Santa Fe Trail tracks - A Kansas prairie day

I planned to pull out early and drive the Santa Fe trail across Kansas with a stop in Dodge City because Wyatt Earp is my favorite lawman ever, especially as he was played by the always awesome Kurt Russell.

Of course, that plan bit the dust about 6am when I dismissed the alarm and went back to sleep. But I did drive the Santa Fe trail.

There are many places where you can see the actual wagon wheel tracks and ruts in the mud.  It's amazing after all these years the scars left on the praire from America's migration West are still there for us to see.

Here you can faintly see were the wagon wheels carried the pioneers west.

I ate my lunch right here on the grass.  A lot of the trails and ruts are on personal property where the owners allow visiters.  I got a very "little house on the prairie" feel and could imagine families traveling by covered wagon on that vast and lonely prairie.  Sometimes they got stuck for days in the mud and made some true ruts that have lasted for almost 150 years since the railroad took over as the main mode of transportation west for both people and supplies.

This is the Santa Fe Trail marker at the http://edwardscountymuseum.info/6.html

This is the sod house before it was enclosed to keep it safe from the elements. 

This is the sod house as it looks today inside it's climate controled building.

The museum is home to so much Kansas history that it's a must see for all Kansans and for anyone interested in American history.

Then my prairie day was over and I camped for the night at a beautiful rest area that offered free coffee in the morning.  God Bless America :)