There was a craft fair at the school where I invigilate yesterday and though I was dog tired we were up for it. The pay off was that it started at 5 pm meaning a 3.30 set up and so Nigel took me out for a lovely lunch first at a local pub which was lovely and incredibly cheap!
Fortified with food we set up and I have to say it was one of the nicest events I have been too. There was just a lovely community atmosphere. And I sold well! Yey!
Still not had any time for scrapping or motivation to scrap. I am sure I will be better when tests have all been done and the anxiety levels drop. But I did make this last weekend
Unusual for me to use yellow but I just liked it with the photo of my 'swag'
Today I am thankful for
- a good craft fair
- time to re-group this weekend before a full on week next week with work, dentist, hospital and doctors
Day 11 Lincoln to Dodge
25th October 2019
Start miles 3857
Start time 8.00
End miles 4150
End time 5.00
The one with the home of the cowboy
Today was a much easier day as our distances were not too far and we knew we had time to meander at various places. We had a short lie in and then we headed towards Kansas. It was nice to leave when the sun was up for a change and it wasn’t long before we hit a beautiful little western town. It was called Red Cloud and was just so pretty. There was no one around and so we parked up, soaked up the atmosphere and took photos. We stopped to read about its history and although we had never heard of the author she was obviously well celebrated.
stopping for wild turkeys - too cute!
We drove to Lebanon, Kansas not Lebanon in the Middle East… That would’ve been a little far even for us. Our reason for heading to Lebanon is that it was allegedly the geographical centre of the contiguous United States, although there appears to be a fair bit of controversy about whether this is accurate or not. We both had low expectations, expecting it to be something and nothing and very tacky. In fact the opposite was true. It was beautifully presented and joyed to visit. We had such fun trying to take selfies against the sign. They really ought not to allow us loose with a selfie stick and practice certainly doesn’t make perfect in our case. In the end we tried selfies individually and finally settled on pictures of the sign on its own in all its glory. There was a beautiful little chapel where I left a message in the book and thanked God for the many blessings, not least of which has been this trip. Nigel also posted our name in the bulletin board. It was such a pretty place And we enjoyed our visit enormously helped by the cloudless sky and much-needed sunshine.
Trying to do it properly
Attempt 5 and I have lost it!
ah - perfect
We went into the small town to see the visitor centre and the tiny jail. Are use the restroom in the visitor centre and I was seriously impressed. The centre was on manned but impeccably clean and they had the facility for people to make themselves a hot drink for a small donation. It speaks volumes about the sort of people who would organise a place like this.
We continue to meander our way through Kansas enjoying the farmland and being a little perplexed about the reddish colour to crops growing alongside the corn in this state. When we came to another very pretty town called claims Plainville, we decided to stop for a snack. We have never been to a Dairy Queen and they also often mentioned in films and on TV that we felt it was a must to add to our list. That happens to be one in the town and so we called in and explored the extensive menu. The staff were enchanted by the fact this strange English people were so off the beaten track in a small town and have never been to Dairy Queen for. We enjoyed a lovely ice cream dessert but found the milkshake one step too far. We did ask what the crop was and found out it was something they call Milo also known as sorghum.
Just before we reach Dodge City we stopped at a gas station and a trucker noticed our Massachusetts plates and said to Nigel ‘jeez you’re a long way from home.’ He was quite surprised when Nigel said, ‘further than you think’, and explained we were from the UK. I guess not that many people visit Kansas.
We drove into Dodge City, knowing it would be quiet. It seems it is a hive of activity in the summer with regular gunfights – staged of course – etc but it all stops after labour day and so we were very much out of season. That didn’t worry is – quiet was good for us. We spotted our hotel as we drove down the main street and then headed for the attraction we had come to see, the Boot Hill Museum and visitors centre. When we had been planning this trip we figured we had to include Kansas to complete our states, but there hadn’t been a lot to draw us. Then Nigel read about Dodge City and it seemed like a cool place to visit. Youngsters nowadays might not see the draw of the place, but we are of an age when we grew up raised on Westerns. Western films and Western series like Bonanza, RawHide, High Chaparral, Maverick, The Virginian etc. So for us, Dodge was a draw.
The visitor centre was lovely and we bought our tickets and headed through to the museum which, like every American museum we have ever visited, was extremely well done.
The first part you see is Front Street – the old front street of Dodge itself. The buildings were lovely – although in keeping with our experiences this trip, they were remodeling part of the area and so you could not get a straight on view of the Front Street because it was covered with – yes you guessed it, more tarps and construction walls. Thankfully it didn’t obscure the Front Street buildings themselves.
Whilst there are genuine historic buildings on site, Front Street was destroyed by fire in 1885 and so this is a reconstruction started in 1947 but has been incredibly carefully researched and so is a very accurate representation of what it would have looked like in 1876. It features the Long Branch Saloon as well, of course. The Long Branch Saloon, one of the most historic saloons of the Old West, stills serves up a brew or two and a sarsaparilla. The Long Branch saloon was the most famous of the more than half a dozen in the town and so it seemed fitting to go inside and have a drink. Although they served alcohol, of course, we decided to try something different – sarsaparilla. I didn’t really have any idea what it was but I have always wanted to try one since it is mentioned in The Carousel of Progress and I didn’t know what it was. We figured it would be kind of like root beer, sadly it was. Not to our taste at all. Think a mix of Wintergreen germoline and sugar. YUK. But we did take away a nice souvenir class and bottle.
Back in the 1870’s Dodge City began to acquire its infamous stamp of lawlessness and gun slinging. Without local or military law enforcement, buffalo hunters, railroad workers, drifters and soldiers scrapped and fought, leading to the shootings where men died with their boots on. The people who died in Dodge City were buried at Boot Hill and the museum is on the site of that cemetery. Most of the bodies were moved and re-interred elsewhere though a few still remain up the hill. It is interesting to read the stories of some of the many who died there.
Anyway, back to the museum. The front Street is exceptionally well done and we enjoyed just taking pictures of the outside but had been advised to wait until later to see the inside so we saw it all in order. We made our way up the hill to the exhibits at the top. It was a beautiful museum and filled me with great sadness as much of it was about what I used to teach at school about how the Europeans, the ‘white men’ destroyed the homes and lifestyle of the native Americans. There were so many superb displays and it was interesting to read all of the information – and terribly sad. They also had one of my favourite speeches, attributed to Chief Seattle and well worth sharing just a part of it here.
How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
Every part of this earth is sacred to my people.
Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.
The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us.
The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man--all belong to the same family. So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy land, he asks much of us. The Great Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children. So we will consider your offer to buy our land.
But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us. This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors.
If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers, and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother.
Eventually we made our way back down the hill to the other part of the museum about life in Dodge City as the west was ‘won’ and it covered so many aspects of that life. I was especially fascinated by the ‘fallen doves’, the prostitutes, who worked for themselves and chose to do the job they did. Most of them worked for just a few years to amass money and then they married.
.
Having finished exploring the museum, the church, the gift shop and the restored locomotive, we headed to our hotel.
We tend to pick Best Westerns as a chain if we can and some of them, usually the Best Western Plus range, are quite quirky hotels and we have hit on some real gems. This one was lovely. As clean and comfortable in the room as usual, the foyer was delightful with a bar and lobby all Western themed and we even had western lights in our room and a sheriff badge for our number. Simple touches but we liked them and it is the little details that can made such a difference.
We popped just next-door for a meal at iHop and then settled for an early night. Tomorrow would see the start of our Route 66 adventure.
Wow! Steve and I just watched an episode of "Gunsmoke" tonight! Marshall Matt Dillon kept (fictionally) law and order in Dodge City. :-D
I just can't imagine how hard it must have been to live in the "wild west."
Bad enough that you had to do laundry by hand, pump your own water, sew your own clothes, and chop wood to be able to cook, but going to the outhouse HAD to be the WORST thing of all! Looking back at all that history and what life was like sure humbles the best of us. :-)
Posted by: Barb in AK | December 08, 2019 at 01:31 PM