10/15/04: On to Dodge
Breakfast in the Econolodge in Osage Beach, MO included a self-serve waffle maker.
We spent the day driving up U.S. 54 across Missouri and Kansas, until it turned south. In Kansas, this highway is officially called "The Yellow Brick Road".
We had a picnic lunch in Ft. Scott, KS. This Fort was a recruiting and training post for the Civil War. A very cute town grew up around the fort.
Colorful foliage and buildings of downtown Fort Scott, Kansas
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Dining al fresco behind historic Fort Scott
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Self portrait with bricks stamped Ft Scott Block from several generations
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I handed Karen my hat and lay on the floor of this old block house to better see the domed brick ceiling past the powder kegs
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Powder kegs and boxes of bullets in the solid blockhouse of Fort Scott (in Ft. Scott, KS)
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A few buildings from the original fort. There never was a wall in this fort. 2-story buildings provided adequate defense.
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Red tree, red block house, red stripes. I just liked the view.
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Still Fort Scott: But what exactly was this wasp doing on this maple leaf?
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We also stopped briefly in a few of the charming towns, like Eldorado, KS where an Art Fair was going on. We shopped an antique stores in Greensburg, KS that is in an old church across the street from the largest hand-dug well in the U.S. and also a big meteorite chunk (both of which were closed by the time we got to that town).I got an earful of sun this morning while driving through the Ozark hills, and the rain made the flatter Kansas prairie seem drab in the early afternoon.
Then we followed U.S. 50/400 West to Dodge City, KS. The sun was low and fierce and straight ahead as we pulled into Dodge.
I had to do some tweaking to get online at all, here. Via AOL, forsooth! My normal carrier, SBC, only has dial up in certain, selected cities, and no 800 service.
We ended up in a motel on Wyatt Earp Avenue in Dodge City, Kansas.
Westward in Kansas. The big curdled sky fascinated me
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Dodge City, KS. Just the plane view of the sunset in front of our motel on Wyatt Earp Avenue
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