10 Sep 2023 - STRATACA Salt Mine Tour and Campground B&E= Damsel in Distress

 

Another outstanding day!  Thanks to our Kansas Air Guard buddy retired State Command Chief John Kimball for recommending the STRATACA Salt Mine tour located right here in Hutchinson.  We got online tickets for a 1300 hrs tour that lasted about 2-1/2 hours.  I am very proud of Doreen for even doing this as she wants nothing to do with caves or anything confining.  Needless to say, she took note of the sign as we turned the corner that mentioned 650 foot below the ground!!  That is more than twice as high as the State of Liberty and the pedestal it sits on.  It is also 20 ft taller than the St Louis arch! 

 

There were artifacts and information outside while we waited for them to open, including an electric trail used in the salt mine and part of a massive shovel.  

As soon as the doors opened we checked in and then loitered in the lobby area until they called in our group.  They have quite a few displays there that are very informative. 

Soon they called us into a briefing room where they showed a short safety video and then our tour commenced.  So there were some that had yellow hard hats and tags, and we had none, yet.  We paid for a two hour tour and the yellow hats got a 3.5 hour tour.  That would have been pushing Liberty's envelope so we purchased the shorter one.  As we moved into the next room we were issued white hard hats and then we all gathered at the top of the elevator.  There are two elevators, one stacked on top of the other.  Our group combined (yellow and white) had 25 people.

The ride down the elevator was about 90 seconds of pitch darkness.  That might be a bit freaky to some, but everyone, including Doreen, handled it just fine.  

At the bottom of the elevator shaft we were greeted by a young lady who hailed from Iowa!  She is from Melcher-Dallas which is not far from Norwalk where we used to live.  In fact that is where our dog breeder lives,  where we got both of our Schnoodles Liberty and Wrigley.  Small world. 

The Carey Salt Mine opened in 1923, so it has been in operation continuously for 100 years.  They mine on one level, approximately 10-20 ft tall, and a labyrinth of  "rooms" separated by pillars.  This map shows the years of mining and if you can zoom in, it shows the "rooms". 

This salt layer is about 270 million years old.  It took about 1.6 million years to form. It extends from northern Kansas to Oklahoma.  The top of it is about 400 ft deep here, but we are at the 650 foot level because that is where the salt is the purest.  Right here the salt layer is about 350 foot thick.   This is actively being mined, but not right where we are.

The first part of the tour is self-guided and the shaft is huge and well lit.  You walk through and look at the various displays.  Some pictures:

Salt layers in the walls

Our walking tour

A block of salt

Equipment used to "undercut" the bottom, and then they drill above and blast

Drill bits for explosive holes

We continued down the walking tour and there was more equipment and more displays.  Along the way there were videos you could watch to explain the processes.

Train used to transport personnel.

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Abandoned vehicles.  They would remove everything unnecessary topside, like the roof, windshield, engine, etc, and then lower it down the shaft

Blasting equipment

Until 1983 they used trains to get the salt to the elevator, but after that they started using a conveyor belt system

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In 2006 Mike Rowe, from the TV show "Dirty Jobs" filmed here.  

This is the vehicle he used!!

At 1400 hrs we were scheduled onto a salt miner's train ride, but we had some time to kill while waiting, so we made our way through as museum area that highlighted the storage the salt mine provides.  Because of it's constant 68 degree temperature and constant low humidity, salt mines provide a perfect location for long term storage of high value items such as movie film, movie valuables, data products, valuable paperwork, etc.  They have room after room of leased storage here.  

Brandon Routh, our hometown Norwalk "Superman".  

Highlighting the storage of data processing tapes and discs

Highlighting the storage of Hollywood artifacts

There is nothing in there boxes, but elsewhere there are huge rooms full of 

Hollywood artifacts and important documents

Representative film canisters

We loitered in the gift shop a while and then made our way back to the train waiting area. 

A miner's porta-potty!

 

At the end we were allowed to take a few samples of salt with us!

This tour was really cool and I would highly recommend it!  Who would think that this is all going on under the ground here?!

We made our way back to the campground and had a late lunch.  Liberty was glad to see us.  Later, Doreen and LIberty were on a walk when they were approached by a young lady who was obviously distressed.  She had somehow locked herself out of her RV and did not know what to do.  Her husband was at work and she did not want him to have to come home from work to get her in.  So I headed over to her RV with my key and my Leatherman to see what was the deal.  Sure enough, her coach was locked.  

Supposedly her husband had stashed a key somewhere, but neither of us could find it.  I helped her search for a while after verifying my key would not work.  She was about to give up and call a locksmith, but I tried one of her larger windows and sure enough it was unlatched!  I slide the window open and then the screen open, and she was very appreciative!  We moved the picnic table to the window, and in she went!! LOL

So this young lady is Kari Hamilton and she works for the Southwest/Southland Dairy Farmers.  She is here doing presentations at the Kansas State Fair!  Guess where we are going tomorrow!!

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