Millford Lake State Park, KS:  Well, we didn’t think yesterday could get any worse, but it did.  A line of bad storms was heading our way.  I took the NOAA weather radio to bed with me, and the alerts started at 11:00 p.m.  They were saying these were very dangerous storms and we should seek shelter in a sturdy building.  Since we’re in a campground, the only sturdy building was the restrooms just across the street from our site.  So, I told Mike I was heading over there.  I noticed on the men’s room door there was something flopping around in the wind.  Thought it was some kind of debris kicked up by the horrendous winds.  Put my flashlight on it, and it’s moving!  It was a SNAKE!  A pretty large snake.  And it was about 5 feet up on this door.  Not sure how it was able to stay up there.  Anyway, I hotfooted it back.  What in the world is next!!!  Anyway, I could barely get the door to the fifth wheel open because the wind was so strong.  But we survived the night.  I didn’t get to bed until around 3:00 a.m.  Today dawned sunny and nice.  I found out from the host that some guy got the snake down sometime this morning and killed it.  I don’t know why people do that.  It wasn’t a harmful snake and if the Park Ranger had just taken it down and released it in the woods, all would have been fine.  But it was killed.  Such a waste!  So, today we headed over to Ft. Riley which is home to the 1^st Infantry Division—Big Red One.  I thought it was some kind of helicopter regiment.  This is a very impressive base.  It’s like a pretty big city.  Nice housing, a wonderful Post Exchange and Commissary, and has its own hotels even.  The U.S. Calvary museum is in the old post (circa 1850s).  I loved this part of the base.  The buildings are all made of limestone blocks and the post has a very impressive history.  After the museum we came back and Mike grilled some chicken breasts.  We ate early.  Tomorrow we head out again and will be staying in Columbia, MO.  Hopefully it will be a better day than yesterday!

 

U.S. Cavalry Museum--Ft. Riley, KS.

This sculpture is dedicated to the over one million horses and mules that died in the Civil War--either killed in battle or died of disease.

One of the buildings in the old post.

Officer Housing in the old post.

Oldest house in the old post--circa 1855.

"Chief"--foaled in 1932, entered military service in 1940, retired in 1949. Upon his death, he was the last cavalry mount on the rolls of the U.S. Army.

The building that housed the museum.