We’re back in the USA and as it’s another new leg of our USA tour I am trying to give the blog a facelift so please be patient as I tweak the pages to get a better looking blog.
Anyway, we landed back in Denver just in time to watch the State of Origin III (go Blues!) then picked up our rig the next morning. Two days later we were headed to Wichita to see our great mates Gary & Sharyl but first we had a couple of days in the legendary Dodge City. With the temperature edging to 100 F (38 C) even the snakes came out to greet us at the “Gunsmoke RV Resort” on the fringe of town.
As soon as we had set up camp we drove into town to have a peek around. Fortunately Dodge City forefathers saw fit to preserve many of the sites that make this frontier city the home of such names as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, the Masterton Brothers, Kit Carson, TV’s Matt Dillon (remember James Arness in Gunsmoke?) and many more. In our walk around we happened to stumble across the Dodge City Brewery and on such a hot day we relented and went inside to try a bit of the local tipple. Shane was particularly fond of the 10.9% (ABV) drop “Velvet Hammer” brew. Luckily I was driving. On our way to DC we had tried to get tickets online for the Boot Hill Tourist site which included dinner and a show. Failing this online attempt we drove direct to the place and managed to secure a pair of tickets for the next day.
Saturday came and we hit Boot Hill early before the heat got unbearable. We had no idea it would take us most of the day to see it all. With all day tickets we could come and go as we pleased. To keep the photo galleries here manageable I have split our photo’s over two galleries, one for the day and the second for the dinner and show. Don’t be mistaken this IS the original, authentic Boot Hill that we have all heard of in those famous cowboy movies. They even have a section on Hollywood in DC. The exhibits here are real and very interesting especially those about the American Indians that have so often been cast as the ‘baddies’.
Some of the photos I would draw your attention to are 2nd and 3rd pics before the piano player in the saloon. One’s an actual script from “Gunsmoke” and the other a replica of the DC Times newspaper reporting on the gunning down of Bat Masterton’s brother Ed. I just hope it is of sufficient resolution for you to read. Following those there are pics of the gunfight outside of the saloon and other interesting titbits (No, titbits is not a play on words because of the photos of DC’s prostitutes.)
We’ve started the 2nd gallery with our evening visit back to Boot Hill where they put on another gunfight before we had dinner and a great realistic show at the saloon. Besides the ‘saloon girls’ and the barmen, the MC for the show was the head barman. He introduced Miss Kitty (saloon proprietor of course), his wife (who was quite funny insisting on wriggling her way into the show), the piano player (of course) and a temperance protestor (injecting more humour into the night). This is very much an audience participation show, like it or not. If you don’t like it I fear you would be taken outside and shot. Happily everyone agreed to sing and play along. The finale was Miss Kitty singing while her ‘lost doves’ did the can-can on stage. It was the best night we have had in ages.
We moved on after a couple of days, meeting up with Gary and Sharyl, before moving west again and again encountering extreme heat. This wasn’t the only time it hit 104 degrees F but thankfully we only had one day at Guymon before travelling on to Amarillo. We had been told “there’s nothing in Amarillo” and they’d almost be correct. However we did manage to find (despite the most despicable circular highway interchange in the world – see the GPS shot) the Cadillac Farm. Here, the rear ends of 10 Caddys stuck out of the ground like oversized rainbow coloured tombstones. You can take your own spray paint and graffiti a caddy if you wish. Just note that it will most likely be sprayed over by someone else within the hour. I did manage to spot one weird/funny thing at Amarillo. Notice the products on the shelf at a local liquor store. No sh*t!
As we left Amarillo we pondered why Tony Christie would bother singing “Show me the way to Amarillo” but I suppose it made him a fortune in royalties so why not?
We had 2 overnight stops on our way to our next decent stopover. First was Santa Rosa which didn’t have a real lot apart from a series of mineral springs that are popular with local holiday makers. The most famous of these is “the Blue Hole” which is quite interesting and a ‘must swim’. The Blue Hole is one of the most popular dive destinations in the US for SCUBA diving and training. While the surface is only 80 feet (24 m) in diameter, it expands to a diameter of 130 feet (40 m) at the bottom some 80 feet below. Also, as we found to our horror, it is a freezing 14.5 degrees C. We lasted 3 minutes tops in the water before we retreated to our RV park and their warmer pool.
The second overnighter isn’t worth chatting about as it was the worst stop we have ever had. Stuck beside the highway and the trainline they couldn’t even tell us what site had what utilities (30/50 amp, sewer, power) and preferred to tell us to “just drive in and hook up anywhere.” This dingy little hell hole at Carizozo should be shut down.
There were two high spots during this leg of our travel. Enroute to Santa Rosa we first of all took a break at a truck stop just inside the New Mexico border. Now THIS is a roadhouse! In it is the Russell Car Museum and it is free to inspect. The first two pics are as you walk in. One side has the café. The other has the Service Station Shop. Behind these is the entrance to the ‘museum’ which has 3 rows of fantastic iconic cars from days gone by. My fave was the gorgeous pale blue ’59 Corvette convertible but there were many others that would satisfy any car enthusiast. There is also an abundance of other memorabilia that could have kept us there for a full day if we hadn’t the need to push on. Hollywood treasures, everyday items, model cars and toys filled the room to the extent that they have now started to overflow into the shop area. This was a great stop.
A bit further west at Tucumcari, NM, we again stopped to look at their Dinosaur museum and this was another gem we are glad we took the time to experience. Many of the exhibits are ‘local’ (either New Mexico or US) while some are from overseas sites. It is quite hands on and very informative. We both enjoyed it thoroughly. (I preceded this section of this gallery with two street scenes as we approached the dinosaur Museum.) Just for Shane I ended the gallery with the skull of a Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake just like the one that nearly bit her back in Texas. (https://youtu.be/tKlPsXuD-Nk)
Six days out of Wichita and we are staying at Elephant Butte RV Resort, NM, north of El Paso, Texas. It is a desert town that is extremely popular with tourists. It has heaps to do here especially if you have a boat or like water sports. I’ll post some photos in the next blog.
So watch out for it soon. Cheers for now
Garry & Shane.
The Get Out of Dodge was a good read with some great pics, still catching my Fav stuff, guns, planes and trains …… Utes in the Paddock , Yank style interesting twist…… I use WiKi Camps on my phone for camping info here in Oz and they have a WiKi Camps app for the US might be worth a look so you can miss the feral joints….. 38 degs aint hot, whoozer.
If you like your planes wait till the next blog (hopefully in a few days). In Arizona & been to PIMA Air Museum (400+ aircraft). Today we drove past “the boneyard” with over 4000 (yep four thousand) aircraft just sitting there in mothballs, many still working aircraft. Sadly needed at least 2 weeks notice to apply for entry so just managed some pics as we drove by.
BTW – Thanks for the comments. Thought no one was reading (not that I will stop to keep our memories recorded).
I like your writing style and along with the pics find it very enjoyable, new layout okay once I found my way around, the ” Leave a Comment “tag is well hidden though………….Customs must have lost that boat I think…
Noted. I’ll see about tweaking to make comment easier. I want comments to be able to improve.
Cheers mate.