Sunday, May 18, 2008

Boot Hill and Gunsmoke Territory

We have been to Tombstone territory and we are now in Boot Hill territory!!!!


Early afternoon we pulled into the Gunsmoke RV Park in Dodge City, KS. We had been on the road for 3 fairly long days and it was time for a little break, plus we wanted to see the famous BOOT HILL. We also wanted to meet up with the Marshall MATT DILLON. Matt ranked right up there with John Wayne as one of my "idols".

Entrance to the Campground. See the PISTOL and the SMOKE.....


I thought that Six Shooter was NEAT!!! The campsite was plenty large enough for our rig and made it easy to pull in. We had a PressurePro system to pack up and get to the post office, so we took care of that first thing. http://www.pressureprosystem.com/ Then we came back and settled in to get a little R&R so we would be ready for BOOT HILL tomorrow. The wind was blowing like crazy, so it was good to be off the road!
BOOTHILL is right downtown Dodge City and you can walk through the graveyard and read the headstones (made of wood) of all the BAD guys and other unfortunate ones that didn't survive the early day lawlessness and were gunned down back in the 1870s/1880s.

Back in my younger days, I hung out in lots of bars, but I always wanted to make this one!! THE FAMOUS LONGBRANCH SALOON!! The bartender even gave us a "shot" on the house!!!! NEAT !!

This is the rest of Front Street in Dodge City. You can browse through all the old stores and businesses that were reproduced to an exact duplicate of the originals.....FIREARM's are not allowed in this area, as per Wyatt Earp!!!! So we had to "check our guns".
For more pictures that I took of the area go to:
For more info about the area go to:
We were crushed to find out that Matt Dillon was just a "fictional" TV character!!!! Wyatt Earp and "Bat" Masterson were the guys that organized a "Peace Commission" and introduced some Law and Order to the area. Very interesting stuff!!! I probably wouldn't have survived back in those days!!! I surely would have been SHOT or HANGED!!!! :-(
The following day we continued on and finished our trip in to Lincoln, NE where Son Scott and his wife Ann live. We were very anxious to see them....and we are now busy helping them catch up on some chores that needed to be done. As most of you know, Scott was diagnosed with Leukemia in Oct, 07. It has been an extremely hard winter for both of them. He is doing well, but MAN, I was surprised to see how much he has changed. He has lost over 60 lbs, all his hair and is very pale. He is coming along OK, but still has quite a ways to go and fights continuous ongoing problems daily! He is very weak and unsteady on his feet, has no appetite and is nauseous a lot of the time. We went with him Friday to the hospital where he received 2 units of blood, which took a total of 4 hours. This is normal stuff to him; he has been struggling with this for 7-1/2 months!!! It really has to be overwhelming and tiring for him. Ann had to leave her work and be at his side almost continually as they do not want him to be left alone at any time.
Their strong faith and dedication, along with everyone's support and prayers is what has kept them going......and continues to do so.....PLEASE KEEP IT UP!!!!!!! We thank you very much!!
It was a GREAT WEEK!!!!!!
We are glad to be here and hope we can help the kids a little.......
Just 2 weeks until the Pancake feed!!!!!! Please come!
Take care and travel safe...
Mike

1 comment:

Jerry and Suzy said...

Pat and Mike,
We just recently received another blog posting from a couple who had stopped at Boot Hill and Dodge City. You had more pictures (they are more interested in their dog's reaction to things than in showing us pictures!).

Our thoughts and prayers will go with your son and daughter-in-law. What a terrible burden for both, at least as much for her as for him! As long they hold on to their faith and each other, they have a strong support.

Jerry and Suzy