We were in Abilene for dinner. We went to Joe Snuffy’s Restaurant. It’s a place where everybody is talking with people at the next table. If you don’t know anybody, the waitress will help you break the ice. By the end of dinner, you’ll be talking away.

The next morning, we visited the Eisenhower museum / library / boyhood home / burial place. Of course we had to visit. Here are some lesser-known Ike facts:

• Ike was a very good card player. Early in his military career, collecting gambling debts from his fellow cadets at West Point was a substantial financial help for him.
• Early in his career, Ike got in trouble for excessively enthusiastic dancing.
• For most of  WW II, Ike had the same female driver. Some people want to make a controversy out of this.
• After Kennedy was elected, the military leaders all but refused to follow his orders. In desperation, Kennedy called Ike. Ike came to DC and attended a meeting with JFK and military leaders. Ike didn’t have to do anything but be there. The military leaders fell into line.

Eisenhower’s Boyhood Home

You won’t learn any of this in the museum. In fact, there is very little about Ike in the museum. Most of the exhibits are about WW II or the 50s. I couldn’t read half  the boards due to poor lighting combined with black text on a dark colored background. And there is absolutely nothing that could be considered the least bit controversial, other than the hint that it was legal for Eisenhower to keep gifts he received from other heads of state. We were disappointed.

Smoky Hills Wind Farm

We drove the rest of the way across Kansas. Near Saline, we drove by the Smoky Hills Wind Farm, which has 150 windmills. It’s an impressive sight.The pic doesn’t do it justice. There are windmills every where one looks for mile after mile.

We had two mysteries and one surprise driving across Kansas. We never saw even one field with amber waves of grain, or anything at all that looked like wheat. We also saw several yellow lights by the side of the road, along with a sign that I-70 is closed when the lights are flashing; driving on the road when closed is not permitted. The light installations are permanent. We don’t understand why anybody would plan ahead of time to close an interstate. The surprise was the bugs. There are so many splats that we have to vigorously wash the windshield at every fill-up. Every Kansas gas station seems to have window washers available. A person we met at the gas station this evening warned not to come when the June bugs are out. They sound like popcorn.

In spite of the mysteries, we made it to Goodland in good order. Below you can see the Big Easel painting. It’s a 24 x 32 foot reproduction of one of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of sunflowers (Kansas is the sunflower state.) We’re 17 miles from the end of Kansas.

Big Easel Painting