Only YOU can prevent forest fires!!
We woke this morning to steady rain here in Hutchinson KS, and reflections on where we were when 9/11/2001 occurred. Doreen was working as the fuel accountant at Signature Flight Support at the Des Moines International Airport. They gathered in the front office area where the computer screen showed flights in the air diminishing one by one until the screen was blank. I was on duty at the Air Guard Base. Security levels went to the max and I called Doreen and told her that I had no idea if or when I would be home. Michelle was at Milwaukee WI teaching. Jennifer was attending Iowa State University and she reported directly to the Air Guard Base in Des Moines. Our son Dan was at Air Force Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio TX and they were locked down.
Today, daughter Michelle would be at school teaching 8th grade math for her 23rd year. Daughter (Chief Master Sergeant) Jennifer was likely on duty at the Battle Creek Michigan Air Guard Base where she serves full time. Son Dan is the Deputy Chief of the Ankeny Fire Department and for the past several years has organized the 9/11 memorial ceremony there at the fire station. Their ceremony serves as a remembrance and honors those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We are so proud of our kids and their contributions to society.
Dan at the microphone
Members of the Ankeny Fire Department with Mike Pence and State Representative Zach Nunn who also serves with the Iowa Air National Guard
Mike Pence, our son Dan, grand daughter Hailee, grandson Calvin, Dan's spouse Ashley
As we headed out on today's adventures we are reminded how fortunate we are to have the freedoms we enjoy here in the greatest Nation on the planet. Events like 9/11/2001 serve as a reminder how we should never take these freedoms for granted.
Today we drove a few miles into Hutchinson to attend the Kansas State Fair, in the rain. The young lady we assisted last night, Kari Hamilton, gave us her parking permit so we were able to drive right in Gate 2 and park very close. The guy at the gate asked if we had some sort of ticket and when we said we did not, he just waived us through anyway. So, no charge for parking or for admission! What a deal! We worked our way through several buildings and outside displays while we made our way to the Dairy Barn where Kari conducts an educational presentation on dairy cattle and milking!
Various fruits, vegetables, soy bean plants, you name it!
The blue ribbon pumpkin - 1280 lbs!
The blue ribbon watermelon - 212.8 lbs!!
The Kansas State Fair has a butter sculpture just like the Iowa State Fair's butter cow. This year it is Amelia Earhart who everyone knows of, but she was a female American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The Kansas connection for her is that she was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, KS. The sculpture was created by Sarah Pratt from West Des Moines IA!!
We passed the Kansas State Fair's equivalent to our "Hall of Law". The Hutchinson Fire Department was well represented including Smokey the Bear pictured above with Doreen.
Very nice looking Pierce aerial ladder truck, made in Wisconsin
The Air National Guard had their mobile emergency operations center here and the Army National Guard had several vehicles on display.
AS we made our way to the Dairy Barn we caught a glimpse of the midway area which looked a lot like many others we've seen. The rides, the food, the lights, the sounds.
At the Dairy Barn we found Kari as she was getting her presentation ready. There are pens for about five dairy cows and the milking machines to demonstrate this.
Kari brings one of her own cows with her and then there are other local dairy farmers that bring some.
This is Hazel Grace, one of Kari's dairy cows!
They carefully sanitize the udder and tits area.
Kari describing and demonstrating the milking process.
We learned that Hazel Grace will produce about 10 gallons (70 lbs) of milk per day, and they will milk her about three times per day. Dairy cows must bear a calf before they start producing milk, but once that happens, they produce milk for about 10 months. Then the milk production will taper off and then they go through a "drying off" period. The cow will calve again about 12 to 14 months after the birth of her previous calf. Between the time the milk is harvested from the cows until it reaches your table is just two days.
Before you get the milk, it has been filtered, milk fats have been separated. Then it is pasteurized, heated to 161° F for 15 seconds to kill pathogens and extend the shelf life. Homogenization evenly disperses fat globules and stops the cream separating and rising to the top, allowing a more consistent texture and taste. We learned all that because Kari locked herself out of her trailer LOL. Thanks Kari!
From there we cruised the livestock birthing center and saw newly born piglets, calves, lambs.
A simulator to teach how to pull calves
Newly born piglets
A newborn lamb
Two day old calves
The rain continued to come down, so we headed up towards the midway area and then to a few of the other buildings.
Rain or shine, the marching bands performed. I asked one young lady and she said they were all released from school today so they could attend. I wondered as this state fair is late. School has already started
We found their equivalent of our "Varied Industries Building", but the stuff inside was the same....
We stopped at one of the food vendors and had lunch, but it was nothing to write home to momma about. Doreen ordered a burnt end cheeseburger but what she got was just a plain cheeseburger. I ordered some sort of hotdog that was baked into a roll with cheese. We shared fries with burnt end on them which we did not order. Doreen had a frozen margarita that was not very frozen and I had a Modelo Chelada which was really good. Overall the food was not very good, but we did not have high expectations.
This afternoon we relaxed as the rain continued and tonight we are watching the Cubs at the Rockies. Kari's truck was back at her camper, so Doreen returned our parking pass to her. She said with the rainy weather everyone was congregating under cover and her presentations were packed! Good for her!
Tomorrow we have no plans yet. It will be our last day here, so I will need to get fuel, dump/flush tanks, etc etc.
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