Abilene, Kansas

On Tuesday my husband John was released by his doctor to travel once again. By Wednesday we were on the road again, heading west to California. We are now parked outside of Salina, Kansas and have experienced the strong winds of the plains. Yesterday we drove to Abilene to tour the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. The campus has been built around the childhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower. That house seemed to small for a family of six boys! It was built in 1898 and  Ida, Dwight's mother, lived in it until 1946. It has since then been preserved as a museum.

The presidential museum displays an awesome piece of American history. In Eisenhower's lifetime America had seen rapid technological changes, from the invention of the automobile and jets to the arrival of the space age. It took us a good four hours to tour the museum and I could not begin to cover all the information we learned in this one posting. However, I will share with you some Eisenhower trivia. Eisenhower's family was Mennonite, his mom was not too happy when he entered West Point. The day that this five-star general orchestrated the most decisive battle of WW ll on June 6,1944, his only son John graduated from West Point. Unfortunately his dad could not be there. It was during Eisenhower's presidential term that the motto of the United States became "In God we trust". The words "One nation under God"  was added to the Pledge of Allegiance during Eisenhower's first term. Eisenhower was the first president to have a Chief of Staff, and also was the first to have televised press conferences. Below is a picture of his statue located on the campus.

On our way home later that day we drove to Rock City. Who would have known that such geological wonders can be found in Kansas? In this park are about 200 sandstone concretions.