Day off in Dodge City,KS.
Spent the day visiting the sites.... This place is maibly a tourist trap and of course we were trapped.
First stop was boot hill where indigents and outlaws etc were buried after shootouts. The name came about since most were killed, dumped in the back street and hurriedly buried by the marshall and deputies the next day. The bady was stripped of the valuables a hole dug and wrapped in a blanket and dumped in with their boots on: oftwn with the boots protruding thru the earth. The actual remains of 32 have been removed to another site.
Rode the bikes thru the town an viewed the statues,train depot and even visited a small zoo in a park.
The boot hill museum was very interesting and explained the indian point of view fron several tribes as well as the gov't position and of course the pioneers: all in response to manifest destiny and populating the west.
In a 40 year period the populatin of the buffalo went from about 40 million to about a thousand. Part of this was due to demand for buffalo pelts and horns and partly to quote Gen. Sheridan "by killing off the buffalo we will solve the indian problem"
Lunch was at Applebee's. After which we headed back to the camp and took care of odds and ends. Supper at the community college.
Wind to be from the NE and that is the way we are heading tomorrow for about 70 miles to Larned,ks, with a stop at fort larned enroute. E
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