Join us as we head deep into the Heartland on the way to Atchison, Kansas and the childhood home of Amelia Earhart. She, the pioneer American female pilot, of fame and mystery. Incidentally, on the day we expected to visit the museum dedicated to her memory a total solar eclipse was to be right over our heads at the airport named in her honor.....
Leaving Southeastern Minnesota's Bluff Country, very early on Sunday morning, we headed south into Iowa, lunching in Des Moines. We were aboard a bus with John Grabko and his
Historical Adventure & Travel Tours.
We had taken many trips with John .... always fun and informative. Arriving in Kansas City, Missouri late in the afternoon we immediately got to tour that cities wonderful WW I museum. It was very well done.
After a short hop the next morning we found ourselves outside the childhood home of Amelia Earhart high on the bluff overlooking the Missouri River as it separates the States of Missouri and Kansas.
Beside the living quarters, one section was filled with all kinds of fascinating memorabilia from Amelia's career. Of course, I questioned the guide about the mystery of her disappearance and presumable death near the Marshalls in the Pacific. No "alternate facts" were supported.
After our tour and before hopping aboard our bus I ran across the street to take a look at "The Big Muddy" and the new connecting Amelia Earhart Bridge in the distance.
Back on the bus we quickly arrived at the Amelia Earhart airport along with lot of other gawkers.
Fortunately our maroon bus had priority parking in a nearby pasture as Mrs. T. has a folding chair in the foreground, waiting for the big celestial event.
Needless to say your hapless observer was persuaded to leave the shelter of the bus in spite of the scattered rain showers and intermittent cloud cover all in hope of seeing the great event. I did briefly catch glimpses which apparently qualified me to partake of a small cup of champagne....:) Shortly thereafter we reboarded our bus to follow the trail of Lewis and Clark up the Missouri river valley into the wilderness of Nebraska and Iowa for more adventures. (More on that to come)
Looks like a fine tour. That pic in the house looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you partaking in the eclipse! Looking forward to more adventures!
ReplyDeleteHi Troutbirder - sounds like it was an interesting trip - and I'm sure the museum/s were fascinating to see. Pity about the clouds for the eclipse - it's such an interesting experience ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good tour, especially if they serve champagne. I have never seen an eclipse. I guess I live in the wrong place.
ReplyDeleteWe had clear skies and 88% coverage. I was surprised at how much light remained. It looks like it was a good trip, TB. :-)
ReplyDeleteI will have to look him up to see what all he offers. I didn't see much of the eclipse until the end.
ReplyDeleteSorry the curtain didn't open for the eclipse for anymore than a peek. I kind of like the idea of a tour bus. Takes all the hassle out of the trip. Wonder if the Earhart mystery will ever be solved?
ReplyDeleteThe museum sounds cool, but what a shame not to have clear sky for the eclipse!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a good spot for viewing the eclipse and I'm glad you got a glimpse. It looks like an interesting tour.
ReplyDeleteOn April 8, 2024 there's another one crossing the US and it will be pretty close to you.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html
I was lucky. I was en route from Albuquerque to Michigan and caught it in western Nebraska. As the morning wore on it didn't look promising. Big puffy clouds kept floating past completely obscuring the sun and then at the last minute the last one cleared and I have to say it was one of the best things I've ever seen. As the commenter said it never gets pitch dark and there remains a red band just above the horizon, lit like the horizon is still lit up ten minutes after the sun goes down behind some mountains. The overall light just keeps fading steadily as if you were turning down the house lights until you're in something like a deep dusk, but it's not like the light of evening, where shadows progressively overcome everything -- where the shadows lengthen, as they say. With this the shadow comes from above and the darkness is spread uniformly over the entire landscape. It was very eerie and I was a little frightened at first. It was just so other worldly. Outside anything I've ever experienced before.
Will be interested in your Lewis and Clark travels. The writing I'm working on takes place on the Lewis and Clark Trail. Such a fascinating journey and my pile of research continues to grow.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great tour, looks like fun! We were cloudy :(
ReplyDeletewhat a shame not to have clear sky for the eclipse!
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