Dodge City - in the footsteps of Wyatt Earp

Day 5 of the roadtrip and we've made it into our 8th state; Kansas.  We're writing this from the Dodge Hall Hotel, in Dodge City, Kansas.  

The hotel where, supposedly, Wyatt Earp was a frequent resident and Doc Holliday used to treat patients in room 24.  I say supposedly, because the hotel seems to be both too young and in the wrong place for those claims to be true.  But we should never let the truth get in the way of a good story.  Either way, it is probably the oddest hotel I have ever seen.

Our room opens directly on to a volleyball court.  An indoor volleyball court.

We set off from Independence, Missouri this morning, having listened to BBC radio Manchester discussing our trip, courtesy of my lovely wife, through the wonders of the internet.

We weren't prepared for the torrential rain that greeted our crossing into Kansas.  There were warnings of flash floods as we battled through thunderstorms.

But, having discovered the delights of the historic town of Peabody and, in particular, Pop's Diner, which provided appropriate shelter from the elements, we emerged to an entirely different day.

The storms moved away and were replaced by sunshine and temperatures hitting 92 degrees Fahrenheit.

Our mood lifted as were finally able to drop the roof on the Mustang as we cruised across the plains, passing farmstead after farmstead, punctuated by water towers and windmills.

After several hours, we glided into Dodge City, our nominal halfway point for the trip (at least, in terms of mileage).

We just had enough time to have a look around the Boot Hill museum and front street, which recreated Dodge from the 1880's. 

 In truth, it was as kitsch as you could get, but it was an interesting visit.  There are only 3 of the original buildings remaining but we had a look round the saloon bar where the Charter of Friendship between Dodge City and Stockport, UK, was signed.

This was a key part of our choosing this route across the US.

In our younger days, Big Col and I shared a flat together in an area of Stockport called Dodge Hill.  Legend had it that the Dodge family had moved from Stockport and had founded Dodge City.  We wanted to find out for ourselves whether this was true.

Tomorrow, we're going to try and learn about the link, before we have to, er, get the hell out of Dodge to deal with one of our Melbourne challenges.

So, if tomorrow goes according to plan, we will be waving goodbye to Kansas and stepping in to Colorado, as we head towards the Rockies.   Woohoo!  

See you in La Junta.  :0)