Day 43 Closed the Loop

Spent our last night camping sitting by a fire and watching a spectacular show put on by fireflies. Have never seen so many blinking furiously but it only lasted about an hour, from sunset till about 9:30pm. Leasurely drank our coffee by the remains of our campfire this morning.  Finally packed up and headed for home. Spent a long time driving the interstate today; not my favorite way to travel by any means but it got the job done. DragOn and the Tacoma served us well the whole trip. Made it back to our Tennessee home around 4pm EST. Tomorrow we have a lot of cleaning and unpacking but tonight we rest and embrace so many unforgettable moments that we encountered over the past 6 weeks. This land of ours is filled with magnificent scenery and adventures just waiting to be experienced. Can‘t wait for our next one! 

Day 42 Return to Energy Lake

It’s been 6 weeks since we left home on our “land loop” adventure.  Our last night of camping is where we started in Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. Traveled through Missouri earlier today. The rolling Ozarks with thick forests eventually gave way to flat plains again. Highway was lined with fields of corn, alfalfa and rice. Eventually we crossed the Mississippi River on a very narrow, long steel structure. Two bridges took us from Missouri to Illinois and then to Kentucky in a matter of minutes. Illinois kept true to its reputation of having the worst roads even if it was only for a moment. Huge barges lay below waiting to hook up and transport down the mighty, muddy Mississippi. Energy Lake in Land Between the Lakes remains one of our favorite campgrounds with its serene, isolated, natural sites right on the damned up lake. Celebrated our last night with a camp fire. 

Day 41 The Show Me State

The main difference I noticed today between Missouri and Kansas is there’s more trees in Missouri. Pretty non-descript drive through corn, hay and wheat country. Only thing that was interesting was we drove part of the historic Route 66 for about 45 miles passing through some small towns. Completed in 1926, US Route 66 was one of the original highways in America’s numbered highway system. It originally ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. John Steinbeck dubbed it the “Mother Road” because it symbolized “escape, loss and hope of a new beginning”. Camping under the cottonwood trees in a quiet woodsy rv park located in the Missouri Ozarks making it a little more hilly and cooler than last night. One more night in DragOn and we’ll be home. Spending our last night pretty much where we started 6 weeks ago - in Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. 

Day 40 Elk City State Park

Packed up and “got the hell outta Dodge” this morning. We are discovering that Kansas consists mostly of plains, trains, and more plains. Not a very interesting drive. Severe storms stayed ahead of us all day and, happily, we never caught up to them. Passed through some tiny towns that time has forgotten. One of which had all these crazy metal creations around their public park. They might have done it out of boredom, I could understand that. We did stop at one local color restaurant for a forgettable lunch; however, they were selling big bags of homemade pork rinds which John bought.  Many of the farms or ranches had “ranch gates”, no two were the same. Ranch gates are two posts on the side of the entrance and a pole connecting the two on the top. It might be a simple structure like just 3 metal poles or it might be ornate with the ranch name. These originated back in the 1800’s as markers directing travelers to a house. Later as roads developed, the ranch gate entrance became the owner’s trademark. Saw a lot of dilapidated, abandoned places too. I assume either the owners gave up and left or big agricultural bought them out. Finally made it to Elk City State Park outside of Independence, KS, an adequate accommodation on a large lake. Tomorrow we head for Missouri. 

Day 39 Long Branch Saloon

The Boot Hill attraction is a modern massive museum and 1800’s Dodge City recreation built in 1957. For lack of anything better to do, we decided to go.  It is built on the site of the original Boot Hill. They actually dug up MOST of the occupants of the infamous cemetery and moved them to build a school in 1879.  Later they built the mock up of the “most lawless town in the west” on the same spot. This graveyard was the final resting place for people who didn’t have enough money for a proper burial and were buried with their boots on, hence the name. Next to the cemetary is the original jail building. It has 2 tiny cells and no “facilities”. Law breakers could be housed there for weeks  in all kinds of weather. That was cruel and unusual punishment! Midway through, we stopped for a beer at the Long Branch Saloon where I was talked into doing the can-can on stage. The museum which encompasses multiple buildings is filled with artifacts, displays and stories worthy of an afternoon to learn about this town’s colorful and intriguing past. One room is dedicated to vintage TV Gunsmoke with a dress worn by Miss Kitty and Sam’s vest on display. I remember the episode where she wore it! One of the most famous DC lawmen was Wyatt Earp who never drank a drop of liquor but loved ice cream. He also loved prostitutes. He was busted 3 times for being in brothels, ran one with his brother, married a “fallen dove” and slapped a prostitute for calling him names then was fined a dollar for doing so. Her name happened to be Frankie Bell. Hmmm. In his later years, he regaled a young actor with tales of the Old West - that actor,  John Wayne. The final entertainment of the day was a gunfight on Main Street. First there was a cat fight between saloon girls; then the cowboys punched it out; then the wranglers robbed a store; finally, all hell broke lose. After we had our fill of killin’, we had dinner at an authentic Kansas steakhouse and ate perfectly cooked Kansas beef. Our food digested as we watched a concert in the park by a local orchestra called The Cowboy Band. Dodge City redeemed itself today! 

Day 38 Dodge City

We are huge fans of the TV western, classic Gunsmoke, all 20 years of it. So I was very excited to visit Dodge City. We even booked a site in a campground called Gunsmoke. We drove 3 1/2 hours through totally boring countryside (except for one intriguing bank building) but my excitement never wained.  Well, we arrived and the place didn’t quite live up to the brochure online but it’s an ok site. Headed to the Visiter’s Center and was immediately informed that the studio hasn’t relinquished their rights to the show so there is little references to Gunsmoke in Dodge. Disappointing. We at least got to take pictures with the life-size statue of Matt Dillon, aka James Arness, outside the VC.  I tried to put my arm around him but he was too big, over 6’8”. They have a mock town of old Dodge City with a Boot Hill museum and the Long Branch Saloon.  We are doing that tomorrow. The first thing you notice here is that there is a steady, strong 25 mph wind. It topped today at 91° so it was a very hot, dry wind. Residents say that is a constant here. Whew! Visited the historic train station where Fred Harvey had his biggest establishment in 1898. He invented “fast food”. His restaurants would accommodate the 20-25 minute train layover with quick, delicious meals served by his Harvey Girls waitresses.  He made a fortune. Outside are two giant sundials built in 1897 for the passengers to keep track of their schedules - one for Mountain time and the other for Central. We ate dinner at the Cowboy Capital Saloon. A couple interesting pictures were above us on the wall bearing John’s surname. Had to research this H.B. Bell and see what part he played in this town’s history.  “Ham” Bell moved here at 21 and opened a variety of businesses such as a livery stable (pictured), saloon, pet store, first ambulance service and furniture store. He introduced the can-can to Dodge and was eventually elected sheriff, marshall then mayor. A very influential and colorful character. Will learn more about the real Dodge City tomorrow. 

Day 37 Prairie Dog Park

Left Cheyanne early to get the 6+ hour drive to Prairie Dog State Park done. We were soon driving in Nebraska where a herd of Alpacas were up against the highway welcoming us. After that, anything interesting was few and far between. Temps quickly rose from a very chilly Wyoming morning to the mid 80’s in very flat, green Nebraska. Nebraska’s state line signs says they are “the home of Arbor Day” because they were the first state to celebrate Arbor Day by planting trees. Thank God or there’d be nothing to break up the consistently monotonous view. The state is aware of its lack of appeal since it always places number 50 on national tourism rankings so in 2018, they came up with a new slogan, “Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” True. True. Finally made it to Prairie Dog, a well maintained, peaceful park, a little camping gem out in the middle of nowhere. There is an abundance of white fluffy seed puffs floating everywhere from the Cottonwoods in the area.  They are piling up along the road like snow drifts. First time we have had to turn the A/C on in weeks but, Toto, we ARE in Kansas and it’s warm. Tomorrow Dodge City! 

Day 36 Cheyanne

A short drive this morning brought us to our least favorite campground of the trip but it’s only for one night. Doesn’t help that it’s a rainy, cold day. People in Wyoming are running around in shorts because they are determined that it’s finally summer, damn it, despite the fact it’s 59°. When the rain took a break, we were off to explore the western town of Cheyanne, the capital of Wyoming also known as the “magic city of the plains” because it grew so fast back in the day. We are at an elevation of over 6,000 feet. In Florida we are at 6 feet. Found an excellent restaurant for lunch then wandered the streets. Wyoming and, especially, Cheyanne, has a love of monuments and statues. Earlier today we passed on the interstate, a 40+ foot tall head of Lincoln mounted on a chunk of granite carved by the artist Robert Russin in 1959. There is literally a statue of someone or something on every corner, big and small, bronze or cement. This city sprang into existence in 1867 when the Union Pacific Railroad established a camp here and there is still an abundance of RR activity today. The huge old train depot is an interesting piece of architecture that anchors the downtown. After the  RR was in place in 1868, more people started arriving but the town was mostly made up of men. To lure women out to Cheyanne, Wyoming granted women the right to vote in 1889. Thirty-one years before the US Congress ratified the 19th Amendment.  It worked!  Women came, and they married; and more people came like cattle barons and businessmen and they married and built mansions. Pretty soon Cheyanne was one of the wealthiest towns in the west. Some of the first electric street lights in the nation graced the streets here. We walked by a few of the remaining magnificent old mansions. The downtown historic playhouse theater constructed in 1887 has been beautifully renovated and still has performances there. Spied this huge red building near the depot, it was The Wrangler, a massive western department store which has been here since 1892 and has all your cowboy needs including a $1200 diamond studded Stetson. Headed back to the camper before more weather moved in. Tomorrow we say goodbye to Wyoming and hello to Kansas by way of Nebraska.