Visiting Kansas - Land of Dorothy Gale and Marshall Matt Dillon

After we enjoyed our fresh breakfast burritos and Southern pecan specialty coffee at The Den at Route 66, we left Groom, Texas, hopped onto I-40 for about 10 miles, and connected with TX-70 and thereafter US-83.  We passed through the panhandle of Oklahoma, arriving in Liberal, Kansas.  I highly doubt the City’s name is indicative of its residents’ political persuasion (their high school team is called “The Redskins”), but this is a very agri-industrial area.  It is the land of Dorothy Gale, who even has a museum in her honor (Dorothy’s House and the Land of Oz).    Liberal is also home to the Mid America Air Museum.  It has a huge, flat asphalt parking lot, making it a great Harvest Hosts location for our overnight stay.  We had 2 unusual occurrences here: we opened our windows in the evening for the first time in months to enjoy the cool mid 50F degree temperatures, and our cell service with Verizon was so good that we had no need to put out our Starlink.  The Museum houses a terrific array of aircraft, and it has a fun, interactive “kids’ corner” for children of all ages.  Adult tickets = $10, aged 62 or older = $7, children 5-15 = $5.  Young ones under age 5, veterans/active-duty military, and pilots receive free admission.  The displays were well worth the ticket price.  And if you happen to be here on October 4, 2025, they are hosting an air show for the first time in many years.

 

These are just a few of the dozens of aircraft on display at the Liberal Air Museum.

Dad was enthralled with the interactive displays in "Kids' Corner" and insisted on trying them all out.

The Museum even had a tribute to 9/11.

We left Liberal via US-54, US-283, and US-50, heading to Dodge City, Kansas.  We booked a full hook up pull through site at Gunsmoke RV Park for $48/night.  It is an older park, but it is quiet and provides easy access to a flat, extra long site, so we did not need to disconnect Big Boomer/Suite Retreat.  The Park has free WI-FI, a tidy coin-operated laundry, and a clean pool (though we didn’t use it).

I think these 2 were about to have a gunfight!

The Gunsmoke RV Park was next to a sheep/cow pasture...

...which made a fine foreground for a sunset photo.

Plus, Gunsmoke RV Park is located within 10 minutes of our destination: the Boot Hill Museum and Cemetery.  The $20/adult admission price to Boothill seemed steep at first.  But with 2 daily re-enactments of good ‘ole gun fights outside the recreated Front Street saloons, mercantile, apothecary, and other businesses from 1880s Dodge City, I soon learned I’d get a lot of bang for my buck.

 

There's a few itchy trigger fingers out there.  I smell a gunfight coming on.

We enjoyed going through each of the recreated Front Street businesses.

Serendipity:  I found the perfect vault to store my cheese at the Dodge City bank.  

: 

This Victorian was home to Jack and Sally Hardesty, in-laws of Fred Harvey, the famed hotelier/restaurateur who provided services at Harvey Houses to passengers along several railway routes, including the Santa Fe Railroad in Dodge City.

First Union Church.

Furthermore, the new Museum is well done.   I learned so much about the area from its many interactive displays.  Prior to the opening of the Santa Fe Depot in Dodge City in 1877, driving cattle from Texas to market was physically and financially challenging with the constant need to fend off thieves, Indian attacks, and disease.   But with Dodge City becoming a major rail hub, Texans could move cattle easier, thereby introducing Texas beef to new Eastern markets.  In fact, between 1875 to 1885, 3-4 million cattle came through Dodge City.  Can you believe in the year 1800, it is estimated 30 million bison roamed freely on the plains of the Midwest.  Sadly, 100 years later, less than 1,000 were left.  European settlers contributed greatly to this near extinction.  They killed massive numbers just for their hides.  They left the remaining parts of the animal behind to rot.  Additionally, General Sherman knew that Indian tribes valued the gift of “Tatanka” (their name for bison).  They considered it their lifeline, a gift from their Creator.  They utilized every part of its being for food, clothing, and shelter (heck, they even used its poop for fuel!).  So, his method to remove the Indians from lands now wanted for settlers and Western expansion was to annihilate the bison, for he knew without the bison, the Indians’ way of life could not survive.  Thankfully, modern efforts to restore bison herds have been successful, with headcount now about a ½ million.  

Dodge City in the 1880s was a poster child for the “Wild West” with its lawlessness, inebriation, carousing, and gun-slinging.  It was up to the Marshals to bring order and justice to the City.  Hence, the likes of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson earned their legendary reputations as lawmen.  Speaking of Marshals, I perused the gallery of Honorary Marshals of Dodge City, which included Johnny Cash, Duke Ellington, and, of course, members of the Gunsmoke cast: James Arness (Matt Dillon), Ken Curtis (Festus), Dennis Weaver (Chester), even Milburn Stone (Doc).  Wait, no Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty)?  Nope.  In fact, there were no women OR stuffed rats named as Honorary Marshals.  Well, I decided that had to change.  After chatting with the show girls at Long Branch Saloon and joining them for a round of Can-Can, they convinced local law enforcement to deputize me! 

I worked my first shift as a Marshal in Dodge City.

Speaking of the saloon and show girls, we attended the Long Branch Saloon Variety Show.  For an extra $30/person, we had ourselves some tasty vittles and grub (pot roast, cream corn, green beans, biscuit, apple cobbler) while being entertained with song, dance, and comedy reminiscent of 1880s Dodge City.  A feature at the Museum since 1958, it is the longest running variety show in the U.S. of A.  It was a bit cheesy—but we all know how much I adore cheese!

Miss Kitty, the Star of the Long Branch Saloon Variety Show.

 

The Grand Finale of the Variety Show.

The older building of the Museum houses some nostalgic furnishings and Rodeo Hall of Fame (Hooray, some females were inducted!).  It sits at the base of the original Boot Hill Cemetery, where 30+ drifters, delinquents, or destitutes were planted directly in the ground “with their boots on”.  (Later, all their bodies were dug up and reinterred elsewhere.)

 

How cool is that sofa.  I wouldn't mind relaxing there watching a Western or 2 after a long day in the saddle.

We always enjoy walking through towns and cities, so the next day we completed a self-guided historical walking tour to see points of interest.  There is lots of construction going on to redo roads, curbs, and sidewalks, so some of the sculptures and “Hall of Fame” sidewalk medallions we went to see have been removed temporarily.

 

You can't be in Dodge City without seeing Marshal Matt Dillon.

Outside Old City Hall are the sculptures and art works of Oscar H. Simpson, DDS.  His "Old Cowboy Statue" is most notable.

Eisenhower Park Pavilion.  The birds all have nests behind the murals.

It's Salsa Man!

Lovely architecture on The Carnegie Art Center...

...including gorgeous stained glass windows.

Inside the Santa Fe Rail Depot in Dodge City.  This building is where Fred Harvey of Harvey Houses fame provided services to rail passengers.  Amtrak now runs trains from this station.

Me and John Henry "Doc"
Holliday playing a hand of poker.  Doc wasn't a U.S. Marshal here in Dodge City (that didn't happen until his time in Arizona.)  Instead, he practiced dentistry, hence earning him the nickname "Doc".

Wright Park is Dodge City's oldest park.   Dating to 1883, it is named for its benefactor, Robert M. Wright.

Hoover Pavilion in Wright Park.

Touching and tasteful 9/11 Memorial within Wright Park.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Boot Hill Museum and Cemetery and our time exploring the City, but it is time for us to get the heck outta Dodge.  I’ll talk to you again soon!