A view of the Botanical Gardens. Lovely!
Giant turtles at the zoo!
I spent 4 days in Wichita taking in the biological and cultural attractions with my parents. We really had a good time and I was impressed with Wichita, which was a 4 hour drive from Garden City. The first thing we did was visit the Sedgewick County Zoo. My favorite exhibit was the colossal-sized turtles, but I enjoyed the variety of exhibits and was amazed at the sheer size of the zoo. It was a lot more than I had expected. Definitely worth the time if you are in the area. My only complaint was the salt cedar tree planted in a concession area near the gorilla house. I think I am going to have to send an email to someone about getting rid of that highly invasive and ecologically devastating plant! ** Update ** I got a reply back from the zoo curator who said they know the plant is invasive, but they are "keeping an eye on it" and don't plan to remove it. That's downright irresponsible! But, unfortunately not illegal so thats that.
The next morning we strolled through the expansive Botanical Gardens. Talk about a plant lovers paradise! I loved the weird-looking plants that come from all over the world. I am a bigger fan of native prairie plants, but I definitely appreciate the effort it takes to put together a horticultural garden and the Botanical Gardens take extravagance to a whole new level. Top notch!
We also took time to check out the Wichita-area cultural history at the fancy County Museum. I learned that Wichita is named after an Oklahoma tribe of Native Americans. The Wichita Indians "agreed" to move from Oklahoma to the site in Kansas that eventually took their name. Other tribes that already inhabited that area did not respond well to the new arrivals and eventually the Wichita tribe went back to Oklahoma. There is a creek in Oklahoma named Skeleton Creek, which commemorates the sad and deadly trek of the Wichita tribe back to their homeland. So when you travel somewhere, ask yourself "What's in a name?".
After lunch at the River City Brewing Company my parents and I walked through the Museum of World Treasures in the Old Town part of Wichita. I was amazed at how clean and quaint the Old Town area looked. The World Treasures Museum is a shrine to all things opulent in the ancient world. It struck me that nothing has really changed throughout history. The powerful and wealthy have always walked all over the less fortunate in order to raise themselves to immortality. Museums tell you who owned the gold crown, but not how many people suffered as a result.
We also spent several hours going though a place called "Cow Town". It is basically a living museum. The several block-sized area is a reproduction of what a cow town of the old west would look like and how it operated. There are reenactors who portray the people that worked and lived in the town. We saw a blacksmith working the furnace, watched a mock gunfight, toured an actual working farm that only uses equipment from the 1800s, rode in a horse-drawn covered wagon, and watched the carpenter use a hand-cranked saw to split a 2x4 board. The interesting thing is that most of the tools are the same design as they are today only now with a motor instead of a hand crank attached to a system of pullies. Hey, if it isn't broke then don't fix it!
On a final note, one of the most enjoyable things we did in Wichita was go to two dinner theaters. The Mosley Street Melodrama was a comedy play with a singing/comedy variety show as well, which were both very funny! Basically, it was actors dressed as cowboys who poked fun at stereotypes. Then the other dinner theater was part of the Cow Town experience where real cowboys sang real cowboy/campfire songs and told jokes besides. Somehow I got assigned a seat front and center and I was so close that I could tell the time on the guitar players watch. The 2 dinner theaters were very different in style and content, but both were immensely enjoyable and I would go back in a heartbeat.
This concludes my review of some attractions that Wichita has to offer. I encourage you to check out the biological and cultural attractions in your surrounding area because you never know what treasures lie in your own backyard!
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