Blown Away

We drove out of Branson and the Ozarks and headed into Kansas and the Great Plains. Yes, this is truly flat land with the wind constantly blowing. On that first day in Kansas, we really felt the winds. It was blowing at us pretty hard for most of the drive and with higher profile vehicles, we could really feel it. I guess I should be happy that the van isn’t any taller. It would have been more of an impact with a higher van.

We arrived in Wichita just as rush hour was starting so we were happy to get through and head towards Cracker Barrel before getting in too much traffic. To our great surprise, the exit we needed to take was closed for construction. We were using Google maps so I was surprised that it took us that way and didn’t know about the closure. I also had the address in the RV GPS so we started following it thinking we could get there a different way.

Well, it took us through a long construction area and then off the highway into a neighborhood where it seemed that we drove in circles. We arrived at the address but it was just an old house. So I guess I had the wrong address in that GPS. I found a nearby gas station where we regrouped and found another Crackle Barrel that was closer to us and luckily we didn’t have to go back through that construction area.

We were happy to be settled in for the night. By the time we got there, it was dinner time so we didn’t check out anything else in the Witchita area. It felt good to be off of the road and out of the wind. The next morning we headed on into Dodge City. This was one of our bucket list items - both of us grew up watching Gunsmoke as well as western movies set in Dodge City so we wanted to see the town.

Dodge City was once known as the Queen of the Cowtowns and the Wickedest Little City in America. In case you don’t know the history, during the late 1800s, Dodge City attracted many cowboys and buffalo hunters and experienced rampant lawlessness. Some famous historical characters that spent time in this town were Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Bat Masterson.

Today, at the Boot Hill Museum, there is a replica of the main street of the town. It also sits on the site of the Boot Hill Cemetery where some of the gunslingers are buried. We toured the museum, cemetery and main street where we stopped in the old saloon for a drink. Unfortunately, we were too early in the season to see a gun fight reenactment. They don’t start those until after Memorial Day.

The museum provided a historical perspective of the town from the wild lawless times to becoming a more civilized community. One historical perspective was its role in the cattle industry which continues in the area today. At one time, Dodge City was the largest cattle market in the world. Cowboys drove cattle up from Texas to Dodge City for trade and the transportation of beef back East. I read that over 7 million Texas Longhorns were driven up the Western Trail.

Prior to the cattle industry, Dodge City was a massive hub for buffalo hide trade. Of course, the museum also had an area that provided tribute to Gunsmoke and had replicas of Matt Dillon’s office in the jail and Miss Kitty at the Long Branch Saloon.

After touring, we headed to the Cowboy Capital Saloon and Grill for a late lunch. It is definitely a good place to stop if you are in town. We both enjoyed our lunches and were ready to find a place to spend the night. We had originally discussed staying 2 nights but the weather predictions for the next drive day would be high winds, up to 75 mph. Needless to say, we didn’t want to drive in those winds. So we decided to spend one night and hit the road in the morning to “Get Out of Dodge”. In case you don’t know, that is a famous saying from Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke. Tim said the wind blew us out of town.

I found a couple of places we could stop along the route to do some touring on our travel day. The next morning, we headed out of Dodge City along US 400 which was labeled a scenic drive along the old Santa Fe Trail. We almost missed the first stop, a historic marker where you could still see wagon tracks from the mid 1800s from the wagon trains that traversed that trail between Santa Fe and Missouri. We went past the entrance to the pull off but were able to turn around shortly up the road and go back. I walked up to see the tracks and while you can see them, it was difficult to get a good picture. See if you can make out the tracks in these shots.

This trail differed from others in that it was a commercial highway for trade between the US and Mexico after Mexico obtained independence from Spain. It was a very active from 1821 to 1880 and throughout its 60 years of operation, total trade reached billions in goods. Amazing that they were able to transport so much across such a rugged and dangerous trail.

We spent the day driving across Kansas on US 400 and US 50. Both roads were labeled historic scenic route for the Santa Fe trail. For the most part, the landscape was flat but in my mind not boring. Lots of tall grasses waving in the breeze with some wild flowers starting to bloom. We drove through quite a few quaint small towns with older architecture that you would expect in the old west. Even though it was quite breezy when you got out of the vehicle, we didn’t feel it as much driving that day which was fortunate. There were other historical markers along the route and while we read some as we drove, we didn’t stop. We passed a very large stockyard outside of Dodge City that was filled with more cattle that we could ever imagine. We definitely knew we were in cattle country when we saw that.

The days drive took us into eastern Colorado which at first looked much the same as Kansas, flat windy plains. We stopped at Bents Old Fort National Historic Site in La Junta, CO. This is an adobe fort that was built as a trading post on the Santa Fe Trail. Traders, trappers, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes came together there for trade. Unfortunately for us, the inside of the fort wasn’t open on the day of our visit. We were able to read the history and walk around the grounds and the outside of the fort. While it is off the beaten path, we enjoyed our stop and it gave us a good spot to stretch and get some exercise.

this gate was open so we could peak inside the fort even if we couldn’t go inside.

Afterwards, we headed onto Peublo, CO where we planned another Cracker Barrel stop. On our way, we started to see the Rockies in the distance. I found myself imagining what it must have been like to be traveling in a wagon train across the plains and then seeing those towering mountains. It had to be frightening and exciting at the same time. You can see my love of history in these blog posts. I just love visiting places where history can come to life.

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