Our next extended stay was at Dodge City--home of the American Cowboy and destination of the cattle drives in the 19th century. Dodge City was also Matt Dillon's homebase in TV's Gunsmoke. We came looking for history and we found it.
Our path to Dodge City took us through the Missouri Ozarks on US-60 to Rogersville, where we camped one night. Continuing from the Springfield area on I-44, we headed north on US-71. We passed by the birthplace of Harry Truman in Lamar, Missouri. All exits for this town, except the first one that we had just passed, were closed because of highway construction.
Just 36 miles east of Dodge City, we drove by the most amazing medical center we have ever seen--the Kiowa County Memorial Hospital, at the edge of Greensburg, Kansas. We had heard about Greensburg on 60 Minutes and now here we were. The residents had decided to rebuild their community by going green after a monster tornado wiped out their small town in 2007. They're succeeding and going green and growing! This is renaissance and American endurance in action. Seeing this in person is what makes traveling the US routes so great!
In Kansas, the US highways are asphalt, but depending on the size of the town, the streets that cross the highway are either brick or gravel. Dodge City is large enough to have many asphalt streets. Directing us in our towed vehicle to a Subway sandwich shop, our trusty GPS let us discover the feel of a one-mile brick ride through a historical neighborhood on Center Street, one of the oldest streets in town. We applaude and appreciate the use of asphalt on all roads.
We toured Boot Hill, walked on the old western town boardwalk and sauntered in and out of exhibits depicting the general store, saloon, newspaper office, school house, and an apothecary. We saw displays of barbed wire, outlaws' and lawmen's guns, and railroad history. We took our pictures next to a stagecoach. Something tells me this stagecoach has been used in parades.
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| Dodge City museum |
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| Lamar, Missouri |
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| Corn in Kansas We turned west on US-54, stopping overnight in Wichita, and then continued on US-54 and US-400 to Dodge City. |
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| Boot Hill Dodge City museum |
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| Museum display of railroading in Dodge City Dodge City museum |
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| Branding irons Dodge City museum |
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| Barbed wire Dodge City museum |
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| Farming implements Dodge City museum |
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| Dodge City museum |
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| Dodge City museum |
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| Dodge City museum |
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| Merchandise for sale then and for sale today Dodge City museum |
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| Dodge City museum |
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| Family home kitchen Dodge City museum |
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| Dodge City museum |
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| On the far side of the parking lot Dodge City museum |
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| This looks like my third grade classroom--really. Dodge City museum |