I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

Day 6 of the roadtrip and we've made it to La Junta, Colorado.  We've made it to our 3rd time zone (mountain time) and our 9th state.

But, more importantly, we've succeeded in one of our challenges and achieved one of our aims.

First thing this morning, we went to the visitor centre in Dodge City, Kansas.  "We're from Stockport, in England..." we began.  "Stockport? Barbara, these guys are from Stockport..." The excited lady behind the desk exclaimed.  It turned out that they had a display on the wall devoted to the friendship charter verse Dodge City and Stockport.

It all goes back to the Dodge family, after whom Dodge Hill in Heaton Norris is named.  It is known that the family headed for America.  It seems that one of the family became a general, after whom Fort Dodge was named.

The city became named after the fort and the rest is history.  We met a lovely guy called Anthony Collins who recently visited Stockport and dined with the Mayor.

 

We're pleased to report that we have done our bit for Stockport/Dodge relations.  It was quite extraordinary to see a display including pictures of Chadkirk country park, in the middle of the Wild West.

The good people of Dodge City made us feel very welcome and we left in high spirits.

This is where we deviated from Route 50 for a few hundred miles.  We headed South West to a place called Liberal.  Apparently the name came from a local man who used to provide water for free to locals.  Water was not to be taken for granted in these parts, so when people used to say 'that's mighty liberal of you', the name stuck.

Anyway, we had a mission.  To have our photo taken in Kansas with somebody called Dorothy.

We headed for the Coronado museum, which includes Dorothy's House and The Land of Oz.

We had added another 150 miles to our trip in search of a munchkin's ukulele and a chance to meet Dorothy.

We had to make do with a very lovely guide, but it was all a bit embarrassing.  There was only me and Big Col on the tour.   It involved being locked in a barn, made up to look like various scenes from the film, whilst the guide walked backwards, singing songs from the film to us.  It was like a weird dream.

I couldn't look at Col.  

Col couldn't look at me.

Neither of us could look at the reversing woman singing "we're off to see the wizard...".

Anyway, it was over all too soon.  It was actually a very sweet place, set up by devoted enthusiasts.

We got to see one of the munchkins outfits from the film, plus that ukulele.

We also saw the actual model house that was used for the tornado sequence.  How cool was that?

We did try a selfie with the Dorothy statue but it looks quite sinister, as you can see.

The. It was back to the real world, away from those little scary flying monkeys.

We headed back to Route 50 across increasingly remote farming communities.  Evey few miles, historical markers showed us the sites of various incidents that had taken place during the Indian wars.  A reminder, if we needed one, that the southern plains were once peopled by the Cheyenne and Comanche, amongst others.

Eventually, we made it to Colerado and settled at the town of La Junta.  We found a couple of nice bars, including BJ's, where the barman, Carlos' hospitality was worth the trip alone.  Plus, we recommend the Bamboo Panda for good Chinese food.

That's despite us having a moment similar to the classic Test Match Special clip with Aggers etc.

Big Col ordered a pupu platter for starters.  There was an enormous, excruciating silence whilst he tried to compose himself enough to order his main course.  Childish.

Anyway, tomorrow, we head further into the mountains of Colorado, heading for Gunnison.

Meanwhile, the wildlife is getting more beautiful.

And more scary...

See you in the mountains. :0)