The Road Less Travelled

I'm heading west on US-54 and finding the trip interesting. It is good not to be on the interstate. I once had a travelling auditor job with the state and we went to every county seat but I don't recall ever coming out this way.

I was on the road fairly early and was in Eldorado Springs by about 10 AM. The towns out this way are fairly evenly spaced so that when you get moving up to speed you only have a few miles before you are slowing down to go through these little towns. You see some interesting things...like a big sign on a house saying "KIDNEY WANTED" and an interesting little café called "Aunt Toadies".  The towns look reasonably prosperous but there are not many people. The farmers are having a bumper year with hay and milo (grain sorghum) so I guess they are in the feed business. The hay bales look like giant marshmallows sitting out in the fields.

I stopped in Eldorado Springs to get some coffee at a McDonald's. The place was crawling with flies...both inside and out. You couldn't stand to sit in the place for the flies. Not surprising, then, when I headed out of town the first creek I crossed was Fly Creek.  Must be some kind of local phenomenon...yuk.

Hospital

I enjoyed stopping in Ft. Scott KS just across the Kansas line. Guess what...there is a fort there....yes...Fort Scott. It dates from the 1840s and was involved in the Mexican War. Soldiers from Ft. Scott went all the way to Mexico City. The fort has been turned into a national historic landmark and is very interesting. It also had a role in keeping peace among the various Indian tribes being relocated to eastern Kansas.  The fort was abandoned in 1852 and the buildings were sold to local settlers and became the nucleus of the town. The government rented it back during the Civil War and it served as a refugee camp and hospital.

Parade ground and stable

12-pound Mountain Howitzer (L) and
a 6-pound cannon (R)

Officers' Row

Dragoon Uniforms

The soldiers were Dragoons, which means they could fight on horseback or on foot. They usually patrolled the plains and went as far west as South Pass in Wyoming and down the Santa Fe Trail. Their uniforms are quite different from what we expect from the mid-1800s.

The rest of the trip to Wichita was pretty uneventful. There were a few sprinkles of rain. The highway crosses part of the Flint Hills which is probably the prettiest part of Kansas (It's the best they can do and it does have some beauty - in a way.)

I got to Wichita and checked into my motel and then went looking for something to eat. I managed to get lost and it took a while to find my way back.  It's been a long day....I'm tired.