire day just in this one area of Exploration Place.Close

This place is a parent's and a kid's dream. My kids are grown now, but it sure would have been great to have encountered a museum of this sort when my kids were small. Children can basically be turned loose to touch whatever…Read More

This place is a parent's and a kid's dream. My kids are grown now, but it sure would have been great to have encountered a museum of this sort when my kids were small. Children can basically be turned loose to touch whatever they want, move things around, see how things work -- just the kind of things parents seem to spend all their time telling their kids not to do in a typical museum.

A toy store for kids is right off the Kids Explore area. We didn't linger here, but it looked as if there were some great things to be had at this store.

For a quarter each we took a wonderful 20 minute tour of the Old River District and downtown Wichita. The tram leaves the Old Cowtown parking lot about every 20 minutes, so it's really convenient to hop on after finishing your tour of Old…Read More

For a quarter each we took a wonderful 20 minute tour of the Old River District and downtown Wichita. The tram leaves the Old Cowtown parking lot about every 20 minutes, so it's really convenient to hop on after finishing your tour of Old Cowtown.

We really enjoyed the ride as it allowed us to discover some of the many other things to do and see in Wichita, and as a result we've planned to get back to Wichita in the near future to catch all the sights we didn't have time to see that day. One of the first places we discovered was Botanica, just a few blocks from Old Cowtown. Another fascination you can find in Wichita is sidewalk art in the downtown area. These are bronze statues set into the sidewalk. On one corner was a bronze fox -- what a neat way to dress up a city. The tram drove past several parks and then through the Old Market District and past Exploration Place, where we saw the magnificent statue of the Wichita Indian, before making it's way back to our point of departure. If you are unfamiliar with Wichita and where things are located, this is a great way to discover places you are sure to want to go.

The displays at the Calvary Museum include sculptures, murals, flags, paintings, clothing, and other calvary related articles. Two stories worth of history are contained within the sandstone building. In one of the first rooms that I entered (I think I entered from a side door)…Read More

The displays at the Calvary Museum include sculptures, murals, flags, paintings, clothing, and other calvary related articles.

Two stories worth of history are contained within the sandstone building. In one of the first rooms that I entered (I think I entered from a side door) was a rich display of dark sculptures. The room was dimly lit with spotlights on the displays. I was captivated immediately. What I thought might be a bit boring suddenly became quite interesting.

Downstairs, as well as up, the rooms were almost maze-like in their arrangement. All facets of calvary history in the US were covered, from the origin to current day.

One of the funniest events that happened to us at Milford Lake began when we were on the road home. As we drive along the edge of the lake I always keep an eye out for wildlife -- never know what you are going…Read More

One of the funniest events that happened to us at Milford Lake began when we were on the road home. As we drive along the edge of the lake I always keep an eye out for wildlife -- never know what you are going to see.

The point at which we were traveling was fairly wooded, with breaks here and there. As we passed one break of about 30 ft between trees I noticed a field with some kind of large bird in it. We whizzed past at about 50 mph so it was hard to tell what I had seen. I told my husband that there was something in the field that we should check out, so at the next available turn-off he turned the truck around and headed back toward the clearing.

When we first entered the clearing I didn't see anything and thought I must have been mistaken, but then my husband called out 'There they are -- wild turkeys.' Before I had a chance to say much he gunned the truck and set off across the field.

Farmers plant the fields around the lake and this one was full of furrows and stubble from cut wheat. We went bouncing across the field, doing about 30 mph -- which is pretty fast considering where we were. I aimed the camera and hoped I was actually getting some pictures because we were being bounced and jostled because of the furrows over which we were driving.

It didn't take those turkeys long to figure out that something was after them. They made a beeline across the field for a wooded area nearby. We had almost reached the spot where they had been when they were gone into the thicket. I tried to follow on foot, but the weeds and grasses were almost shoulder high on me. I heard them fluttering in the distance, but did not find them again.Close