Day 8 – On way to Monument Rocks then Ogallala

We are up late this morning and don’t get going until about 9:00am on Wednesday 6/7/2017.  First thing today we go to the Boot Hill Museum to view the artifacts from the 1870’s.  We step out of the Museum store and step into a 1870’s replica of Front Street in the early days of Dodge City.

In the museum was a replica of Boot Hill and there several of the real headstones were arranged for display.  Also in the cemetery was a rather large cactus that was flowering. 

Inside the museum there were displays of the Indians in the area, discussions about how the town came to be beginning with Fort Dodge and the call for Buffalo hunters.  The Buffalo were hunted to drive the Indians out.  The skins were sent back to the east for good money.  Here is a Buffalo skin coat. 

In a section of the museum they had a room devoted to the cowboys and cattlemen and also the TV show Gunsmoke which took place in Dodge City.  This is part of a script from the show.

We left the section of the museum which held information on the Indians in the area and moved to the town replica.  On the way one of the people that dress in era appropriate clothing was walking by.  In this case he is a Marshal of the town.  I noticed that he wore his guns backwards.

We move down to the “street level” and the 1870’s Front Street replica.  Here I am looking down the sidewalk in front of the store fronts.

We first head into Morris Collar’s Dry Goods and Clothing store.  This is the typical general store in the west; it is like our WalMart today.  They had many antiques that would have been for sale in a store like this from a Schepps Cake Box to clothes to this water pitcher.

Just before going in, I capture the front of the Long Branch Saloon.  Notice it has a regular door as well as the swinging doors in the front. 

Inside is the typical saloon as you might see in a TV show or movie with the tables and even the piano player in the corner.  Notice the stage for the dancers who would perform for the cowboys who would have just been paid for their long cattle drive and ready to spend money.

And speaking of the entertainment, here are a couple women dressed in period outfits.  I assume this would be typical of the period, I know it is typical of the TV shows and movies. 

Once inside the Long Branch Saloon, you didn’t have to go out then in each of the stores, a way was provided through the buildings inside, going past each display.  Each ‘stores” display had information about the life and times from Dodge City like the barber chairs and they also had about 5-8 cases of period guns, from Sharps to this Winchester gun display.  In the bottom left is a Winchester 1873 and revolver, with the white handles, under it.  These were both .44-40’s so the same bullet could be used for rifle or revolver.

The doctor’s office had any number of powders and bottles of liquid that served as the pharmacy of the time.  The interesting thing, a building down from the doctor’s office had signatures of a number of residents of Dodge City.  Come to find out Kansas went dry during prohibition and you needed a prescription and signature. 

There was a display for the gambling halls with the different games in mid play.  Also the newspaper building along with the old letter type and platen printing press (I actually learned to use these).  A cobbler building displaying many of the shoes and boots that were made at the time and it appeared baby buggies.  But the interesting building was the undertaker’s display.  They had on display small children’s coffins some with windows on the top; also the headstones that might have been provided.

Near the end of the buildings was the bank.  Interestingly, the inside of the vault mostly held ledger books, some quite large.  There wasn’t much room for money which begs the thought how much did they have and where did they keep it.

I was ahead of Carmen so I went back to find her.  Unfortunately she was in jail and I had to bail her out.  No charges were made at this time and we categorically deny any wrong doing.

At the end of the connected town buildings was a display of old porcelain plates and figurines.  While Carmen was busy I took this picture of a small porcelain saloon girl.

The last building was the soda fountain.  You could get a soda or something to eat, but since it is only 11:00am we pass on the food and drink.

Back outside at the end of the “street” there are several original buildings.  This church once served Dodge City when it began to become more reputable.  

Another of the original building from the 1870’s includes a school house (white building on left) a blacksmith (in the back) and this house.  The inside contained furnishings from both the house and also others from the time.  The music room had three pianos. 

The railroad played a significant role in building Dodge City to what it was.  First the Buffalo Hunters came by invitation of the Army and the hides shipped to points east.  Then the cattle Industry took over as the source of income.  This Baldwin Locomotive No. 1139 was built in 1903, but typical of those operated during the 1870’s.

We decided to eat lunch before heading back on the road, so we drove around town to see some of the statues in the city.  There is Doc Holiday sitting at a gambling table, El Toro a Long Horn bull representing the cattle drives that came here, the cowboy statue, and this one of Wyatt Earp. 

On our way out of Dodge City, we passed this statue welcoming you to town.  I of course had to stop.

Back on the road and before too long we stop at a place where you can see some of the remnants of the Santa Fe Trail tracks.  Walking out into the prairie field, along the walkway, you can just see the tracks near the top of the next hill where hundreds of freight wagons laden with goods for trade passed by.  The Santa Fe Trail linked the southwest and the eastern states between 1821 and 1880.  These wagon caravans would travel 900 miles from the Santa Fe (then Mexico) and Missouri. 

So, on our way to Monument Rocks, near Oakley, Kansas, and we are still passing through and around wheat fields and I decided to stop and take a picture of the wheat.  I find a place where the wheat comes petty close to the road and stop to get my picture.  So here is a close-up of the wheat as it is growing, at whatever readiness it is in. 

Also in the wheat fields are a number of windmills for the generation of power.  I thought I’d show you these and also demonstrate how far these fields go and also how flat the land is here.

Now this is a first for us, we were merrily driving along when we come to this operation of repaving the roadway.  There are 5 of these machines in a row; the distortion is from heat the gas flames are making to heat the roadway, it was hot.  Each machine heats the road and the last couple also grinds the road up and lays it out ready for use.

The last of the heating machines collects the ground asphalt heats it and returns it to the roadway in a nicely laid column of ready to use heated asphalt.  The laying machine then comes along right behind it and lays the asphalt out making the roadway.  There were two rollers to compress the material and the new road is done.  Remarkable, especially when there is no asphalt plant nearby.  Now this was great to see.

Now we have seen a lot of cattle with many small calves and we have also seen some horses.  But this is the first time we have seen horses this close to the road with so many small foal.  Not sure if the foals are male or female. 

We are on the back roads of Kansas and one of the roads we were going to take is indicated that the road is closed a number of miles ahead.  Not knowing if our turn is before or after, we detour to another road and come out on US-83 south of Monument Rocks.  When I see a herd of Bison, so I turn around where there is a kiosk about Kansas’ Western Vistas Historic Byways.  Turning around and we are where the bison herd is coming up over a ravine.

I move down the road so I can see the trailing bison that are still in the ravine.  There seem to a larger number of calves here than in the front of the herd. 

Okay, we turn down a country dirt road, which Carmen is a little leery about and stopped the car for Carmen to take a picture of two.  All of a sudden I see movement and get the camera from Carmen and take this picture of some deer.  It looks like they were ready to jump the fence before I moved the car closer for a better picture, then they ran off.

Still on the dirt road leading to Monument Rocks we slowed down for some trucks when a turkey came strutting across the road.  At this rate we’ll never get to our destination.

We finally get to Monument Rocks and begin to explore the Monument. 

Here is Carmen in the arch at the second group of rocks at the Monument.  You can see the size of the rocks as compared to Carmen. 

The rocks were in two groups, the second group is where Carmen was in the arch.  The first group was where we started and looking back we can see all of the structure. 

We have moved around the rocks for some time and when we left we were able to look back and see both rock structures. 

Back on regular paved roads, we are motoring to our evening destination, still many miles away.  Along the way we occasionally see a solitary tree in or around a field, like this one.

The next 50 miles is pretty much the same as the last 50 miles and each mile brings many of the same things we have seen before.  Here is what the roads look like from one of the local mountains (LOL). 

We are not in Kansas anymore.  Well that is true because we are now in Nebraska.  After driving awhile, we cross a dam and spillway for a reservoir. 

We are almost in Ogallala, Nebraska where we will spend the night and we have been passing many large corn fields.  We debated whether the corn was for people or cattle when we came across this Company’s popcorn sign.

Finally reaching our motel, it is almost 8:00pm and it has been a long day.  We’ll be heading to a couple of landmarks tomorrow.