KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

We departed from Arapaho NWR on Thursday, September 6. Driving for two days and covering 750 miles we went through parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and into Missouri.
We hadn't spent any time in Kansas City, MO, and thought that would be a great place to visit before going to Escapade in nearby Sedalia. We parked at Basswood RV Resort north of the city for a week.
Since we were in the "breadbasket of the country" we stocked up on fresh fruit and vegetables at City Market, the downtown Farmer's Market. There were 170 farmer stalls full of local produce, crafts and Amish baked goods. We found some wonderful, picked ripe tomatoes, green beans and peaches, along with homemade blueberry jam, oatmeal bread and cinnamon rolls.
While downtown we walked over to The Treasure of the Steamboat Arabia Museum. The 171foot long steamboat Arabia sank on the Missouri River in 1856.
She was carrying over 200 tons of brand-new merchandise, dishware, jewelry, guns, tools, food and clothing to supply frontier stores along the river. It wasn't until 1988 that a group of treasure hunters found her remains lying 45 feet underground, 1/2 mile from the river's edge. The museum displays her entire cargo still intact 150 years later. It is absolutely amazing to see both the quantity and quality of this pre-Civil War merchandise. The picture on the left is of the paddle wheel. http://www.1856.com/
We love to visit Zoos and Kansas City is no exception. In our opinion KC has a very good zoo. It is an older zoo, but they are keeping it current with nice new displays and habitat.




http://www.kansascityzoo.org/





We had an interesting tour of the KC Harley-Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations. This extensive tour is free and very interesting. There is a strong emphasis on quality. It is refreshing to see heavy industry at work in America.









We visited Independence, MO, Harry S. Truman's home and presidential library.

The Truman home is now a National Historic Site, donated by his wife upon her death. A National Park Ranger provided a guided tour of this beautiful home built in 1885.
Inside the presidential library there is a full scale reproduction of the Oval Office as it appeared during the Truman years. Although Truman was not always popular at the time, he is now rated by historians as one of the top five best.
The Money Museum is located in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. We watched as millions of dollars were loaded into machines that separated and shredded the worn bills and identified counterfeit bills. Five to seven counterfeits identified daily.


Hallmark's Corporate Headquarters has a Visitor Center with displays depicting the history of the company.




Around the corner from Hallmark is the newly opened Sea Life Aquarium.

www.sealifeus.com




On our last day we visited both the "Toy and Miniature Museum" and "The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial". The horrors of five years of trench warfare were well documented. This was a first class museum complete with galleries, two movie theaters, and interactive exhibits. The museum is under the 1926 Liberty Memorial Tower. Admission includes an elevator ride to the top of the 217 foot tall tower offering a beautiful view of the skyline.