Kansas -- the Wild West!
Dodge City, Kansas
May 13-16, 2024
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| Matt Dillion ensured our safety during our stay! |
For our trip to Dodge City, we stayed at Gunsmoke RV Park. Sounds hokey, right? I had ZERO expectations for our time there. It was a convenient location for stopping off on our way home, giving Dick a break from driving and an opportunity to get some laundry done after having stayed at the state park.
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| Gunsmoke RV Park |
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| Chester's "Gravesite" |
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| Our backyard neighbors! |
It turned out Dodge City has quite the history and made for an interesting visit! First of all, I want to acknowledge the fact that, until A.D. 300, the Hopewell tribe lived in Kansas, followed by the Mississippi tribe, who were then joined by the tribes of Kansa, Osge, Missouri … you get the idea. Enter Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who crossed the Arkansas River in 1541 arriving near what is now Dodge City. He came in search of the “cities of gold” and claimed the territory for Spain. When no gold was found, he moved along, leaving behind horses. Good use was made of these horses by native tribes who quickly mastered the art of riding and hunting on horseback!
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| The approximate site where, on June 29, 1541, Father Juan de Padilla held a mass of thanksgiving, beating the Pilgrams by 80 years! Enter William Bucknell, who pioneered the route for the Santa Fe Trail in 1821. The Santa Fe Trail connected Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico, passing through what is now Dodge City. This trail, different from the Oregon or California trail, was used not by emigrants, but primarily for trade. In fact, a few miles to the west of Dodge City, you can still see ruts left from the years of heavy wagon loads, filled with goods, as they crossed these Kansas plains. |
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| The lighter grey sections of the walkway span the ruts left from wagons making their way along the Santa Fe Trail |
Five miles east of Dodge City is Fort Dodge, founded in 1865. Fort Dodge’s primary purpose was to protect those traveling that portion of the Santa Fe Trail as well as protecting stagecoaches, mail and, later, railroad construction workers. Well, with not much to do in their off hours, the soldiers were spending their time and money partaking in “spirits”. In fact, on one occasion, the entire troop became so intoxicated they couldn’t perform their duties. This led to the suspension of the sale of alcohol anywhere within a five-mile radius of Fort Dodge. Enter George M. Hoover! In 1872, eager to make a buck and seeing the perfect opportunity, Hoover calculated how many wagon wheel turns to the mile. Tying a rag around one of his wagon wheels, he began trekking west, counting wagon wheel turns as he went! Exactly five miles and one wagon wheel turn later, he set up a tent and began selling “spirits” off of a simple wood plank used as a bar. The rest is history. Fun Fact: A gun cartridge cost the same as a one-ounce serving of whiskey. Cowboys low on money were often able to convince the bartender to swap a cartridge for a whiskey, and that’s where the name “shot” came from!
Later the same year, the Santa Fe Railroad reached Dodge City, increasing the number of cattle drives coming to town. Enter more cowboys, more saloons, more gamblers, more gunfighters…
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| I'm glad this was a statue and not the real thing! |
With the attraction of soldiers, cowboys, and buffalo hunters, business was good and Dodge City soon gained the reputation of being the “Wickedest Little City in the West”. Enter Wyatt Earp! Earp was known as a buffalo hunter, teamster, lawman, gambler, and saloon keeper, making Dodge City a natural draw for him. Dodge City became so infamous for the time Earp spent there that, in 1958, Chestnut Street was renamed to Wyatt Earp Boulevard in his honor (and let’s be honest, probably in hopes of bringing in more tourists!).
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| Wyatt's statue was bigger than life, just like he was! |
Enter Bat Masterson! Earp briefly served as Ford County Deputy Sheriff under sheriff Bat Masterson. William Bartholomew “Bat” Masterson was another buffalo hunter, gambler, and lawman whose name added to the legends of Dodge City.
Enter John Henry “Doc” Holliday in 1878. Doc was a dentist, gambler and known gunfighter. Seems Wyatt Earp told Doc about the opportunity to make money off of the cowboys who had gotten paid after the cattle drives that came through Dodge City. It’s said Doc was happy to practice dentistry by day and play cards by night, relieving those cowboys of their hard-earned money!
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| Oops! Doc caught Dick with an ace up his sleeve! |
Boot Hill Cemetery was an unofficial cemetery that provided a shallow, coffinless gravesite for many unknown cowboys, gamblers and other individuals who, as legend has it, either died in a gun fight or were hanged and, therefore, died with their boots on. Apparently, the soldiers digging the graves didn’t like the job and did the minimal amount of work needed, accounting for the grave’s shallowness. For those with money, there was an official cemetery in Fort Dodge for those who could afford a proper burial.
Enter religion… With all these lawmen in town, Dodge City soon began attracting other businesses and church-going people. In addition to many churches being built on “Gospel Hill”, an official cemetery was established, leading to the reinterment of the bodies from Boot Hill Cemetery in 1889.
Enter Fred Harvey… With the opening of the Santa Fe Railroad came the nation’s first chain restaurant, The Harvey House. At each of the stops along the Santa Fe line, passengers could enjoy a fine meal, served by one of the Harvey Girls! Linen table cloths greeted guests, bringing higher standards of manners to this “Wild West”. Harvey Girls were required to be single, between the ages of 18 and 30, have at least an 8th grade education, be good looking, and of high moral standards. They signed a year-long contract and were housed in a dormitory at the train station. They were paid $17.50 each month, and women flocked to the area for this amazing opportunity!
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| Two giant sundials are just outside the historic train depot, one Central Time and the other Mountain Time |
Enter western television shows… Anyone remember Gunsmoke? It debuted in 1955 and became the longest-running western television series in history. Enter James Arness (a.k.a. Matt Dillion), Roger Ewing (a.k.a. Thad), and many other actors! Dodge City was quick to take advantage of the opportunity of having a popular television series based on their city and not only renamed Chestnut Street, but also renamed Walnut Street to Gunsmoke. James Arness, Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty) and Milburn Stone (Doc Adams) even came to town to partake in changing out the street signs!
We spent a few hours touring Boot Hill Museum during one of our days in Dodge City. It did a wonderful job detailing this community’s rich history. I loved the display that included a replica of a wagon from the era of the Santa Fe Trail. I like to think of it as the original Amazon delivery truck!
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| The precursor to the Amazon delivery truck! No next day delivery option with this one! |
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| We couldn't find Miss Kitty anywhere! |
Today, at the top of what was once that unofficial spot to “plant” unfortunate drifters who came to town and lost the gunfight, sits the Boot Hill Distillery. You have to wonder about some of the “spirits” that the business stirs up!
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| No gun cartridges were in exchanged for this flight of shots! |
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| From 1873-78 this was Boot Hill Cemetery, followed by being the site of the first multi-roomed school house in 1878. Today, the distillery in this same spot serves up some unusual spirits! |
Currently, the historic downtown area is undergoing a large renovation project and many of the streets are in the process of being converted to a pedestrian mall. It is going to make this area such a fun and attractive spot! It’s planned to be wrapped up by this fall! As we explored the area, we did “Dodge” into Red Beard Coffee, avoiding the jackhammers and skid loaders hard at work, for a cup of joe. Yep, we were met by a man with a giant red beard who owns the business! The barista there has to be my all-time favorite. When I ordered a coffee with cream, she beat me to the punch, asking me if I would like the cream steamed! Just saying, that doesn’t happen at Starbucks!
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| My new favorite coffee shop! |
Well, being it was time to “get the heck out of Dodge”, we hitched up our wagon and headed on down the trail to Abilene.
May 16-19, 2024
Touring the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum was the main influence in selecting our route home. Visiting presidential libraries and museums has become somewhat of a passion for us. I’m not sure of the total number of them we have been to, but this was the fifth presidential museum for this trip! We purchased an annual membership when we went to Truman’s library on our way south, which gets us free admittance to any of the museums. What a bargain!
I knew I liked Ike, but after spending a few hours learning all about him, I really like Ike! Major takeaways were:
- He grew up literally and figuratively on the wrong side of the tracks. As a child, it never dawned on him that his family was poor.
- He was the third of seven sons born to David and Ida Eisenhower.
- Ida ensured each of the sons learned to garden, cook, sew, do household chores, memorize bible verses, play the piano and do their schoolwork.
- In his free time, as a child, Ike liked to fish, play baseball and football, go camping…
- His favorite subjects in school were English and history.
- Ike’s high school classmates predicted he would become a history professor at Yale University. Instead, he made history as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, leading the Allies to victory over the Fascists. He also went on to be the President of Columbia University before becoming President of the United States! His classmates didn’t miss the mark by much!
- He was a giant warrior for peace. In fact, following the development of atomic weapons, he said the only option in war is peace. He refused to use atomic weapons twice during his presidency when he was advised to do so.
- Ike was center stage in war. He was also center stage in peace. It seems like a contradiction, but his only goal in war was to bring about freedom and peace.
- His years as president are known for being the years of peace and prosperity.
- He was incredibly proud of being “from the heart of America”.
- Ike was a highly ambitious man, completely committed to a partnership with his wife Mamie -- a mutual partnership in both their personal lives and their careers. Ike’s humble background gave him a gentle and calm nature, yet he was strong in deed making him highly skilled at bringing people together.
- As a General in the Army, he painted pastoral fields to relax. I saw one and it was beautiful!
His accomplishments as president that most impressed me were:
- Expanding the US to include Alaska and Hawaii -- ironically, the two states we haven’t been to yet.
- Creating the interstate highway system. It would be really a challenge to do all of the traveling we love without it!
- Signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1957, ensuring the right for all to vote without interference.
- Sent the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock, AR to protect the “Little Rock Nine” as they entered what had been an all-white Central High School for the first time. He was committed to advancing the movement of equality for all.
- Rather than nuclear bombs, he was in favor of using the technology for nuclear medicine, agriculture (irradiation) and nuclear power. He gave a speech entitled “Atoms for Peace” to the U.N. General Assembly, encouraging the world in this direction.
Among the many quotes from Ike, I particularly like the following:
“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can.” After a 33-year career in the military, including involvement in both World Wars, he certainly lived more than enough war to be qualified to make this statement.
“My proudest thing that I can claim is that I am from Abilene”. With all of his accomplishments, this is quite the endorsement of his upbringing with Midwest core values.
“The real fire within the builders of America was faith – faith in a Provident God who had supported and guided them: faith in themselves as the children of God … Faith in their country and its principles that proclaimed man’s right to freedom and justice.” I love this! It goes directly back to his core values that guided him throughout his lifetime.
And my very favorite: “Every gun made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those that are cold and are not clothed…”
The campus where President Eisenhower’s museum is located is on the very land where Ike, as a child, helped to plant, weed and harvest the large garden that fed his family. In addition to touring the museum, you can tour the home where Ike and his brothers grew up in its original location!
The back parlor, where Ike's mom gave him piano lessons as a child. In later years, Ike's mom listened to Ike speak to the nation on the radio in the back left corner. The blanket on the settee was woven by Ike's great-grandfather!
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| On the left is a family photo of Ike (far left), his brothers and his parents. (Ida and David) On the right, Ida ensured everyone was in the same positions as in the earlier photo. It was rare for the boys to return home, let alone all of them to be home at the same time -- after all, interstate highways didn't exist yet! |
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the charming Mamie Eisenhower and their first-born son (Doud Dwight) are buried in a beautiful chapel called the Place of Meditation, also located on campus. Doud died in Ike’s arms at the age of three, after contracting scarlet fever. Each year, Ike would send a bouquet of yellow (Doud’s favorite color) roses to Mamie on the anniversary of Doud’s death.
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| Place of Meditation Fountain |
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| Place of Meditation |
Also located on the 690-acre campus is a visitor center, a statue of this five-star general entitled “Champion of Peace”, his library and pylons entitled “Monument”. These pylons are intended to evoke reflection of Ike’s humble beginnings and the importance of family and education.
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| Note the five stars at the base. |
We walked to the Eisenhower Park and Rose Garden. It was beautifully landscaped and certainly included more than the stunning roses and fountain!
On the way to the park, we passed through a historic neighborhood with stunning mansions from the days of wealthy cattle tycoons. Afterall, this was the end of the Chisholm trail, which originated in San Antonio!
In the historic, downtown shopping area, we stumbled upon Little Ike Park. The statue in it has an incredibly accurate peek at what Ike looked and dressed like in his youth.
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| Little Ike! |
Abilene appears to currently have a campaign based on Ike’s original “I Like Ike” slogan used in his pursuit of the presidency of the United States. Many locations scattered around town had similarly designed signs! It seems everyone liked Ike, as he won both terms of his eight years as president in landslide victories!
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| I couldn't find the "I Like Quilting" or the "I Like Bicycling" signs! |
We really didn’t do much else in Abilene as I don’t think there really was much more to do there in mid-May. If passing through here, I’d encourage you to check out their calendar. It sounds like the summer months include several festivals that would be fun to partake in!
Up next:
Omaha/Council Bluffs!
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