Dodge City, Kansas

Long day of driving as we start to head home to Pennsylvania.

We get up early and drive 375 miles from Alamosa, Colorado to Dodge City, Kansas: the Gunsmoke RV Park. Jere and I appreciate all of the references to the old television show Gunsmoke, but Joe never heard of the show. When we register for the campsite, the cashier tells us to "get outta Dodge by high noon" tomorrow--Jere and I smile.

We had hoped to swim in their heated pool after the long drive, but the weather is cool today, 15 degrees below normal. Plus it's windy, so too cold to swim. They didn't even bother opening the pool today. Oh well...

We set up, have dinner and then head into Dodge City. We look at some of the statues, including a longhorn statue to commemorate the cattle drives that were made from Texas to Dodge City where the cattle would be loaded onto trains

and a statue of Wyatt Earp, their famous 'old west' sheriff who tried to keep the law in this rowdy cowtown.

I was anxious to see their famous Santa Fe Trail mural, but it wasnt' quite as grand as I expected. The Santa Fe Trail passed through Dodge City (there's a place west of town where the trail's wagon wheel ruts can still be seen)

Dodge City also has a "Trail of Fame" with western stars' names in the sidewalk cement. They must have had the stars of the old television show Gunsmoke come to town and sign their names in the cement.

We then stop to see the longhorn steers that the town has at Longhorn Park. I'm not sure why, but I just think these cattle with really long horns are fun to look at :-)

We also drive a few miles east of town to see the Coronado Cross statue outside of town past Fort Dodge.

The cross was built several years ago by the city to commemorate the explorer Coronado's crossing the Arkansas River. Dodge City tourism claims this is the location of the first Christian service in this area of America.