MORE GREETINGS FROM DODGE CITY, Kansas (KS) USA
Lots of “Wild & West” action today as we headed further into the west of Kansas.
Dodge City was a major junction on the original Santa Fe trail and before the railways came there were 10’s of thousands of wagons passing through and heading further west. The paths these wagons took became well worn tracks and whilst many years have passed, some of the original worn trails are still visible in the landscape.
So just to the west of Dodge City, near Cimarron, is a section of the trail and prairie which still shows the worn ruts in the landscape. They are becoming less visible with the passing of time however the exhibit does show how the wagons moved through the area to avoid the river – and in many cases paths used by the Native Americans for centuries. There is also evidence of an irrigation canal which was aimed at providing water from the river to other drought stricken regions. The canal itself was a failure but the evidence of it is still there.
The Santa Fe Trail just outside Dodge City
Old wagon ruts in the middle of the picture above the sign.
Further west, we went through the town of Holcomb. For anyone who has read Truman Capote’s book “In Cold Blood”, this is the place the family in his book, the Clutter family, were murdered by escaped criminals in 1959 – a true story.
We then headed north as we had read about an area which is quite an unusual sight in Kansas AND one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas ! Now Kansas is not the most mountainous of regions – in fact words and phrases such as “flat”, “wide open”, “great plain” are often used in reference to the state. But it is F-L-A-T flat – you cant get flatter ! So it is no surprise this region is a wonder in the state ! Monument Rocks are a series of large chalk formations with a height of up to 70 ft (21 m) and include formations such as buttes and arches and are estimated to have been formed about 80 million years ago.
One thing there is no shortage of around this area is wind farms. In Garden City (just near Holcomb) there is a huge yard with various large components of the huge structures – shafts and blades – and on many of the roads we have been driving there have been “wide loads” coming past at regular intervals with the large parts being shifted to new locations under construction.
On our trip back to Dodge City we took a different path – different only to the extent we saw different straight roads with miles and miles of VERY flat farming land with vast fields of grain interrupted by small towns with huge grain silos.
Straight road ahead ……
Straight road behind ….
…and corn fields as far as the eye can see !
We had left the main part of Dodge City – the “old town” till this afternoon so that we could spend some time at the museum, taking in Boot Hill, Front Street (the reproduction of the 1870’s original stores) and see the nightly “gun fight”. They have a lot of interesting exhibits and many of the old shopfronts still work – you can order a beer or whisky at the saloon bar.
Gunfight at the Dodge City Long Branch Saloon (above) and the cast (below)
Dinner was at nearby “Montana Mike’s Steakhouse” a chain very similar to Applebee’s where we went last night – but while it was good food we felt Applebee’s won’t suffer too much from the competition.
Tomorrow we head east again and “Get Out of Dodge” to the other side of Kansas – looking for a certain road ….
Today’s Trivia – The term “red light district” came from the Red Light Bordello in Dodge City, Kansas. The front door of the building was made of red glass and produced a red glow when lit at night !