We left North Platte NE this morning and headed east for a little bit to Gothenburg NE. What we initially wanted to see was the "World's Largest Plow" at the Sod House Museum but on the way there e saw a sign for the "Pony Express Station" in Gothenburg so we went there first.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Pony Express, it was created by 3 entrepreneurs in 1861 to deliver mail from Leavenworth KS to Sacramento CA in just 10 days using a series of horseback riders who rode around the clock to get the mail through, braving both weather and Indians. The operation lasted only about 18 months since the telegraph was system was completed unexpectedly fast.
Turns out that Gothenburg bills itself as the "Pony Express Capital" since they have two of the few remaining & restored Pony Express stations houses. We visited the one in town which is operated as a small museum. Then we stopped to see the World's Largest Plow.
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| Restored Pony Express Station in Gothenburg NE |
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| World's Largest Plow (Gothenburg NE) |
From there, we headed south and east into Kansas, stopping just outside Lebanon KS at a spot which was once the "Geographic Center of the US" - until the addition of Alaska and Hawaii shifted the center northwest to outside Belle Fourche SD, where we stopped just the other day.
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Geographic center of the
"Lower 48" US States
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US Center Chapel
(seats 8 people)
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We continued our journey east from there to Cawker City KS which has the "world's Largest Ball of Twine". It was started in 1953 by a guy named Frank Stoeber and is now estimated to contain over 8 million feet of twine and weigh over 20,000 pounds! It's circumference is about 43 feet.
We finished our day here off I-70 at Junction City KS. We have a big day of stops planned for tomorrow between here and Kansas City MO which is only about a 2-hr drive east on I-70.
That's all for now ..... Dan
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