Below are some pictures of my stepmom (well one of my stepmoms). Sue is intelligent, well-read, fashionable, polite, polished, environmentally conscience, and a talented singer, musician and actress who made a living performing! She’s a very hip, cosmopolitan woman who is even aging gracefully. She’s the kind of woman we’d all like to be. Given all this, I guess I’d always assumed she was raised somewhere like LA, NY, or Chicago so you can imagine my shock when we rolled into Wichita and she said she grew up there!
She did later live in places like NYC so I’m not suggesting Wichita has the magic formula, but I will say we were surprised by all that this city has to offer.
We’d been on the move and I’d started the day with low energy. I thought for sure we were going to spend a long day at the Kansas Aviation Museum because when you travel with a pilot, you do these things. The Art-Deco-style building is actually the former terminal of the Wichita Municipal Airport, which served as one of the busiest airports in the United States during the 1940s. The museum says it features unique aircraft, historical information and archives, and the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame. Sadly, I think even Doug was a little worn out and we didn’t even make it to the ticket counter.
We decided instead to stroll the Arkansas River Trail and I’m sure glad we did. This trail is a scenic way to see downtown Wichita. The 10-mile paved, multi-use trail follows the river and takes you past a lot of the Wichita museums including the Exploration Place, Mid-America All-Indian Museum, Old Cowtown Museum, and the Wichita Art Museum. It also passes Botanica Wichita Gardens and one of the most breathtaking attractions in Wichita, the Keeper of the Plains.
There is free parking near the Keeper of the Plains. This 44-foot tall steel sculpture is iconic. Renowned Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Basin donated the Keeper of the Plains to the citizens of Wichita on May 18, 1974 and it has become a symbol of the city and a tribute to the local American Indian tribes ever since.
It is most impressive at night because they light fire pots, known as the Ring of Fire, that surround the statue, but it is still very beautiful anytime of day.
It really lifted our spirits and our energy level so we continued to walk along the river towards Veterans Memorial Park. Below one of the grates along the walk we found a troll.
After a quick picnic lunch, we headed to Robinson Junior High as my stepmom said, “that’s when I first started singing solos with the choir…” How could we not check that out?
We then spent the evening parked in front of the house of a Boondocker’s Welcome participant.
We didn’t spend enough time in Wichita to propose a good travel itinerary, but learning more about my stepmom’s history and viewing the beautiful Keeper of the Plains made this stop, personally, worthwhile!
