The Evel Knievel Museum – Traveling in Our Fabulous Gay World

Evel Knievel Museum

Evel Knievel MuseumSmaller cities and towns can have the most interesting and unusual Museums. We recently visited the Evel Knievel at the Historic Harley- Davidson Complex in Topeka, Kansas. Was Evel Knievel born in Topeka, Kansas? He was not. Did he ever perform in Topeka, Kansas? He did not. Apparently the closest that he ever came to Topeka was when he flew over in an airplane flying from one coast to the other.

However that did not stop the Harley-Davidson Company from opening a museum for him there in one of the most iconic and historical Harley Davidson stores around and it is in the middle of the country. The museum is connected to the store.

Evel Knievel Museum

Evel Knievel was born in 1938 and was a stuntman and performer and made dozens of ‘jumps’ with his motorcycles all around the country. He had thousands of people who would pay to watch him make these historic jumps. He broke and fractured 433 bones in his body which was list in the World Book of Records. His last successful jump was in 1977. He died in 2007 after a lot of health issues.

Evel Knievel Museum

The Museum has a huge collection of memorabilia concerning Evel including his motorcycles, helmets, his jackets and costumes, photos, newspaper clippings, posters, etc. BIG RED was his semi-truck which was converted to a living quarters with a room in the rear for his motorcycles. His custom built 1974 Cadillac Pickup is there for all to view.

You can actually sit on a motorcycle and take a ‘virtual reality ride, wearing a helmet and letting the wind blow thru you with a movie screen directly in front of you as you jump over a lot of cars. It really is quite scary but worth the experience. His great quote was, “Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it. ”

Before visiting the Evel Knievel Museum be sure and visit their website at  http://evelknievelmuseum.com/  They are located at 2047 S.W. Topeka Blvd. in Topeka, Kansas, just a few blocks from downtown Topeka. Their phone number is 785.215.6205. Their hours are Tuesday -Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM , Saturdays from 9 AM to 5 PM and closed on Sunday and Monday. You can email them at hello@evelknievelmuseum.org.

Don and RayAlways remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone!

TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning, Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from coast to coast (And now legally married).

Proud members of the IGLTA. You can email them at gaytravelers@aol.com and visit their website at http://gaytravelersataol.blogspot.com/

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Wizard of Oz Movie Museum – Traveling in Our Fabulous Gay World

Wizard of Oz Movie Museum

For those of you are who are into movies and particularly the movie, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, then you need to visit the OZ MUSEUM which is located in Kansas. Actually it is located in a small Kansas town of Wamego which is located about 40 miles west of Topeka, the State Capitol and just a few miles north of I-70. Over 35,000 visit the museum yearly and not only from the United States but from all over the world !

Wizard of Oz Movie MuseumFounded in 2004, the OZ MUSEUM in Wamego is dedicated to THE WIZARD OF OZ: from L. Frank Baum’s classic 1900 book to MGM’s iconic 1939 film. It even features memorabilia from the Tony Award-Winning Broadway musical, THE WIZ and Motown’s film adaptation.

Since they opened, their artifacts now number in the thousands. You will find a complete history of the author, L. Frank Baum. He was quite a remarkable and a very interesting person. The museum is quite large and takes up 2 buildings.You will see life size replicas of Judy, the Tin Man, the Lion, the Scarecrow as will as Glinda, the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Wizard of Oz Movie Museum

You can see many costumes of the cast as well as interesting photographs and read about the “munchkns” and different things about the making of the movie.
In the Museum they have a movie theatre that runs all day so if you get the urge to see the movie again, just sit down and enjoy it.

In addition they have a large gift shop where you can purchase all kinds of Oz memorabilia.

Every October, the small Kansas town transforms for it’s annual “OZtoberFEST” weekend when thousands of people descend into town. It reminds us of “Elvis Week” at Graceland in Memphis”.

Wizard of Oz Movie MuseumThe Oz Museum is located right downtown and the Columbia Theatre Museum and Art Center is just a few doors down the street. It is a grand old structure which has been renovated back to it’s grand old glory. We were most impressed with 6 rare paintings from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair each measuring 11 feet by 16 feet. Besides having an art museum they also have live theatrical productions. It is truly a remarkable structure.

Any museum is only as good as the people involved with it and Clint Stueve, Executive Director of both the Oz Museum as well as the Columbian Theatre, and Chris Glasgow, Curator have done an outstanding job.  Chris gave us a tour of the museum and she is one of the finest tour guides that we have had in our travels across the country.  This is a “MUST SEE” MUSEUM and now that we got rid of governor brownback, it truly is safe to visit Kansas.

Check out www.ozmuseum.com and  http://columbiantheatre.com/main.asp

Don and RayAlways remember to have fun when traveling, meet new people and talk to everyone!

TRAVELING IN OUR FABULOUS GAY WORLD is written by Donald Pile and Ray Williams, Award-winning, Celebrity travel columnists who write for gay publications from coast to coast (And now legally married).

Proud members of the IGLTA. You can email them at gaytravelers@aol.com and visit their website at http://gaytravelersataol.blogspot.com/

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