Fritz LOVES the old west. He has more old west movies than Netflix and is fascinated by everything about it. So it should be no surprise that Dodge City and Coffeyville, KS were on our route to Arkansas...

Our trip from Lamar, CO to Dodge City was fairly uneventful, as I recall. We stayed in a WalMart parking lot for a few nights, and it was one of the nicer parking-lot stays we've had! We had an open field to one side and parking lot on the other. It was level and quiet and, best of all, free! After resting up from the drive the night we arrived, we headed to the Boot Hill museum. It was originally a 'potter's field', so to speak: a place to bury those of ill repute or no means for a 'proper' burial in the Fort Dodge cemetery. While all the (known) bodies have since been exhumed and moved, the museum has recreated the tombstones originally found there. Some were quite amusing; some tragic. Much of the original 'boot hill' (so named because many of the occupants were summarily dispatched to the 'hill' still wearing their boots!) was cut down many years ago and parceled off. The museum has faithfully recreated many of the original town buildings, inside and out, using some of the original parts and pieces. It was a fascinating place, and we wore out before we finished the tour.  Here's some of what we saw:

Fritz was delighted to learn more about the heroes and villains of the late 1800's plains, and fancied himself a part of the history!

After lunch and a nap, Fritz returned to go check out the Gunfighter's Wax Museum while I poked around in an antique shop.

The City of Dodge City has a colorful history, the face of which was forever changed with the advent of the railroad. The city displays an old steam engine that once plied the tracks carrying buffalo hides and meat out, and living necessities in.
 
We stopped at Coffeyville, KS the next day, and enjoyed two nights in their delightful city park. The intervening day was spent at The Defenders' Museum. A seemingly odd name, but it was here that the Dalton Gang made a daring attempt to rob two banks simultaneously, and the townspeople decided they would not succeed. A local general store handed out rifles and ammunition, and the armed locals shot it out with the Dalton Gang....and won. Rather than memorialize the 'bad guys', the museum commemorates the brave townsfolk that put a stop to the pillaging of the local farmers (there being no FDIC in those days, if the bad guys got your money, there was no replacing it!). There is a whole wall that shows a picture taken by someone shortly after the gang members were killed, laying out the bodies up against a fence. So many townsfolk came to take 'souvenirs', none of the bodies had boots or guns, and some even had pieces of their clothing cut off. After watching a TV rerun on the story of Coffeyville and looking at many artifacts, we headed back to the motorhome to rest up for the final leg of our eastward journey.

We arrived in Arkansas the next day and it's been great seeing Tracy, Mike and all the kids! Tracy is very anxious for Maddox to make his arrival! In the meantime, we're ever on alert for that 
'it's time!' call.

Unfortunately, we are having a very difficult time finding an affordable long-term RV space. The place we stayed last time has really gone downhill, another place won't return our calls, and the place we're in for the short term costs $200/WEEK! We checked out two or three other places further away today; none of them work for various reasons. Tomorrow we're headed to just over the border in Missouri to check another. 

Next time I write, I should be introducing the newest member of the family. In the meantime, know we're enjoying reconnecting with kids and grandkids and helping out however we can.

Til the next time.....