Dirty Heads – Streaming thru America

Rather than basecamp in Kansas City, Leah and I opted for something more pastoral, which we found at Lake Shawnee, the crown jewel of Shawnee County parks in Topeka, KS.

More than 1 million people visit Lake Shawnee each year for festivals, golf outings, ballfield tournaments, boating, fishing and camping or to hike/bike the Lake Shawnee Trail.

While circling the 6.5-mile lakeshore trail on our e-bikes,

we discovered a resident friend of the park getting his tan on,

We took a detour through the Ted Endley Gardens, a 37-acre botanical garden in the northwest corner of the lake with spectacular blossoms, although I was drawn to a wildflower display reminiscent of Claude Monet.

Our only commitment while in the vicinity called for an excursion to Kansas City to claim tickets for the Dirty Heads, an American reggae band on national tour with my son, Noah acting as VIP concierge. In fact, this is the job he chose over working as the Jam Tram admin during the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, from where we last left (see Bonnaroo–the Logistics).

With doors at the concert venue opening at 6pm, Leah and I had an afternoon to kill, so we settled on an unlikely museum that was annexed to the local Harley-Davidson dealership celebrating the life and times of Evel Knievel–an unlikely choice for Topeka, considering that Evel’s hometown was Butte, Montana in 1938.

Evel was a showman and a stuntman without rival during the 70’s, amazing fans around the world with his push-the-envelope antics on his motorcycle.

The museum has plenty of requisite motorcycle displays showcasing his many exploits.

Evel was very good at two things during his jumping career: breaking records and breaking bones (433 fractures, which is a Guinness world record).

There were many successes…

and epic fails as well…

Those who followed Evel’s career 75+ jumps will never forget the hoopla and disappointment surrounding his Snake River launch.

But the pride of the museum is Evel’s “Big Red,” which also answers the question of “Why Topeka?” of all places.

Simply put, Topeka’s Historic Harley-Davidson dealer, Mike Patterson put up the money for the 13,000 sq. ft. expansion, and funded the Mack truck restoration.