Spending a Day In Topeka, Kansas - The Everyday Roamers
Let's explore the state capital of Kansas, Topeka!
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TRIP DETAILS
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Our first stop on this trip was at the Evel Knievel Museum.
For those of you who might not know Evel Knievel
was (aka Robert Knievel) an American daredevil who took the
world by storm with his insane stunts he performed
while riding motorcycles. Some of his more well known stunts include:
- Snake River Canyon Jump where he attempted (and failed) to
jump across the 600 ft deep and 4,781 ft wide canyon in a steam powered rocket
-attempting (and failing) to jump 141 ft over the Caesar's Palace fountain in Las Vegas
-attempting (and succeeding) to jump 133 ft over 14 Greyhound buses
at Kings Island theme park in Ohio.
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The museum does an amazing job of detailing Evel's life and the
many jumps and stunts he performed throughout his career. It is
definitely a cool place to check out even if you aren't a huge fan
just be prepared to read A LOT if you want to get the most out of this museum.
Also I wouldn't say "The Jump" is a necessary thing to do here.
I think kids might like it, but I personally didn't get much out of it.
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Evel Knievel Museum Basic Information:
Address: 2047 SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka, KS 66612
Hours:
Sunday-Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Friday: 10am-5pm
Saturday: 9am-5pm
Cost:
Adults: $15
Seniors, Veterans, Active Duty: $12
Students (8-16): $7
Children 8 & Under: FREE
The Jump Add On Experience: $5
Guided Tour: $5
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After the museum we made our way across town to a place
visited by Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (one of my favorite Food Network shows).
The place is Bobo's Drive-In which has been serving Topeka
since 1948 and is now featured on the "8 Wonders of Kansas Cuisine" list.
A full review of our experience here is coming soon, but for now
I definitely say make a stop! Especially for the pie!
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With FULL bellies we headed to the Kansas State Capitol Building
where we walked off every calorie we packed on at Bobo's looking
at the absolutely stunning architecture and artwork inside.
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We also went on a tour of the infamous dome
which landed the building at second place on the list of tallest
domed capitol buildings in the United States. During this tour you have
the chance to go all the way to the top of the dome and look
out on the city of Topeka. It definitely looks suuuuper sketch from
the base of the staircase, but I think it is worth it even if you have a fear of heights.
(Justin might disagree though. lol)
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Kansas State Capitol Building Basic Information:
Address: SW 8th &, SW Van Buren St, Topeka, KS 66612
Hours:
Mon-Fri: 8am-5pm
Sat: 10am-4pm
Cost:
Free
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After the state capitol building we made a short trip to the
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Park. This building is actually
an elementary school that was once used during the time of segregation and inside
it featured a lot of good information on this terrible time in history.
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Brown v. Board of Education Basic Information:
Address: 1515 SE Monroe St, Topeka, KS 66612
Hours:
Tues-Sat: 9am-5pm
Cost:
Free
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Mural near the Brown v Board of Education Historical Park
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After Brown v. Board we found ourselves waaaaay ahead of schedule
so we decided to be spontaneous and go check out the
combat air museum at the airport. This place was packed full with various
different artifacts and aircrafts. In fact this museum is said
to have the largest collection of WWI replica aircraft in the
Midwest! You also have the opportunity to go inside various
different aircrafts which was pretty dang cool.
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Combat Air Museum Basic Information:
Address: 7016 SE Forbes Avenue, Forbes Field, Topeka, KS 66619
Hours (Mar-Dec):
Monday-Saturday: 9am-4:30pm
Sunday: Noon-4:30pm
Hours (Jan 2nd-Feb 28th/29th):
Mon-Sun: Noon-4:30pm
Cost:
Under age 5: Free
Children 5-17 yrs: $5.00
Adults 18 yrs & older: $7.00
Active Military in Uniform (or
active military ID card): $5.00
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Justin doing his impression of me when I ask him to take pictures for me.
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We stayed at the combat air museum until it closed and then
made our way over to Iron Rail Brewing for dinner. A full review
for this place will be coming soon as well so stayed tuned for that!
Definitely a hip place with some delicious food!
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Chicken nachos at Iron Rail Brewing
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And that is going to do it for our Topeka trip! Have you been to any of these places?
Where should we go next?
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