I actually spent the night in Garden City, KS. It is a little farther down the road and I had hoped to get a jump on gittin along to Colorado. But you know the refrain by now - just one stop before getting to the final destination.
In this case, the original plan was to go to the next stop the day before, but I was having too much fun and the heat and humidity were oppressive. But wait, the weather got worse.
While driving to my first stop, of all things to see, I passed this Doppler radar weather station. It was in the middle of no where Kansas and from the location, it probably covered the panhandle regions of Oklahoma and Texas as well. That is what the local Kansas radio called the area - the Pan Handle Areas. I am surprised that the tornadoes do not find the radar and take it out. It is the tallest building for as far as the eye can see (through fog shrouded glasses). On to the first stop. But first...
This is an historical marker that had one of those Historical Marker ahead signs on the highway. Of course I had to stop to see what was so historical in the middle of no where Kansas. This one is actually historical.
Kansas is so conservative that for any chance of a left leaning thinking individual to make it in Kansas they had to go and name a town Liberal, KS just to give it some air play. JT, check out the post mark on your post card. :)
The main reason for going to Liberal, KS was to find the Yellow Brick Road. Looking through the Roadside America web site for Kansas, there are a number of different locations with Oz themes. Liberal is south of Dodge City and the closest Oz Themed Attraction to where I was going to be. So here I stopped.
The Chamber of Commerce sponsors this location. They a house that they call Dorothy's house and the storm cellar. Plus they have the story in inside of a building with some hand drawn characters, some painted, etc. I did not have time for the official tour to find out the significance of having the Oziana characters but I am sure it is for a good cause. From what little they have noted on the property a local person started the collection and then others joined in and then the Chamber took it over as any good marketing organization would to help sell Liberal, KS. See, the Liberals need help selling themselves in Kansas.
The bronze statue of Dorothy out front of the Chamber building has a list of names of people who have played Dorothy. It must be for a local production because I did not recognize any of the names.
The other reason for the delay to getting to Colorado was to go look at the Dalton Gang Hideout. It is a few miles back down the road towards Kansas City but still south of Dodge City. This was pretty cool. The Dalton's had a brood of 16 children, including a US Marshall and 2 or 3 outlaws. The hideout was on the property of their Aunt. They had a tunnel from the pantry of the house to the barn about 150 yards away.
The original tunnel was only 4 feet tall and had wood sides and ceiling. Since that is not OSHA safe, when they opened this museum they dug out the tunnel to 6.5 feet tall and lined it with bricks and cement. It is still neat. You can walk through the tunnel into the house. They have some Dalton memorabilia as well as the local newspapers with headlines and pictures showing the dead gang members in an Atlanta shoot out - which they lost. Definitely worthy of a delay to Colorado.
The two stops took me directly south of Garden City, then East to the Dalton Gang Hideout, which was close to a highway that would take me back to Dodge City and then on to Garden City and Colorado. I have come full circle in just a matter of a short detour to Colorado.
On the way to Dodge City, I saw another Historical Marker for the Big Basin. In the Rand McNally it shows the Big Basin and Jacob's Well. Unfortunately I was able to see the Big Basin but could not get to the well. I should know by now to just attend to the sick and leave the well enough alone. But it got the better of me.
Since I was back at Dodge City, I decided to take a quick detour to the original Fort Dodge in hopes of finding some important historical markers. I saw references to the Custer House in other places about Fort Dodge so I thought at least I would get to see some stuff of General George's. But that is not the case. He was stationed at the Fort only briefly and never had a house there. The house noted as the Custer House would have been his had he stayed instead he got himself killed. Pretty lame. The only old stuff at the fort were 2 wagons (1 pictured here) and the current residents. The Fort is currently a VA medical facility. Disappointing in that there is not more about the founding of the Fort and the City. Burning daylight, did not need that last detour. But you never know what you are going to find.
As I stopped for gas in Dodge City, I noticed a sign for the zoo. I looked at Rand McNally and not only found the zoo but also a reference to a Buffalo herd. So what is another hour or two detour when you are already a couple of hours late.
This definitely made up for the disappointing Fort Dodge. It seems that the State of Kansas in the South East section of the state is made up mostly of sand dunes. Much of the original dunes has been turned into wheat fields, but the state was given 3000 acres in the 1920's to restore to the original sand dunes and vegetation. In the 1930's the State acquired a small herd of buffalo that has grown to 85 animals.
Usually you need to have a reservation to go see the animals, but the ranger took pity upon me and found 2 hired hands to give me a guided tour. The buffalo are herded into different parts of the property on a rotating basis. They were currently in the one of the farthest out sections, so we herded into a big SUV and off we went in search of the American Bison. After spending all that time in South Dakota looking for the that herd of 20, I could not believe my luck today.
The two guides said that the buffalo do not move if you stay in the vehicle. We drove right into the middle of the herd. The herd happened to be sitting on the road which made it inevitable that we would drive right into the middle of the herd, but it was very exciting!
I could have reached out the window and touched a bison if so inclined, but I did not want to ruin this opportunity. There were several babies and the whole herd were very protective of the babies. There are 3 or 4 males and they were mingling in the herd as it is almost mating season so they were out courting. Just an amazing find! This made it worth being a half day late to Colorado.
A couple of words about the weather in Kansas the last two days - HOT and HUMID!!! The temps were in the mid 90's and humidity was in the high 50's% to over 60% to make the temperature feel like it was 105 - 110 degrees. It was like driving in a steam bath for 2 days. I could not put the top down because it was so humid I had trouble breathing. It did not cool off until I reached Colorado. The forecast for Kansas for the 3 days after I left was for temps in the high 90's and low 100's. If not for Dodge City and the buffalo, Kansas would be 1 state to avoid, even if they get more liberals.
Before heading to Colorado, I want to share a picture of what Kansas really is -wheat fields and the farm equipment to cut it and get it to the grain elevators. I saw the fields and equipment all over Kansas for 2 days. This is what is used to cut the wheat and transport the wheat back to the barn to transfer to the local coop silo.
One could spend days taking pictures of the various silos across Kansas. It seems in this part of Kansas each small town had a feedlot to fatten cattle for market and a grain coop for wheat. I wonder what came first - the grain silo or the town? Can't have one with the other....
In this case, the original plan was to go to the next stop the day before, but I was having too much fun and the heat and humidity were oppressive. But wait, the weather got worse.
While driving to my first stop, of all things to see, I passed this Doppler radar weather station. It was in the middle of no where Kansas and from the location, it probably covered the panhandle regions of Oklahoma and Texas as well. That is what the local Kansas radio called the area - the Pan Handle Areas. I am surprised that the tornadoes do not find the radar and take it out. It is the tallest building for as far as the eye can see (through fog shrouded glasses). On to the first stop. But first...
This is an historical marker that had one of those Historical Marker ahead signs on the highway. Of course I had to stop to see what was so historical in the middle of no where Kansas. This one is actually historical.
Kansas is so conservative that for any chance of a left leaning thinking individual to make it in Kansas they had to go and name a town Liberal, KS just to give it some air play. JT, check out the post mark on your post card. :)
The main reason for going to Liberal, KS was to find the Yellow Brick Road. Looking through the Roadside America web site for Kansas, there are a number of different locations with Oz themes. Liberal is south of Dodge City and the closest Oz Themed Attraction to where I was going to be. So here I stopped.
The Chamber of Commerce sponsors this location. They a house that they call Dorothy's house and the storm cellar. Plus they have the story in inside of a building with some hand drawn characters, some painted, etc. I did not have time for the official tour to find out the significance of having the Oziana characters but I am sure it is for a good cause. From what little they have noted on the property a local person started the collection and then others joined in and then the Chamber took it over as any good marketing organization would to help sell Liberal, KS. See, the Liberals need help selling themselves in Kansas.
The bronze statue of Dorothy out front of the Chamber building has a list of names of people who have played Dorothy. It must be for a local production because I did not recognize any of the names.
The other reason for the delay to getting to Colorado was to go look at the Dalton Gang Hideout. It is a few miles back down the road towards Kansas City but still south of Dodge City. This was pretty cool. The Dalton's had a brood of 16 children, including a US Marshall and 2 or 3 outlaws. The hideout was on the property of their Aunt. They had a tunnel from the pantry of the house to the barn about 150 yards away.
The original tunnel was only 4 feet tall and had wood sides and ceiling. Since that is not OSHA safe, when they opened this museum they dug out the tunnel to 6.5 feet tall and lined it with bricks and cement. It is still neat. You can walk through the tunnel into the house. They have some Dalton memorabilia as well as the local newspapers with headlines and pictures showing the dead gang members in an Atlanta shoot out - which they lost. Definitely worthy of a delay to Colorado.
The two stops took me directly south of Garden City, then East to the Dalton Gang Hideout, which was close to a highway that would take me back to Dodge City and then on to Garden City and Colorado. I have come full circle in just a matter of a short detour to Colorado.
On the way to Dodge City, I saw another Historical Marker for the Big Basin. In the Rand McNally it shows the Big Basin and Jacob's Well. Unfortunately I was able to see the Big Basin but could not get to the well. I should know by now to just attend to the sick and leave the well enough alone. But it got the better of me.
Since I was back at Dodge City, I decided to take a quick detour to the original Fort Dodge in hopes of finding some important historical markers. I saw references to the Custer House in other places about Fort Dodge so I thought at least I would get to see some stuff of General George's. But that is not the case. He was stationed at the Fort only briefly and never had a house there. The house noted as the Custer House would have been his had he stayed instead he got himself killed. Pretty lame. The only old stuff at the fort were 2 wagons (1 pictured here) and the current residents. The Fort is currently a VA medical facility. Disappointing in that there is not more about the founding of the Fort and the City. Burning daylight, did not need that last detour. But you never know what you are going to find.
As I stopped for gas in Dodge City, I noticed a sign for the zoo. I looked at Rand McNally and not only found the zoo but also a reference to a Buffalo herd. So what is another hour or two detour when you are already a couple of hours late.
This definitely made up for the disappointing Fort Dodge. It seems that the State of Kansas in the South East section of the state is made up mostly of sand dunes. Much of the original dunes has been turned into wheat fields, but the state was given 3000 acres in the 1920's to restore to the original sand dunes and vegetation. In the 1930's the State acquired a small herd of buffalo that has grown to 85 animals.
Usually you need to have a reservation to go see the animals, but the ranger took pity upon me and found 2 hired hands to give me a guided tour. The buffalo are herded into different parts of the property on a rotating basis. They were currently in the one of the farthest out sections, so we herded into a big SUV and off we went in search of the American Bison. After spending all that time in South Dakota looking for the that herd of 20, I could not believe my luck today.
The two guides said that the buffalo do not move if you stay in the vehicle. We drove right into the middle of the herd. The herd happened to be sitting on the road which made it inevitable that we would drive right into the middle of the herd, but it was very exciting!
I could have reached out the window and touched a bison if so inclined, but I did not want to ruin this opportunity. There were several babies and the whole herd were very protective of the babies. There are 3 or 4 males and they were mingling in the herd as it is almost mating season so they were out courting. Just an amazing find! This made it worth being a half day late to Colorado.
A couple of words about the weather in Kansas the last two days - HOT and HUMID!!! The temps were in the mid 90's and humidity was in the high 50's% to over 60% to make the temperature feel like it was 105 - 110 degrees. It was like driving in a steam bath for 2 days. I could not put the top down because it was so humid I had trouble breathing. It did not cool off until I reached Colorado. The forecast for Kansas for the 3 days after I left was for temps in the high 90's and low 100's. If not for Dodge City and the buffalo, Kansas would be 1 state to avoid, even if they get more liberals.
Before heading to Colorado, I want to share a picture of what Kansas really is -wheat fields and the farm equipment to cut it and get it to the grain elevators. I saw the fields and equipment all over Kansas for 2 days. This is what is used to cut the wheat and transport the wheat back to the barn to transfer to the local coop silo.
One could spend days taking pictures of the various silos across Kansas. It seems in this part of Kansas each small town had a feedlot to fatten cattle for market and a grain coop for wheat. I wonder what came first - the grain silo or the town? Can't have one with the other....
Off to Colorado.
Thanks for hanging with me.
Michael
No comments:
Post a Comment