You could say that Saturday, May 4th was the day we got the heck outta Dodge. That's because we left Dodge City headed for Baileyville, Kansas, for the rest of the weekend.
Baileyville is about 300 miles from Dodge City, so this was one of our longer driving days at just under 5 hours without any stops. But this was a day about what was on the way, not what was at the destination.
The weather turned cold, in the low 40s as we left Dodge City in the morning, so we were glad to have our heavier jackets. I had remembered to bring both my cap and gloves; DH forgot both of his at home. We have needed our heavier jackets several days since!
Our first stop of the day was at Fort Dodge which is just a few miles from Dodge City. We had learned about Fort Dodge and the role it played in the 1800s in protecting people traveling along the Santa Fe Trail when we were at the Boot Hill Museum. Fort Dodge closed in 1888, but today it is used as the Kansas State Soldiers Home. There are some buildings you can look at that have signs posted outdoors. If it hadn't been so cold and if we weren't needing to go so far, we would have stopped to walk around, but instead we stopped long enough to snap a few pictures and move along.
Our next stop was Fort Larned, about an hour from Dodge City. This was an interesting place where we learned about life at and in the Fort and how its role changed over time. It was an army post that was active during the Indian Wars of the 1860s-1870s, and again we heard about Sand Creek and Black Kettle and the Washita massacre. I told DH that I was glad we had already seen the sites in Oklahoma and Dodge City that had information about these times because we had some background for what we were able to learn about at Fort Larned. Even though these places are miles apart, they each were the location of significant events that occurred during that tumultuous period of time in our country's history.
The troops stationed at Fort Larned were referred to as the protectors of the Santa Fe Trail. Whether travelers, goods, the mail, or other things passing along the route, the soldiers at Fort Larned offered protection and safe passage along this part of the Santa Fe Trail. You can learn more about the role of Fort Larned here.
The Fort is well preserved, and the exhibits recreate life at Fort Larned as it was in the 1800s. There is a Visitor Center with a good film that sets the stage for events that occurred at the site, and also provides information about the area. I commented on how much I enjoyed the museum part of the Visitor Center because of the interactive exhibits that helped you immerse yourself into life in those times before going out to look at the buildings around the parade grounds. My favorite unexpected part was how in the museum, they have a window where they have projected troops out on the parade ground, so you think you're looking at something that is actually going on outside!
We saw officer and soldier quarters.
We saw the store.
We saw the post school.
We saw the bakery and the carpenter's shop.
We saw one of the cannons.
And the wind was whipping around so much, the flag was really snapping in the wind.
We learned about daily life at the Fort.
We spent longer at Fort Larned than we had expected, about 75 minutes, but there was so much there that was laid out in such a way to make it easy to follow that we tried to take it all in. The rangers were knowledgeable about the Fort and the events that occurred there, so it was interesting to talk with them.
For my data friends and colleagues, when we arrived in the parking lot, we were approached by a young man from a university who was conducting research through a university in Oregon on behalf of the National Park Service. So when they asked if we would complete their survey, of course I said yes! And I did - I mailed it back to them so they'll have it for their data collection!
Also, we felt like we were smarter having Larned a lot at Fort Larned.
~ Cindy D.
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