Kansas

About 20 minutes east of Kansas City is the small town of Independence, Missouri. Here you will find the Harry S Truman National Historic Park.

Harry S Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, “was born in rural Missouri but claimed Independence as his home town. The family moved there when he was six. That year Harry met five-year-old Bess Wallace, daughter of a prominent family. All his school years Harry adored Bess, the “beautiful young lady with the blue eyes and golden hair,” a popular girl and an accomplished athlete. But the frail-looking boy with thick glasses did not appeal to Bess.” – National Park Service (NPS)

In the Visitor Center is a small museum with some of the Truman’s items.

The Truman Home is just a few short blocks away. The NPS provides tours though you will need to purchase tickets at the Visitor Center first.

Harry S Truman died December 26, 1972, at age 88; he is buried at the Harry S Truman Presidential Library in Independence, MO. The Presidential Library closed this summer (July 2019) for major renovations. They are expected to re-open in the Summer 2020.

We spoke to several people along the way towards Kansas City, and they all told us to go see the ship wreck of the Steamboat Arabia. So, of course, we did. We didn’t expect too much but after our tour we came away impressed by what we saw.

“When the mighty Steamboat Arabia sank near Kansas City on September 5, 1856, she carried 200 tons of mystery cargo. Lost for 132 years, its recovery in 1988 was like finding the King Tut’s Tomb of the Missouri River. The discovery was truly a modern day treasure-hunting story at its best.” – Steamboat Arabia Museum

After a short tour about the sinking and excavation we were able to take our time walking among the many rooms of the museum that had all the treasures recovered from the ship. As I mentioned, it was impressive. It wasn’t just the items recovered, it was the sheer volume of items recovered that was impressive. Here are some of the pictures we took…they don’t really do it justice.

About an hour west of Kansas City is the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Park, in Topeka, Kansas. “On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously declared that segregated educational facilities are “inherently unequal” and, as such, violate the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This is the site of Monroe Elementary School, one of the segregated elementary schools at the time.“ – NPS

”Monroe Elementary School was one of four segregated elementary schools for African Americans in Topeka. Unlike Southern states that required segregation, Kansas law only permitted segregation in elementary schools and only in cities with more than 15,000 residents. Linda Brown attended this school rather than Sumner School in her neighborhood because she was African American. Her father Oliver Brown and twelve other parents joined a lawsuit against the Topeka School Board in 1951. The case became known as Brown v. Board of Education.” – NPS

After Topeka we continued west, intent on making it to our destination of Cawker City, Kansas. However, we took a slight detour off the freeway when we saw a billboard near Abilene, KS. We didn’t realize that we were so close to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Presidential Library and Museum.

The Library and Museum sit on a 22-acre campus which includes his boyhood home.

The museum includes Ike’s early years, his marriage to Mammie Doud, his time as a General during WWII, and his term as the 34th US President.

“Dwight D. Eisenhower passed away at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC, on March 28, 1969. Thousands paid their respects in the US Capital where his body lay in state.” – DDE Presidential Library

Ike chose to be buried in his hometown of Abilene in the Place of Meditation constructed to his specifications.

After our unexpected stop in Abilene we continued west. We finally made it to our destination – Cawker City, Kansas!

Why did we want to go to Cawker City, you ask? Well, because of this…

When you get to the city follow the yellow “twine” painted on the sidewalks and it will lead you straight to your destination.

And why is this ball of twine here? Well, right next to the twine is the entire story of how it came to be. Here you go…

Now that we’ve seen this we’re not sure what else we need to see. It seems we’ve hit the pinnacle of our travels with our visit today.