After one of Marsh's older brothers went on a hot air ballon ride. We accepted this as a callenge to get off our butts and do something strange too.
The center of Kansas use to be a shallow ocean. like 230-250 million years ago. We are old enough to remember the the muddy condition when it finally dried up, (took about two years). LOL
The salt deposit which was left, (like daytona) is where the good USA gets most of its table salt and of course the road salt for winter.

Marsh and I decided we would take the SALT PLANT TOUR. Cost? A mere $13.50 each. For all that we got trip 650 feet down into the earth. (a little like the distance the St. Louis arch is tall) in a pitch black elevator. Which didnt look like 4 million dollars. (and maintained like a redneck garage beer icebox).

The little electric trolly cars were cool, and each had a speaker system so we could really hear the tour guide talk. Really is quite a lot to salt mines. The tunnels total 67 miles but we stayed within about 1,000 yds from the eleivtor.

The most interesting part for me was the use of the mine as sort of a national treasure warehouse. The conditions in the mine are perfect for peserving paper and really about all other stuff such as origional major motion picture reels. I read a newpaper the day after Lincoln's death, and it looked like it was just printed! Being a history major I was thrilled to see the accounts of persons involved and astonished the the addiontional information about the other attempts of key figures that night. So much of history is lost.

Other points of facts we can now say we saw are. The batman movie MR Freeze costume worn by Arnie, Presly's shirt, that little pistol that Will Smith was given in from "Men in BLack" and a manniquin of Mr. smith from the Matrix. The gift shop of , if not the deepest on earth (650 feet down) was really neat, loved the t-shirts, "I survived the shaft', "I ve been where the sun really dont shine", just love stuff like that.
In closing I would just like to say that it was well worth the money, had a great time and would recommend it!
-dan-
The elevator down was not too fun, I don't really like enclosed spaces and Dan and I were back into the corner. eeekk! Center pic was in the elevator I was holding the camera above me and got a pic in the pitch dark. Note the tour guide in the blue shirt! He was a pretty funny tour guide. One plus on being 650 underground was no tornados down there!! :)
-marsh-

Kansas Underground Salt Museum, located in Hutchinson, Kansas