Salt Mine Museum

You know that expression that goes, "Make plans and God laughs."? 

Yeah, sometimes I think that's what I should name this blog. My plans have gone down the drain more times than they've gone as planned. 

Our family had actually planned on taking a vacation this week to Colorado but then two weeks ago we ended up taking a last minute trip back to Indiana. So there went our vacation money. While we were at home in Indiana we were able to do a little bit of fun stuff but our experience was overshadowed with trips to the hospital. (A close family member had us pretty worried for a while but everything turned out better than anticipated.) 

DR and I felt like we wanted to have one more summer fun day with the kids so we headed to Hutchinson, KS over the weekend to see Strataca; the underground salt museum. 

A fairly plain facade, as though it wants to go as unnoticed as the mine beneath it. 

When you get to the mine you have to buy tickets for a certain time. They only take 30 visitors down every 20-30 minutes. We arrived at 1:30 but didn't go down until 2:40 and this was on a Sunday afternoon too. 

Once it's your turn to go down everyone gets fitted with a hard hat and a self rescuer, a nifty 3 lb. device that is slung across our chest that, in case of fire and smoke, we would use these to breathe. Though we were reassured that in 70 years of bringing visitors down no one had ever needed to use them. 

We took a 90 second ride down in a hoist we arrived in the gallery, a huge room/tunnel with a few signs explaining that this salt mine is pure salt with very little other minerals found. 

This is an awfully big hunk of salt!!! I think it was 400 lbs...whoa! 

The Carrey salt mine is still active and is used as the rock salt that is put on icy roads. 

There are a lot of really neat artifacts on display throughout the museum. This is the machine that was used first in the process. This giant chainsaw would saw at ground level under a wall, then holes would be drilled in the wall, explosives inserted in the holes, then....BOOM!!....a pile of rock salt! 

Fresh air is pumped down the mine, of course, and since there are about 150 miles of tunnels there are places that don't need fresh air. Since the very early times miners have been blocking off some of those unused tunnels so as not to waste fresh air. In the distance you can see one such wall built of lumber. Some walls were also built by filling empty dynamite boxes with salt. 

Not only is the mine used to supply salt but some of the empty tunnels are used as storage. Every major Hollywood movie company has something stored in the Hutchinson Mine. There was this Dorothy from the movie Twister, Dean Cain's Superman suit, a uniform worn by Matt Damon from the movie Monument Men and more on display for visitors to see. 

The museum itself is self guided with a natural flow with a variety of artifacts on display as well as videos that explains the mining process. In this photo the family had taken a seat to watch how the salt was transported to the surface. 

You can't leave the mine without your own souvenier piece of rock salt (because THAT'S so hard to come by!) They have a huge pile for folks to rummage through. 

 

I have miners in the making!! Seriously, Yip is all ready to start training to be the powder man...yikes!!! 

A really neat museum that I highly recommend!! 

Where's the SALT??

Often when I am in conversation with others the fact that I am not a Native Kansan often pops up. Over the weekend a friend asked, "Have you learned to enjoy living in Southwest Kansas?" 

I didn't answer right away. 

It's not that I don't like southwest Kansas, I do. But there are so many places and things I miss about Indiana at different times of the year. 

I never thought I would miss spring rains in Indiana. Ever spring my sisters and I battled mud in the barnyard as we went to do chores. I mean mud that would suck off a boot if you weren't careful. Yep, I miss that. 

Well I always knew I would miss a good shade tree. Growing up there were three large maple trees in our front yard that my siblings and I spent a lot of time playing around and in. I've yet to find a shade tree anywhere as good as those I grew up with. 

And of course I desperately miss Indiana's colorful autumn leaves. I had forgotten how wonderfully the humidity of Indiana permeates everything and creates rich, earthy smells...especially in leaves. 

(Thanks Mom.) 

More than those things though I miss certain places at particular times of the year. I miss my brother's crowded old farmhouse when we get together for Christmas. Granted it's never crowded except for that day! 

I miss laying on the sweet green grass to watch the 4th of July fireworks in Columbia City over the highway with semis driving underneath them. (Remember the year it was so cold we were bundled up in blankets, hats and mittens?) 

But the thing/time/place I've really missed this winter are the snowy Indiana roads....after they've been salted!!! Kansas needs to be introduced to my friend the salt truck. On New Years Eve we had 5 or 6 inches of snow. But for a week or more afterward this is what our town's roads still looked like. 

Of course the state roads were cleared. 

The town and dirt roads like the one below stay snow covered pretty much until it melts off naturally. 

Sometimes I see graders or tractors out on the roads working, but really there isn't much of a difference after they've been through. 

After driving on this I sure miss Indiana. In Indiana as soon as the snow starts falling the salt trucks are on the roads in force! Indiana snow doesn't have a chance to get to slick or packed on the roads; the salt combined with the friction from passing tires melts anything pretty darn quick. What Hoosier hasn't had the enjoyment of driving in slush?? 

Well, yeah, there IS that down side of having a lot more rust on your vehicles because of all the salt. MAYBE the salt makes Hoosiers a bit too confident when driving in bad weather. I'll take it though. 

Huh, never thought a salted road would be something to be homesick for! 

Foody Friday - Crazy Salt Tomatoes

I had a nice bowl of cherry tomatoes that ripened this week. 

And I was craving some Crazy Salt Tomatoes. 

Years ago my grandpa's neighbor introduced me to this quick little snack. 

Throw some cherry tomatoes into a ziploc bag with some olive oil, some Crazy Salt and refrigerate. My grandma would buy Crazy Salt at the Amish bulk food store but I haven't found any around here. Off to make my own! 

I found a Crazy Salt recipe that I mixed up. Yum! 

Now I have a big batch of Crazy Salt that is wonderful on eggs!

Crazy Salt 

1/4c. salt

1 teaspoon each of;

 dill seed, pepper,onion powder, garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon each of;  

curry, chili powder, paprika, sage, oregano, marjoram, parsley

 2 teaspoons of lemon zest

Have you ever used or made Crazy Salt? 

Do you have a recipe to share? I'd love to try it! 

The Swastika Salt Cellar

I grew up just down the road from my Grandma L. We were always down the road visiting. Grandma's house had a big shaded yard right next to the woods which were perfect for exploring. Grandma's house was also attractive because she always seemed to have some candy laying around just waiting for grandkids.

Grandma always had this pot sitting on her stove. I think she put potholders in it. I don't really remember because it was never what was on the inside that attracted me but what was on the outside.

Swastikas.

Now as a kid I knew enough about WWII to be very concerned that my Grandma had a pot covered in Nazi symbols. It really bothered me but I never asked Grandma about it. I don't know if I was scared of what her answer would be or scared that I would offend her by asking. Grandma was a bit stern, I'd say most of us grandkids had a healthy respect for her temperment.

It wasn't until I was in college that I learned that the swastika symbol had been used for centuries among many different cultures around the world. Ancient Native American rock drawings in the Southwest United States have been found that contain swastikas.

I imagine then that this pot must pre-date WWII.

Now I wish I had asked Grandma about it .

Grandma passed away about 1 1/2 years ago. As my mom and sister were going through her house they saved this pot for me and I just received it in the mail this week. (I cried! Thanks!) I didn't even remember that it had the word salt on it. I guess I was distracted by all those swastikas. But of course looking at it now, with the inside rim, it surely had a lid to go with it and was originally used as a salt cellar to be hung on a peg or nail.

Now the Swastika Salt Cellar is in my kitchen holding my dishsoap on a high shelf. I'm afraid to put it on my stove, surely I'd accidentally break it. It's nice to have something in my kitchen that Grandma had in hers....swastikas and all.