We did pass through several decent sized small towns - Council Grove, McPherson, and Great Bend - plus several other smaller communities. As mentioned before, Hwy 56 roughly follows the Santa Fe Trail, so we were expecting to be able to stop at a few historical sites and markers along the way, but actually, there were very few. There were a couple of signs pointing off the highway to some sites, but they were several miles down a gravel road and we weren't up to taking the motorhome down one of those.
The original plan was to stop for the night in McPherson, but since we were just having a good ride and enjoying the countryside, we arrived in McPherson before Noon. Instead of stopping there, we decided to go on to Dodge City. After a total of 328 miles for the day, we checked into the Gunsmoke RV Park on the west side of town. It was a good ride - mostly cloudy & cool with some wind, but no rain. There are several spots in Dodge City we wanted to check out, so we set up for a couple of nights.
Today (Tuesday) was an exploration day of Dodge City and the surrounding area. After a very good breakfast at the Golden Pancake House, we headed west on Hwy 50 for a few miles to check out a couple of the Santa Fe Trail sites. W noticed a sign that said Hwy 50 actually followed the Santa Fe Trail for 18 miles!
First stop was called the "Point of Rocks" - an outcropping of rocks that was a landmark on the trail.
The next stop was a place where the old trail ruts were visible. Again, not really ruts as such, but mostly a wide depression in the earth.
The "trail ruts" monument was at the top of a small hill and you can really see the surrounding countryside - lots & lots of Great Plains grasses and farmlands.
At the place where the "trail ruts" were, we also saw and got a good shot of one of our favorite birds that inhabit this area - a "Horned Lark"!
Back on Hwy 50 to Dodge City and then east of town is the historical site of old Fort Dodge. We thought this was going to be a refurbished replica of the original fort with it's surrounding stockade, buildings, parade grounds, etc. However, all of that is gone and it is a small town with several streets of houses and buildings set up for Veteran Services. The whole town is set aside as a Kansas Soldiers Home and I guess any Kansas veteran that has no place else to go can live here. A few of the buildings are still 1860's, 1870's vintage (post office, store, museum), but most were built much later.
If you ever wonder where the beef comes from that you buy in the grocery stores, there's a good chance it comes from a feed lot like this one. These are plentiful in this part of the country - we have seen several. There are 3 or 4 here in Dodge City.
Downtown Dodge City has a replica of the old wild west town. They have a "Boot Hill" museum, and then replicas of all the old stores & saloons. Since this is where the TV show "Gunsmoke" was set, it wouldn't be right if they didn't have the Long Branch Saloon!
And finally, we have seen a lot of steel silhouettes of various things - Indians on horseback, covered wagons, cowboys, and others. We saw this one today in Dodge City and thought it was worth a picture.
We've had a very good day today exploring the area - nice beautiful weather (although a little windy), but now it's time to move on. Tomorrow we're hitting Hwy 50 west to Pueblo, CO.
Loved the photos you posted Thursday the 14th. How do you like those wind breakers behind the picnic tables? Aren't they neat! Loved seeing the mountains with snow on top again. I miss Colorado. I hate y'all had to miss Mesa Verde, it's real pretty and neat. Have you been there before? I like Durango too. Carry on and keep us posted. diane
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