Dining Room--Bent's Fort

Living quarters of the kitchen workers--Bent's Fort

Bent's Fort Graveyard--this is the only headstone remaining. The others were made of adobe and just eroded away. This one is granite. He was a stagecoach driver who died of heat stroke or a heart attack. He was 31.

KOA, LaJunta, CO; to Gunsmoke RV Park, Dodge City, KS: I started driving this morning. Left at 9:45 a.m. heading east on Rt. 50, which we’ll take all the way to Dodge City. Good road (two-lane most of the way) with wide shoulders. This route follows the old Santa Fe Trail all the way. Must have been such a hot, dusty trail back then, and what a relief it must have been to stop at Bent’s Fort. Stopped at Syracuse, KS, and had lunch. Syracuse, NY, is my hometown—bears no resemblance to Syracuse, KS. After lunch Mike started driving. Temps hit 104 and the wind was really whipping. Moved us around pretty good. Pretty non-descript scenery all the way. Passed mostly farm fields, feed lots, and grain elevators. Huge feed lots. Makes me want to be a vegetarian. NOT! We arrived at the Gunsmoke RV Park (ooh yeah!) at around 3:30. We lost an hour because we’re now on Central Time. Pulled in and we noticed a hose hanging down and a panel and insulation hanging down (sigh) from under the RV. Jeeze! What next! Mike checked it out and said nothing is “broken” but somehow the panels covering the water tanks came partly off. Could have been the wind. We’re not sure. We are staying here one night only and then heading to a State Park in KS on a lake. Not sure what to do now. Think we should just go home and forget the four days left on our trip. Think it’s 99 here in Dodge City.