Come See It

We went to the river yesterday. The girls were out of school yesterday, so we went to the confluence of the Arkansas (pronounced ar-kań-sas) and Little Arkansas rivers in downtown Wichita. They’ve built two pedestrian bridges across the rivers at the confluence, and have a Native American exhibit and art at the point. It’s quite a display.
We spent considerable time there, and the girls enjoyed the waterfalls, the rocks, and the relative quiet. They climbed on the rocks, sit and talked, and just spent time alone. They want to go back soon.
Sometimes governments do extraordinarily stupid and wasteful things. We all hear about those times when government doesn’t work as it should. Then there are other times when someone had an idea and government took it to it’s conclusion, with great results.
This is one of those times. I don’t know who had the idea or how it all came to pass, but this exhibit is one of the better things I’ve seen. It’s close to Exploration Place and the Veterans Memorial Park. It’s wheelchair accessible throughout the exhibit, is tastefully done, and respectful of a culture that was decimated in a matter of a few years by the white man and his greed.
I know that critics have bemoaned the cost, the location, and other things. And there may be some merit to some of that criticism. But most of it is sour grapes, and only results in a poisoning of the atmosphere of public service so that qualified people refuse to serve.
Thanks to whoever it was that had the foresight and fortitude to carry that project through to fruition. If you have a chance, come see it some day.