Sept. 30 & Oct. 1

Monday - The last day of September.  Wow, where have the last two months gone?  We have traveled a lot of miles and seen a lot of new areas.  Time spent with family and friends, time we never were able to spend when we were working our full time jobs and had limited vacation days.   That is one of the best things about being retired!

Today we drove over to Joplin, MO.  The closest Sam's Club is there and we wanted to pick up some lunch supplies and other bargains we know they have.   We also went to some of the thrift stores, I picked up some jeans to wear to work.  I realized after our orientation and hearing about the job that I really did not want to wear all my good jeans there.  Mission accomplished for $10.00! Had a nice Mexican cuisine lunch with margaritas, yum!

On the way home, we detoured 7 miles to stop to see Big Brutus, the world's second largest electric shovel!  (The first largest was demolished, so Brutus remains).  I am going to let Gary tell you about that, he went in and saw the full exhibit and climbed around inside.  www.bigbrutus.org

Gary:
This was cool !!    Especially for a guy who loves Big Iron!!  This behemoth cost $6.5MM in 1960's dollars, and only operated for 11 years. (1963-1974)  It took 150 rail cars to haul in the parts, it was assembled at Hollowell, KS, and only traveled 12 miles, stripping the overburden over coal veins, up to a depth of 60 feet.  Due to environmental restrictions regarding the high sulphur content in the coal  being mined the company shut the shovel down.  It sat next to its last dig until the 1980's when the Company stripped out the motors and fluids, then donated it to the local historical society.  It is quite a sight sitting in the Kansas countryside!! Think I will tell some of my contractor friends that I have purchased it with my retirement fund to start a new construction company!!!!!
They will truly know I am crazy!!  I had a blast taking the tour and if you get down this way, take time to see it!
What we have learned is that southeast Kansas was a huge coal and lead mining area in the early and mid 1900's.  A lot of the lakes nearby are a result of the strip mining that was done.

Look at the machinery sitting next to it.

Big Brutus!

Look closely for the two people - you can see the size difference!

Tuesday - October is here!   We were home all day, getting book work, projects and laundry done before starting our jobs tomorrow.  Went for a walk late afternoon up by the Community College stadium and the former airport.  It was warm, but up on the hill there was a good breeze.  Discovered a trail that ends up there and starts at the bottom by the river.  We will have to hike that another day.  Quite the drop-off/gully from that trail, reminded us of the treed low areas at Newton Hills.  It should be beautiful when the leaves turn in the weeks ahead.