Salt Storage

We saw this building, but didn't know what it was until we toured the Salt Mine. Come to find out, it is actually a salt storage facility for the mine. The shape of the building is very specific to salt. The slope of the roof is the exact angle at which salt naturally piles up. Fascinating!

Underground Salt Museum: Storage Facility (Part 2)

In the Salt Mine, they have a vast storage facility. Because the air is so dry, it is an ideal place to store movie reels and props, important documents, and computer data. They don't let people tour the actual storage facility, but they do have several of the items out on display. We got to see some props from the original Superman movie, Troy, Twister, Jack Frost, Batman, The Matrix, and Men in Black. Wow!

Underground Salt Museum (Part 1)

Sandra and Carl took me to the Underground Salt Museum after our trip to Yoder. This was probably one of my favorite spots we've visited so far. The mine is still active, although they don't take tourists to the active portion. It's 650 below ground-deeper than the St. Louis Arch is tall! The air is so strange down there. Normally caves or mines are sort of damp and musty, but in a salt mine the air is incredibly dry. They even use the salt to make the concrete for the floor, so they won't let people bring anything to drink down there.

The giant block of salt in the third picture weighs 3 tons! The last picture is of a pile of salt rocks. When you pay to go on the Dark Tour, they let you take one the size of your palm or fill a little bag. Pretty cool!

Yoder, KS

On Saturday, Sandra and Carl brought me to Yoder, KS. It is an Amish and Mennonite community near Hutchinson, KS. We went in several stores including the hardware store. We saw a few Amish or Mennonite people riding tractors, but as it was Saturday I'm sure they prefer to stay home and avoid tourists. They believe it is a sin to create likenesses of human faces per God's commandment not to make an graven images. For this reason, they do not like to be photographed and their children's dolls have no faces.

We ate lunch at Carriage Crossing, where several of the waittresses were dressed in the more traditional "plain" clothes of the Amish and Mennonite faiths. The pie here was excellent, although I was surprised that they didn't warm up the peach or apple pies. (I'm wondering if that's a Texas thing?)

The Mercantile in Downtown Florence, KS

This is The Mercantile in downtown Florence, KS. They had a big Father's Day steak dinner here on Saturday with 80 people in attendence! We didn't go, but I heard great things about it. I did buy some Jalapeno Honey Mustard, Mixed Berry Jam, and chocolate rocks for my mom's birthday. I also bought myself a chocolate raspberry truffle. As you can see from the picture of the wrapper, it didn't last long! Yum!

Florence, KS

These are pictures from Florence UMC. The pastor, Moon-Hee is Korean and is so sweet. She and the children's coordinator, Sara were our go-to people, and we so enjoyed their company.

I didn't get a picture of the outside of the building. Since I didn't have my camera until mid-week, I just never got the chance. These are pictures of our set and the decorations the church put together. The second picture shows menus made by some of the kids in the church before we came. The were too cute!

Because of scheduling, we didn't end up staying with hosts in Florence but instead commuted from Salina each day. It was about an hour's drive, but it worked out just fine.

The children in the church really touched us. It was an emotional, but wonderful week. A lot of ministry was done. It was a real reminder of why we do what we do. VBS makes a difference in the lives of these children and their families.

Florence Stats:

-Population: 400

-Total VBS Enrollment: 27

-Sunday Lunch: Yummy Church Potluck

-Most Happenin' Place in Town: Florence Swimming Pool



Fort Larned

These pictures came from Fort Larned. They are the only ones I was able to take because my camera ran out of battery JUST after I took the one in front the of big National Historic Site sign. As it turned out, I left my charger in Coldwater and had to have it mailed to Salina. What a pain! Thanks to the Merritts, though, I was back in business before I knew it!

The Fort was only active about 19 years around the time of the Civil War. There were 4 re-enactors on duty that day, which was fun to see. The second to last picture is of a blacksmith, who made a wall hook for one of the visitors who was watching like we were. The last picture is of the bunkhouse. What we would consider slightly wider bunk beds would sleep 4 grown men! Visiting Fort Larned made me very thankful for our modern conveniences!