![]() Pedestrians can access the area via two bow-and-arrow-inspired cable-stay bridges which span the Little and Big Arkansas rivers. The Keeper also serves as the focal point of an eight-year, $20 million restoration and river beautification project completed in May 2007. ![]() A complete renovation of the sculpture and installation of the Keeper of the Plains Plaza now brings people out each evening to see the Keeper and the "Ring of Fire." The 44-foot Cor-Ten steel Keeper of the Plains statue is now 30 feet higher than before with its new pedestal,surrounded by a plaza which describes the Plains Indian way of life. Renowned Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin donated the Keeper of the Plains to the citizens of Wichita on May 18, 1974.Since the sculpture's installation to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, it has become a symbol for the city of Wichita and a tribute to the local American Indian tribes. ![]() The Keeper of the Plains stands at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers with hands raised in supplication to the Great Spirit. Wichita stays up when the sun goes down: there's nightlife, culture, karaoke and cuisine for all tastes. For nature and wildlife, check out Botanica's lovely gardens or head over to the Sedgwick County Zoo, home to over 350 species of animals. Exploration Place gives kids more insights into aviation and other scientific wonders. Wichita is an aircraft manufacturing center, and the Kansas Aviation Museum honors pioneers in the field, as well as housing model planes. The Indian Center Museum features works by Plains Indian artists. For a slightly more eccentric experience, visit the Museum of Ancient Treasures, which has everything from a baseball signed by Joe DiMaggio to a shrunken head. To get a feel of the early pioneer days, visit the recreated village at the Old Cowtown Museum. They were way better than a handful of sweaty, melted M&M’s.Dorothy clicked her heels to return to Kansas, and you'll want to do the same after you've visited this one-time cattle town turned modern, booming city, where the spirit of the Old West lives on. I tried Grand Marnier flavored chocolate covered pecans there the other day. Antique gumball machines are the only décor, because every shelf and bin and tub is filled with treats. Everyone working there is efficient and friendly and will let you sample a taste before you buy. The Nifty Nut House is a giant warehouse filled to the ceiling with every kind of candy, nut, crunchy-salty snack, chocolate, and dried fruit that you can imagine. Lucky for me and you, we have a fantastic candy and crunchy PALACE in Wichita. I replaced my sweet tooth with a salt tooth. Sesame crunch sticks, CornNuts, pistachios, tamari almonds…those are what I want now. My focus turned to salty, spicy, crunchy things as I got older. I’m no longer interested in anything but chocolate, really, although a gummy sour thing can interest me for a while. I lost my wild lust for candy as I grew up. ![]() I could make a package of M&M’s last all afternoon, eating them slowly one by one as I read a book, or letting them warm up my sweaty little hand so when I crunched into the sweat-salty shell the insides would be melted. My affair with Pop Rocks nearly burned all my taste buds off one summer. I was always partial to chocolate, but novelty candy or new, weird candy could edge out a Hershey’s with almonds any day. I was one of those kids whose craving for candy was so intense that I would search not only my own couch cushions for loose change to buy it, but the couches of waiting rooms, neighbors’ houses, and church as well.Īs soon as I had 25 cents (which could buy you a whole candy bar in 1976), I would pedal down the block to the gas station to pick out something sweet.
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