July 24

We had a great time in South Dakota (except for Walter’s eye surgery) and saw many things. It was now time to head out for a one-night stay in Nebraska so we could keep moving East.  The only thing we saw in Nebraska was a huge DING in the front windshield from what seemed like a boulder that hit it. Arrgh!

Nothing else much to say about Nebraska so Walter (aka one eyed Willie) and I pushed on to Wilson, KS.  This was a interesting stop, we planned on two days  in an attempt to locate the larges ball of twine but instead we found the largest Czech Egg in the US.  Just so happens that this week-end was Wilsons “After Harvest Czech Festival” the largest festival in Ellsworth and Russell County Kansas.  Hosted by the small rural community of Wilson, with a total population of 900.  The festival is known to bring in thousands from all over Kansas, neighboring states and us.  So why does this event happen in Wilson? Well, during the 1870’s a large migration of Bohemian and Moravian immigrants from Czechoslovakia settled in and around Wilson, Kansas.  Many Czech families still live in the area and carry-on Czech traditions.  The city of Wilson acknowledged its immense pride of its Czech heritage back in 1967, when the state of Kansas declared Wilson the Czech Capital of Kansas.  The egg in Wilson is the worlds largest Czech egg.

A Czech egg is a painted or embellished egg exchanged at holidays and celebrations between friends.  The painting of the egg is known as the art of kraslice in the Czech culture.  Although we found the largest egg there were many smaller ones in different parts of town.

During the festival we were also able to enjoy local children perform in traditional costumes.  Fun day.

Next day we drove to one of the neighboring towns to see about getting the windshield fixed out of fear the crack would spread, we still had a lot of miles to cover before getting home.  Lucky for us, we found a Safelight Auto glass repair shop that was able to get us in (same day).  They were pros, we were in and out in less than 30 minutes.  Although the cracks were so deep that you can still see them but it will not spider, we can replace the windshield when we get back to Charleston.

We had time for one more adventure in Kansas.  We went on a tour of Atlas Ad Astra Missile Silo.  We descended stairs into one of the most fortified underground structures ever built and marveled at the 176 foot deep silo that once housed a intercontinental Ballistic Missile. 

During the late 1950’s, the US Government spent billions of dollars on strengthening our military in defense against Soviet Communism.  Over 70 Atlas F Missile Silos were built in the United States, many of which were in the great plains.  This site was built in 1959 and was active until 1965.  Most of these facilities are now in private hands and closed to the public that’s what makes this one so unique.

Foot Note: On our way to the missile silo we drove on the John Herman Kuck memorial road.  Walter got so excited, he said that anyone with the last name spelled Kuck or Kueck are most likely related, so we researched the name. John H. Kuck was a olympic champion and set over 100 records in shotput, javeline and discus during his life time and won a gold in the 1928 olympics that took place in Amsterdam for shotput.