From there it was back to the Boot Hill Museum so that we could tour the actual museum that we'd missed yesterday.
It starts with a 13-minute video about how Dodge City came to be as part of the Santa Fe Trail, how it earned its reputation, and about the people that lived there. The most shocking part was the assertion that back in the late-1800s, the US Government hired hunters to kill all the buffalo, reasoning that without them, the "Indians" would have to move elsewhere on their own. Marsha looked this up this later in the car and found an article on the topic. It said that research shows that the idea was certainly considered, but was unable to conclusively prove that this was official US policy. And there were a few cooler heads who were against the idea. Either way, it was a terrible tragedy, and its nice to see the buffalo making a comeback further west.
One other inescapable thought on the fate of Native Americans. Our ancestors fought and shed a lot of blood to claim the West, but after all that, we didn't really do anything with it. Not that that would have justified it, but huge sections are still unpopulated and most of it is all farm land. I have to think that a better solution could have been found.
So, after watching the video, we went up to Boot Hill (or rather, the corner of it that remains). It was so-named because most of the "residents" died with their boots on.
From there we went through a small museum building with dioramas and displays on the people, animals, guns, and even Gunsmoke. Then it was down to the Front Street replica again where, this time, we got to go through all the shops. Fortunately, they're all air-conditioned (we took the chocolate in with us) and connected inside.
There was a General Store, printing office, doctor's office, and even an undertaker. This was our favorite part of the whole experience. It was really cool seeing old photos of the real Dodge that perfectly matched the re-creation we were in.
While going through all of the displays, I learned that the local historic Railroad Depot was now owned by a theater group, which offers tours. It was getting late and we still had a lot of ground to cover, so we had to pass on that. If we ever get the heck into Dodge again, that'll be a must.
From there it was back on the road again, fortunately largely free of traffic and with cell coverage most of the way. Much of the drive was two-lane highway, but we still made good time.
As soon as we left Dodge, we were back in farm country. As the video explained, the buffalo that once roamed freely were all replaced by cattle farms. We drove through miles and miles of farms with both cattle and crops, but mostly cattle. For this reason, it seems like much of Kansas smells like cow poop. We could smell it in Dodge, and when we stopped for gas over two hours later, we could smell it then, too. Though, as my Dad used to say about the nearby paper mill, "it smells like money."
The middle of Kansas seems to be the dividing line between the small, rectangular hay bales, which we saw in exclusivity on the western side of the state, and the large rolls. Most if the farms from the middle onward favored the large rolls, though we actually saw a few farms that had both. Blocks and rolls, living in perfect harmony.
Energy seemed to be a major theme of the day as we drove through another wind farm. These things are so huge it's mind-boggling. They really look like something out of a science fiction movie. It's hard to get a photo that truly illustrates just how gigantic they are.
The most surprising thing we saw was lots and lots of oil rigs, far more than in the arid parts of the country where we expected to see them. They were all of the small variety. We're guessing that only Texas and California have the big giant ones.
It's very odd to see an oil well sitting in a field full of crops. It's even odder to see four or five. We even saw businesses that had multiple rigs sitting out on the lot, either for sale or repair. Marsha and I finally struck a deal that she can have a pet elk (named "Elkie") for the back yard if I can have a little oil well.
We even saw several natural gas facilities. The first couple weren't very big, but clearly company run. But then, like the oil rigs, we saw a bunch of small "outlets" on farms as we passed by. Corn, cows, gas, windmills, and oil. Who knew?
As we did yesterday, we drove through a lot of small towns again today. Our main route was the Historic Santa Fe Trail, so several of the them were all founded in the same year, 1876. We also went by Emporia, Waverly, and Williamsburg, so it was like someone had just grabbed a map of Eastern Virginia when handing out place names.
It's also fun looking at all the details as we drive through small towns. You never know what interesting things you'll see, such as the ATM yesterday that dispenses water, to today's standout -- a chiropractor with a giant Statue of Liberty in his front yard. His office is an old, one-story house and he even had a bunch of large flags all along the roof.
Since we didn't make it to the drive-in movie in Pueblo, Marsha did some quick research and found an AMC Dine & Screen theater in Kansas City, KS, just a short jaunt from our hotel in Kansas City, MO. Marsha bought our tickets using her iPhone and even picked out our seats. This gave us yet another deadline towards which to race, but this time we had a little more wiggle room (thanks to almost no traffic, a major highway, and no road construction) and didn't pull up this time with five minutes to spare.
The theater was fantastic (not to mention pricey), but we loved it. It was beautiful inside, with classic movie posters and even some expertly decorated "window displays" (though one revealed a major spoiler). We ordered dinner from the full menu and even had dessert. The only (slight) downside was that they couldn't get Madison's Coke right, nor were they able to recognize that there was something wrong with the mixture. We could easily tell inside the dark theater.
Keeping with this week's Western theme, we went to see The Lone Ranger, which was perfect timing. Like most good Westerns, it was filmed in Monument Valley. We were just there! So cool to see vistas on the big screen that we'd just seen in real life. Of course, even with superb filming and projection, you still can't capture the awe-inspiring majesty of the real thing.
From there it was a quick drive to downtown Kansas City, MO, just across the Missouri River. We had some trouble finding our hotel because their sign was out. What's more, police had roads blocked because a concert next door (Matchbox 20) was just minutes from letting out. We were racing against the clock yet again. Fortunately, our luck still held out and we got parked and checked in just in time.
The hotel is awesome. It's the Ambassador (classic name) and seems to be an older hotel that's had some major updating. Our room looks like an urban penthouse and is quite roomy.
No Harry Potter on TV tonight, so we just conked out watching Seinfeld. At least it doesn't smell like cow poop anymore.
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