Strataca - Underground Salt Mine - Hutchinson, Kansas
We left AZ right as the 2018 Monsoon season began to hit and we headed East. We drove through New Mexico (which we have travelled to before), a small portion of Texas, Arkansas, and then into Kansas! After two days on the road with kids and cats new we needed a break and so we headed to Hutchinson, Kansas for a respite from the journey. First up was
Strataca - Underground Salt Mine Museum and still active salt mine. There are currently only 15 active salt mines in the U.S. but if you ever have the chance to come and visit this one, please do. After a short history video and safety briefing you grab a hard hat and enter a mine shaft elevator and descend 650 feet down into the mines where it is always 72*.
There is a guide in each car of the elevator for the 90 second ride and shares info about the decent. Once safely down you are free to roam the exhibits which cover how the salt deposits were formed by the Permian Sea approximatly 299 million years ago up through examples of equipment used in the mine today. The salt in this mine is not for consumption but for industrial uses such as salting the roads in Chicago during the winter. Whether you are a geology fan, spelunker, or part-time Morlock hunter there is something fun to learn about in the salt mine.
The area for the tours was mined in the 1940's and 50's and get to see what the miners left behind (it was cheaper to leave many things in place than move them to the new active areas of the mine). There is an electric mine cart excursion where the guide points out geologic and man-made items of interest. You can see instances of recent geologic activity such as buckling of the floor and roof in some chambers. You can see chambers that the miners used for break rooms and where they dropped their banana peels and Hershey Chocolate bar wrappers - all well preserved in the unique conditions of the mine. They have a special ride deep into the mine and we even were given the chance to mine for salt ourselves (actually you are able to sort through existing salt mine tailings for 'pretty' samples. I have cleaned and proteced our salt rocks so that I can proudly display them on the kitchen table.
Another fascinating part of the tour is how the mine is actively being used as a secure safe longterm storage facility - it is highly secure, a constant 72* and very low humidity which makes it an ideal location for storing important documents, digital storage media, and film. The 'Morlock' hunting reference is because Hollywood studios are storing copies of historic films and the museum includes props and posters from many older and recent movies.
Of course ... you exit through the Gift Shop before heading back to the mine shaft elevator and return the surface. The mine museum also hosts events through the year including a 5K and a bicycle race. We're hoping to return for the 5K in February.
http://www.kansastravel.org/hutchinson/kansasundergroundsaltmuseum.htm
http://underkansas.org
