October 2, 2011 Day 12 North Kansas City, MO
Today we re-supplied and caught up on tasks?Costco run, etc. KC has every store you could possibly want?even the ultra-expensive, exclusive ?boutiques?.
Boondocking at Harrah?s in North Kansas City, MO Weather?low 80s
October 3, 2011 Day 13 North Kansas City, MO
Today we drove over an hour to Topeka, the capitol of Kansas. The exterior was covered with scaffolding, part of a remodeling project started in 1999. The first thing they built was a 2-story garage UNDER the capitol.
The first capitol was completed in 1903, and they are currently restoring it to the way it looked back then, but with new plumbing and electrical systems. They built it one wing at a time?east wing, west wing, north wing, south wing, then the central core connecting all the wings, and the dome?over a period of 36 years. It took them the next 99 years to decide what to put on top of the dome?an finally decided on an ?Indian?, Adastra, who is holding an arrow pointing to the North Star.
In 1953, on the 50th anniversary, they has paintings that tell the history of Kansas painted around the rotunda. They showed Coronado looking for the City of Gold. Then came a picture of the one battle in the Civil War that was fought in Kansas (The Yankees won.) Then we saw pioneers building sod houses, which were great because there were no trees, and the sod kept the homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Our guide?s mother was born in a sod house. She told a story of a lady driven crazy one winter by the whitewash that was applied to the interior walls to create the illusion of plaster walls. Between the all white inside and the snow creating an all white outside, it was just too depressing. The next picture was of Lewis and Clark, whose exploration was very important to the development of Kansas. Following that, we saw pioneers coming on the Oregon/California trail; over 300,000 people came through Kansas. That continued even after the railroad (which was the next mural) because railroad fare was too expensive, so pioneers kept using oxen and wagons. The last mural was of the Chisholm Trail and the importance of the cattle who came to the wonderful Kansas pastureland to fatten before being sold.
We went to the third floor on this wonderful elevator that was built in the 1920s (Picture 1). It is driven by a person with a lever, and she had to line up the elevator with the floor. By law it will never be automated and will always have a live operator.
As we entered the Senate, I was amazed at its grandeur (Picture 2). There is 22K gold trimming the edges of the walls and ledges (Picture 3). The chandeliers are replicas of the original gas lights, and there are 34 stars on each globe because Kansas was the 34th state admitted to the Union. The columns were totally black with soot from the gas lamps and the senators smoking tobacco products. They are copper mixed with bronze and silver so they don?t tarnish. The senate has the 3rd highest dome in the U. S. (Pict. 4) Then Dean looked back to the entrance and noted its beauty. (Pict. 5) The desks are the original, 126 year old desks. However, the chairs are new, but made to the same specifications as the original chairs. Above the entry is the state seal (Pict. 6) The Latin words mean, ?To the stars through difficulty.? The leaders of Kansas realized that they were not perceived as being as cultured as the people in the East, so they wanted to have a very grand capitol to show that they were equals.
At the age of 12, children can become a page for a day. They get a day off from school, their picture taken with the senator from their district, and a paycheck of $3. Each senator represents 36,000 people. They meet for 90 days each year, and receive $27,000 plus retirement and health insurance benefits. They vote by voice vote on 10 bills at once, and the clerk records the votes on her computer. They can vote a mix of yeas and nays. The Senate is much more traditional than the House. They may only speak to the Chair, not each other (except by telephone). Their office assistant is only paid to work while the senate is in session. Committees meet after the session is over, but the senators have no help. The state is a balanced budget on a cash basis, according to the state?s constitution.
As we went over to the House, the glistening of the copper stairs caught my eye. (Pict. 7) Sunflowers (the state flower) and scrolls were inscribed on the balustrade.
Going into the House was like entering a different world?though it was also pretty. They vote electronically (Pict. 9); their names appear on the wall, they push their yes or no button, and their vote is recorded. They can?t speak from their seats?they have to go up to the speaker?s stand. There is no dome, but there are pretty murals depicting the dawn of liberty, justice, and law. There are pretty pink ?marble? pillars (actually made of a composite). Pict. 10 Around the perimeter are 10 names of important founding fathers, including John Brown, who appears in places of honor throughout the capitol. However, in every picture, he looks like a lunatic with a flying beard and wild, long hair. He was a famous abolitionist, and while I don?t like his methods?he had a reverend send him rifles labeled as ?Bibles?, he took hostages, and he was a violent person?I do agree with his objective. I hope my ?take? on his pictures doesn?t offend anyone. Above the House is an impressive public gallery (Pict. 11)
In 1976, they installed two stained glass windows honoring today?s servicemen (Pict. 8) and the soldiers from the Revolutionary War (Pict. 12).
We went to the governor?s ceremonial office (Pict. 13) The companion desk has kneeholes on each side of the desk so two people can work at the same time and was made by the students at the State School for the Deaf. The buffalo over the desk represents the state mammal. A picture shows the Flint Hills, one of the most massive mountain ranges on Earth, but the mountains are underground. It is the only place in Kansas where there could be an earthquake. Our guide told us that Kansas used to extend to Denver, Colorado. However, they decided to separate because ?mountain people had to be governed differently from prairie people.?
Outside the governor?s office was a circular area with a big history mural. It began with another picture of Coronado and Padre Padillo. The padre was very popular with the Indians. In fact, they like him so well that they killed him because they didn?t want him to ever leave. This blends into a prairie fire, and John Brown with the crazy beard and hair. At the end of the mural is a tornado.
There are 4 plaster statues, one of which is of Eisenhower. The interstate highway system was started here by Ike because he wanted to be able to get from Ft. Riley to the airport (according to the guide). Dean says it was because he wanted to be able to transport military goods and people easily about the United States.
Dean was hungry, so we went to Bobo?s Drive-In, a popular burger place here. We wanted to see the Kansas Museum of History, which is highly rated. We drove out there, only to find it closed. But, it looks interesting, so we postponed tomorrow?s RV reservation by one day. I?ll have to check days/hours more carefully.
We drove by Hollywood 14 Movie Theatre, and ?Moneyball? with Brad Pitt was just ready to start. We really enjoyed it and thought Pitt was very convincing in his role.
Boondocking at Harrah?s in North Kansas City, MO Weather?high 80s