Thursday, September 13, 2007

Day 10: Denver, CO to Salina, KS

Today we made a stop in Denver at the Hammond's Candy Factory where we got to watch sugar sticks and lolly pops being made (almost entirely by hand in the same manner they were made when the company opened in 1920. We got to sample several candies and then stocked up on handmade candy in their gift shop as well.

People making lolly pops (notice the mirrors toward the top of the photo,
you can see what they are working on in them)

I wanted to visit the United States Mint in Denver, but as luck would have it, the mint is closed to public tours for construction during the month of September. I've since learned that this is a family curse on my husband's side, as any time anyone in their family was in Denver the mint has been closed to tours for one reason or another.

We headed east down highway 70 from Denver and into Kansas. We stopped at a place called "Prairie Dog Town" which I thought would be similar to the prairie dog place in South Dakota...boy was I wrong. The place had all kinds of animals - rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, buffalo, coyotes, fox, chickens, goats, sheep, cows, pigs - but the animals were living in despicable conditions. The goats had some sort of respiratory infection as they were all coughing - and children were being encouraged to pet these poor sick animals. The coyotes were in a cage enclosure that was probably 10 x 10 feet in diameter and were walking around it in circles. Worst of all was a "pond" at the back of the property full of ducks and geese which was mostly just a mud hole with garbage in it. It smelled awful and I could see an old tire and plastic bag in the water. It was also probably a breeding ground for misquotes as the water was just sitting there and green with algae. I plan to write the Kansas congressmen to alert them of the conditions of this place even though there will probably be nothing done to help these poor animals.

The last stop of the day was the Cathedral of the Plains which was the largest catholic church built west of the Mississippi river at the time of its construction (1909). It's located right off hwy 70 in Victoria, KS.

Cathedral of the Plains

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