Touring the National WWI and Arabia Steamboat Museums

Today Martha and I drove the CR-V into Kansas City, Missouri to check out two museums

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The first museum was the National World War One Museum.  It really was very well done and laid out, and the almost 3 hours we spent there were quite educational and enjoyable. The best part was that it wasn't very crowded either.

Some of the things that caught my eye among the many well curated exhibits:

Today's moto content:

After the main exhibit level, we went to the top level and climbed a few steps after exiting an elevator to the top of the tower you saw in the first few pictures.  You can get quite a view of the city: 

Then it was time for lunch at the nearby barbecue joint called Jack Stack.

The barbecue was pretty good!

Next it was a very short drive to reposition that car closer to the City Market. The museum that showcases the recovered steamboat Arabia is located there. The Arabia, or the Great White, as it was known was one of many hundreds of steamboats that plied the Missouri River in the early to mid 1800s.

It sank in 15 ft of water after it struck a sunken log.  It then quickly sank into the river's quicksand bottom overnight leaving only the smoke stacks showing above water in the morning.  Even the stacks would eventually disappear into the river. Fortunately all the passengers were taken off and saved with the exception of one poor mule who was found tied up at the stern of the boat. 

The Arabia was forgotten and as the river twisted and turned over the years, the wreck ended up almost a mile from the river over 25 feet under a  farmer's cornfield. 

More information about the Arabia and museum here: Link 

Sadly, the museum will be closing its doors come November of this year as the city will not be renewing their lease for the property.

One of the Arabia's paddle wheels, it spins slowly to demonstrate the mechanism involved to get it moving and rotating.

Samples of the varied pre-civil war cargo carried by the Arabia.

Part of the tree trunk that ripped up the steamboat's bottom and sunk her.

Scale model of the steamboat:

The steamboat's boilers:

I found this map interesting, it was used to illustrate the migration routes in the early to mid 1800s. Of interest to me was how it did not show the future states of Colorado, Wyoming, etc.  notice the spelling for Kansas.

The actual stern of the steamboat. You can see the tiller mechanism headed towards the rear of the boat: 

Here is the rear or stern of the boat and you can see the rudder which was attached to the tiller mechanism.

Cool Artwork

A pretty good day of museum learning, and only one close call in terms of traffic.  

Although sunny, temperatures never reached the mid-60s and so it was cool when the breeze would pick up.

Spring Fling - Day 2: Truckhenge Visit on way to Kansas City, MO

Another long day in the VRRV, driving.  We left the quiet little dispersed camping area near Wakeeney, KS at 0830 or so, and by 5PM we were set up at the Blue Springs Lake Campground.  Since we wanted to be somewhat close to planned activities, this meant a pay campground instead of dispersed camping.  The Kansas City area is quite large and crowded so there's a dearth of public lands for camping.

This is a pattern I am sure will be a recurring theme as we head further into the more heavily populated half of the country.

Enroute we stopped for a break and a tour of Truckhenge, a site that Martha found on roadsideamerica.com.  it sounded interesting as I've been to Carhenge in Nebraska and the Cadillac Ranch in Texas.

The reality was a bit less than expected, still, it was definitely something one has to see in person.  The amount of junk stored on the property was quite overwhelming.

Here's the vehicles which inspired the Truckhenge name:

The owners home I think

Following pics by Martha:

There was even a peacock onsite, struts about but it disappeared before either of us could get a shot.

The campground isn't too crowded and the sites are not stacked up next to each other.  I will be using the privacy screens though as the sites are within easy line of sight of each other.

We'll be here through the weekend.....

Spring Fling 2026 - Day 1

 We left the overcrowded cesspool that is Denver metro at 7:30 a.m. MDT this morning and by 3:00 PM CDT we were settled near the Cedar Bluff Reservoir at the Mossyhorn camping area in Kansas.  

Mileage start for the VRRV: 122875.  We drove 319 miles today.

Nice 6 spot camping area in the Cedar Bluff Wildlife Management Area:

It was overcast and gloomy with temps in the low 40s when we left and it would warm to 65°F and partly cloudy by 6PM in Kansas.

Before dinner, we headed out in the Honda CR-V to check out the Cedar Bluff Overlook.

Not a bad overlook point for the reservoir:

Tomorrow, the Kansas City, MO area for about 4 days.