Everything here, it seems, revolves around the racetrack. I bet the entire city gets most of its income during just one weekend a year.  😉 There is a museum located on the track grounds, in the infield. So here are some photos from a visit. The main gate Turn One The Pagoda The museum Inside … More Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Some photos from a trip to the zoo. Smooth Dogfish Sharks Audience member gets to pet a Dolphin during the show Orangutan crossing his high-wire. There is a network of wires and towers allowing them to roam all over the zoo. Wildebeest, aka Gnu African Elephants playing in the water A Lion yawn Alaska Brown … More Indianapolis Zoo

I didn’t really plan it so I’d get here on the day of the Indy 500–it just happened to work out that way. I’m really not much of a sports fan. I did grow up in Mario Andretti’s hometown of Nazareth PA though (and went to high school with Mike Andretti). Anyway the Walmart I … More Greetings From Indianapolis

On my way from Kansas to Indianapolis, I decided to stop at Cahokia Mounds State Historical Park. From the 7th century to the 13th century, Cahokia, a Native American settlement in Illinois, was the largest city in North America and pone of the largest in the world. I diaried the story of Cahokia at my … More Cahokia Mounds

Fort Scott KS is typical of the frontier forts that popped up all over the West in the 19th century. Constructed in 1844, it was temporarily shut down in 1855, then reopened for the Civil War. It served as an administrative headquarters, supply depot, training ground, and field hospital in the Mexican War and the … More Fort Scott

A few weeks ago I was at the Westport Battlefield in Kansas City. Mine Creek is the sequel. After the Confederate army under Gen Sterling Price was surrounded and barely escaped at Westport, he cross the border over into Kansas, intending to capture as many supplies as he could and destroy the infrastructure in pro-Union … More Mine Creek Battlefield

I love museums like this. Shoal Creek is a collection of historic buildings that have been disassembled at their original location and re-assembled here. Some photos. The museum The Stollings House, constructed between 1883 and 1889 near Kearney MO Stribling Cabin, built in 1835 on the banks of the Fishing River in Clay County MO … More Shoal Creek Living History Museum

Kansas City has a remarkably extensive history of famous criminals: Bonnie and Clyde had a shootout here, and Pretty Boy Floyd was a suspect in the “Kansas City Massacre”. But by far the best-known outlaw in the area was Jesse James. I diaried the story of Jesse James in my history blog here: https://lflank.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/jesse-james-the-real-story/ In … More Jesse James Bank Museum

Well, I had a strange happening this morning. After I got up and climbed into the front cab to move the van to a new parking spot for the day, I noticed a cop car parked right by me. Then, I saw a car next to him that was sitting at an angle with the … More An Odd Morning…

A nice little park that runs along the Missouri River. Lots of dog-walkers, lots of bird-watchers. Nice place for as picnic lunch.   🙂 Some photos from an afternoon in the park. To reach the park, you cross the railroad tracks over this rather rickety plank bridge The Missouri River The walkway runs along the … More Riverfront Park