Visiting museums in Keystone

Posted on July 1, 2014 by liv2rv

Dan and I both enjoy visiting museums, and our VIP pass covers many of them in the area. We opted to spend some time visiting two of them on our day off, Rushmore Borglum Story and The National Presidential Wax Museum, both in Keystone.

Many billboards advertising the Rushmore Borglum Museum state “best museum we saw in the USA”, so we had high hopes for this one. The museum is dedicated to the life of Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore. Although very informative, it did not live up to its hype. The adult admission is $10.00 (free with VIP pass) which includes a hand-held audio device. You walk around the museum and punch in the code to each display, and there is a brief narrative on the items in the display case (photographs not permitted). At the end of the tour is a 20 minute movie that again goes over his life story. It took us about one hour to visit the museum. You are not allowed to take photographs of the exhibits.

Rushmore Borglum Story

Prior to Mt Rushmore, Borglum worked on Stone Mountain, in Georgia. He started carving that mountain, but got into a dispute and blasted off the images he had completed.

Borglum was a big fan of President Lincoln, even naming his son Lincoln. He did this statue of Lincoln that is on display in front of the museum.

hanging with Abe

THE NATIONAL PRESIDENTIAL WAX MUSEUM

After our visit with the Borglum Story, we headed over to the wax museum, and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of this museum. If you have any interest in the history of our presidents, this is a good museum to check out. Adult admission is $10 (free with VIP pass), which includes a hand-held audio device. You start watching a video that details how the figures are created, then go to each exhibit which has a lengthy description of the president(s) in the display, and what was happening in the country during their term. If you listen to every story, it will take about 90 minutes to get through the museum.

Presidential Wax museum

The museum covers every president, from the first…

George Washington

To the present…

Barack Obama

Some of the presidents are grouped together in displays, such as the five presidents who were never elected to the office of President. The five are grouped into two parts, the four who were elected to the Office of Vice-President (left to right – Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester Alan Arthur, John Tyler).

The unelected presidents

And then there was Gerald Ford, the only man who not only was not elected as president, but was not elected to the office of vice president either. Ford became the first person appointed as vice president, under the terms of the 25th Amendment, after Spirow Agnew resigned.

Gerald Ford

You all remember our 9th President, right?

William Henry Harrison

He’s part of the reason for the creation of the 25th Amendment. William Henry Harrison was the first President to die in office. He refused to wear an overcoat during the inauguration, and died from complications relating to pneumonia, just 32 days after taking the oath. I guess when you only make it 32 days, you get a very small display in the museum!

Of the five original drafters of the Declaration of Independence, two became Presidents: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

drafting the Declaration of Independence

Grover Cleveland became the first President to marry during his term in office.

Grover Cleveland

William Howard Taft is the only man who was both the President (#27) and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (#10).

President & Supreme Court Chief Justice

They had a display on President Kennedy

Kennedy & John Jr

Along with a recreation of the scene on Air Force One where Lyndon B Johnson was sworn in as President, with Mrs. Kennedy, still in her blood soaked clothes, looking on. And did you know that Johnson was the only man to be elected as a Congressman, Senator, Vice-President and President?

Lyndon B Johnson

We were impressed by the quality of the wax figurines, with one exception. This display of Ronald Reagan with Mikhail Gorbachev. Reagan is just staring up and over his head. It seemed like he was going to be in another type of setting, and they just plunked him in this chair.

President Reagan

They also had a nice tribute to the first responders involved in the 9/11 tragedy.

9/11 tribute

After soaking up all this history, we worked up quite an appetite, so we headed out to the Circle B Chuckwagon and Cowboy Music Show, in Hill City. As part of our VIP pass, we received 50% off the dinner/show, which normally costs $26.00 – $30.00 depending on your choice of entrée. Although the food was good (we had the combo platter of beef, BBQ chicken and buffalo), we were glad it was half price! Unless you have children, I would not recommend getting there when the place opens at 4:00pm, as there is really nothing to do. They have a lot of activities for the kids, and there is a “shoot-out” at 5:20, with dinner starting at 5:30pm. The Cowboy Music Show starts a little after 6, and ends by 7:00pm. The musicians did put on a nice 45 minute show with some cowboy music and a few family style jokes.

The Chuckwagon show

Quote for the day: “No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.” – John Adams

Mammoth Site

Posted on June 4, 2014 by liv2rv

We headed down to Hot Springs to visit the Mammoth Site (cost $10 for adults, free with our VIP pass). In 1974, a developer was beginning to clear land for a housing development when the bulldozer uncovered some bones. They discovered the bones were from Columbian Mammoths, estimated to be 26,000 years old. Through local donations, the site was preserved and declared a National Natural Landmark in 1980. A building was constructed around the site, and is open year round to visitors.

It is believed the site was a giant sinkhole, fed by natural springs. Mammoths, bears and other animals entered the watering hole, but were unable to get back out due to the steep embankments, and eventually drowned or starved to death. Mammoth Site is the only in-situ (left as found) site for mammoth bones in the United States.

Mammoth Site

They are continuing digging at this site, and have discovered many more bones over the years. A tour guide explains the many points of interest on the site, and then you are free to explore on your own in the indoor excavation site, as well as an exhibit hall. We found this to be a very interesting and informative exhibit. At the time of our visit, there were volunteers who were painstakingly digging through the dirt. The buckets of dirt they would collect would be carefully washed, to discover any small remains.

overview of dig site

They have left most of the bones where they have found them.

They unearthed a large mammoth that had no head, despite digging all around it. The Paleontologist have no explanation as to what happened to the head, and named the mammoth Marie Antoinette. When they discovered the mammoth was a male, they renamed him Murray Antoinette, in keeping with the be-headed theme!

volunteer diggers

These are the tools that the volunteers were using. It is very tedious work.

Tools of the trade

They had some body parts on display to give you they idea of how big the bones are;

mammoth mandible

human v mammoth

This is part of a pelvis that is left intact in the grounds.

mammoth pelvis

In order to determine what types of mammals they are, the scientists study the angle of the tusk (yes, another Math lesson). There is something called Schreger Lines, which will determine if the tusk is from an elephant (obtuse angle – greater than 90 degrees) or a mammoth (acute angle – less than 90 degrees).

elephant tusk

mammoth tusk

And then there’s the histogram on the tusk angles. (okay, enough math!)

histogram

We enjoyed our visit, and would recommend this place if you are in the area, or visiting nearby Wind Cave.

Quote for the Day: “There is no good scientific reason to bring back an extinct species. Why would one bring them back? To put them in a theme park?” – Hendrik Poinar

The U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum

Posted on March 23, 2014 by liv2rv

Dan and I have always had a fascination with the Space program, so we stopped in at The U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum in Titusville, after we finished our bird tour at Merritt Island. The museum, which has free admission (yea!), is crammed full of memorabilia from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle missions. Currently, the museum is in an old building, and is literally bursting at the seams. In talking with the volunteer on duty, they just signed a lease for a new building, that will have about 7,000 square feet of exhibit space, compared with the 1400 square feet they have now.

Many of the items have been donated by employees from the space center, as well as the astronauts. While we were there, a woman came in inquiring about donating memorabilia her father received while working at the space center in the 60’s and 70’s. They were very eager to receive her late father’s collection, and she was happy it would be enjoyed by the public for years to come.

Below is a photo of the recovery suit worn by Virgil “Gus” Grissom after the Gemini 3 flight. Grissom was the 2nd American to fly in space. He was set to command the first manned Apollo mission, but was tragically killed when fire erupted in his spacecraft on the Launchpad in a training mission on January 27, 1967. Crewmates Edward White II and Roger Chaffee were also killed.

Gus Grissom

This is the hatch and frame that was recovered from Mercury Capsule #4. This was a suborbital flight, by Gus Grissom, that lasted about 15 minutes and was uneventful until splashdown, when the hatch cover blew. Grissom was saved from drowning, and the capsule sank into the Atlantic Ocean. It was recovered in 1999.

space hatch

various memorabilia

NASA used a high-speed camera (pictured below), capable of taking 4,000 photos per minute, to check rocket and missile engine performance during tests and during lift-off of the rockets at the space center. The camera was attached to a drive motor below the camera, and is about 3 feet tall with the motor attached.

high speed camera

They had a nice model of the space shuttle on the launch assembly pad.

model of space shuttle launch pad

This museum had a lot of interesting facts and figures for the math geeks.

lots of math involved in the space program!

And even something of interest for radiology geeks! The lunar EVA spacesuit boots that Neal Armstrong left on the moon were x-rayed on July 7,1969, 9 days before the launch of Apollo 11. The radiograph was done to insure there were no foreign objects in the boots which could compromise the integrity of the spacesuit.

x-rays used to document history!

The Space Center has it’s own fire department, and they had several displays in their honor.

fire fighter suit in the 60’s

The museum had a tribute to the crews of the 2 Space Shuttle missions that tragically ended. The Space Shuttle Challenger blew up just 73 seconds after the launch on January 28, 1986. I remember hearing about this during a Physics class in college (UW – Eau Claire). Our professor was visibly upset and released class early and we all went over to a cafeteria to watch the news on television. (life before the internet, where we had to ‘wait’ for news!) Dan was doing his student teaching in Marshfield, Wisconsin when word came in during an algebra II class. This shuttle launch was one of the most widely viewed live space events, because Christa McAuliffe, was on board. She would have been the first teacher in space. The space shuttle program was grounded for 3 years after this catastrophe.

Challenger Crew

On February 1, 2003, all seven members of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew perished when their shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana. Again the shuttle program was put on hold for 2 years.

Columbia Crew

The photo below is a giant rotary dial phone used in the control rooms. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but it is about 8 inches high by 10 inches wide. Amazing how much technology has shrunk the size of phones today!

a giant phone

NASA used these giant Lithium Chloride Batteries on 3 Titan missile missions. One battery has a 250 amp hour capacity, and was the first lithium battery used of this capacity.

a big battery

The photo below shows a mission control room, and the museum has on display several of the actual control panels from this room.

photo of mission control

control panels

Overall, we enjoyed this museum, even though it is in very cramped quarters. We were the only 2 people visiting at the time. We look forward to coming again some day, after they move into their new building.

Quote for the day: “Looking down the road, space exploration and the benefits it yields – in medicine and information technology – should not be overlooked.” – Bob Barr

A need for speed

Posted on November 15, 2013 by liv2rv

We visited the National Corvette Museum, as well as the assembly plant for the corvette, both in Bowling Green, KY. Tours for the GM plant just re-opened this fall. The 2014 Corvette is a completely new design, and is considered to be the 7th Generation of the Corvette. The engine is still built in Detroit, although they are developing an area of the plant that will include engine assembly next year. The underbody is aluminum instead of steel, and the hood is a carbon fiber material, which reduces the weight of the car. It has 505 horsepower with speeds up to 200 MPH. It will get 29 MPG on the highway, making it the most fuel-efficient of the sports cars. And the biggest change, it no longer has the “bubble” rear window that corvettes were known for.

2014 Corvette

Bowling Green Assembly Plant

The plant tour costs $7.00, and no cameras are allowed inside. Robots assemble the underbody of the car, and everything else is done by humans. They can produce about 170 cars per day. It was a very interesting process watching a car being assembled. Corvette has many quality assurance checks during the process. We were both impressed by the tour, and would highly recommend it if you are in the area.

If you purchase a Corvette, you do have the option of picking it up at the museum. I would recommend that, as there are some perks the new owner receives. They are given a “baby book” of photos of the car as it travels through the assembly plant. And, the owner can go right on to the line at the end, and start their vehicle. They just can’t drive it out of the factory. After the factory tour, we headed down the road to the museum.

The museum costs $10.00 per person, but they had given us half-price coupons in our Amazon employee welcome package, so it was only $10 for both of us. The museum starts out with displays on Corvette’s early history, and has a Mobil service station display with early Corvette’s. There are areas devoted to the racing teams, design and engineering. Another section has a large display of various models of Corvettes, including the only remaining Corvette that was built in 1983. There is also an exhibit hall where they have special exhibits. Currently, it is on motorcycles.

will they notice it missing?

This is one of the first Corvette’s ever built, in 1953. It has a MSRP of $3,400.00. You could add a radio for $150!

1953 Corvette – 1st year

1957 Corvette

Mobil Gas station with 1960’s Corvettes.

gas was 25 cents!

1960 Corvette

These are some of the Corvette’s that were the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 over the years.

Indy 500 pace cars

These are some of the early model motorcycles that were in the special exhibit area.

If you decide to pick up your new Corvette in Bowling Green, they have a special area in the museum to pick it up at. They really spend a lot of time going over the car with the owner, probably more so than you would get at a dealer. There were a lot of happy faces on the people picking up their new vehicles. The sticker price on these cars are around $77,000.

waiting for their owners

The owner then gets to drive the vehicle out of the museum, and all the employees come over to cheer them on.

proud owner driving off in white Corvette

We both had our favorites. Dan loved the 1960’s Corvettes, made popular by the television show Route 66.

What Dan wants

I loved the 2014 model.

what I want

But then reality kicks in…..

What we can afford!

Quote for the day: “Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” – George Carlin

General Patton

Posted on October 25, 2013 by liv2rv

We have decided to take a break from distillery tours, since some others venues have now opened back up. Thursday we drove up to Fort Knox, Kentucky to see the General George Patton Museum of Leadership (cost: free). This is the Army’s only museum dedicated to the history of Army leadership at all levels. It was first opened in 1949 as the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor and was in operation until 2010. Many of the tanks have since been moved to Georgia, and the museum is currently undergoing a transformation with the new leadership format. There are many exhibits that are still under construction. Probably by next year, it will be completed. Regardless, it was well worth a visit. The museum covers Army history from 1775 right up to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. It is also the first museum we have visited that encourages you to bring in your smart phone or tablet device. They have free Wi-Fi, and encourage you to download the museums app. There are multiple spots where you can scan a code into the smart-phone, and it will provide additional information and videos on the display that is in front of you.

Patton Museum

They do have a few tanks remaining outside the museum.

seems like a small tank

They also have Armor Memorial Park outside, and this monument caught my attention, as it had a wreath by it. It was honoring the F Force troop in Vietnam. My two older brothers served in Vietnam, thank you Greg and Jerry. And thank you to all our veterans.

Vietnam Memorial

General George S. Patton, Jr. (born 1885), came from a military family, and attended both the Virginia Military Institute and West Point. He worked his way up through the ranks and had 438,000 GI’s under his command in the Third Army in WWII.

Patton’s West Point uniform

Patton, as a Lieutenant, participated in the pentathlon in Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden in 1912. After the Olympics, he studied with the French Cavalry and is credited with designing the M1913 cavalry saber. The design became known as the “Patton Saber” and was effective at piercing an opponent. It was the last saber issued by the Army. Below is a photo of the saber, along with a toy wooden saber that Patton played with as a child.

Prototype and wooden toy sword

Patton purchased a Colt 45 revolver in 1916 in Texas, and carried it with him until his death in 1945. This revolver was designed in 1872, and was the standard issue service revolver used by the Army until 1892.

Patton’s Colt 45

Who knew Patton was an RV’er??!! This was his quarters that he lived in when he was out with the troops. Patton was loved by his soldiers because he stayed with them, unlike other Generals that would stay in hotels. Patton believed an effective leader needs to be out front with his soldiers.

Patton’s ‘RV’

Inside Patton’s ‘RV’

Patton’s Leadership

Below is a photo of the restored 1938 Cadillac Limousine, Series 75, that was given to him in 1945 by his troops after it was seized from the Nazi’s.

Patton’s Limo

On Sunday, December 9, 1945, General Patton was riding in the back seat, heading out for a pheasant hunt when his driver, a private first class struck a truck that turned in front of them. Patton was thrown forward and struck his head on the glass divider, which fractured his neck and paralyzed him. Patton was hospitalized, and ordered that no investigation be made of the accident, as he did not want any discipline to occur of either driver. The museum displays part of his hospital records. He was reported to be improving, but 12 days after the accident his vitals rapidly declined and he passed away from a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in his lung). Patton was only 60 years old when he passed away.

General Patton

The museum has a large collection of weapons.

Coach T your dad could add this one to his collection!

And tanks

Hanging with the tank guys

They also had a small recognition of General Colin Powell, and listed his 13 rules to live by. I think we should all follow these (you may need to double-click on this photo to read all of them).

Colin Powell’s excellent tips to live by

The newest exhibit at the museum, which arrived on September 11, 2013 and is still under construction, is a fire truck from the US Army that was on duty at the Pentagon on 9/11/2001. The truck was damaged during the attack on the Pentagon.

US Army Foam 161 was on duty at Pentagon

Damage from Pentagon 9/11/2001

We will definitely return to this museum, as it is only going to improve as it develops more exhibits.

Quote for the day: The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom. – George S. Patton

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Living and working around the country in a RV

Category Archives: museum

Visiting museums in Keystone

Mammoth Site

The U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum

A need for speed

General Patton