I’ve finally finished processing all of my picks from our Pacific Northwest road trip!
The last two stops were Fort Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, Kansas and George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, Missouri.
The two things we most wanted to do in Fort Scott were (1) visit the fort and (2) visit the Gordon Parks Museum. The trip from Fort Larned took longer than we expected, so we arrived at the fort just as they were shutting down for the day. Fortunately, a kind ranger was able to arrange for Kathy to get her Passport book stamped, and we were only able to see the outsides of the buildings.
The Gordon Parks Museum is part of Fort Scott Community College, and the college was closed at the time we passed through. So that will need to be reserved for a future trip. The town of Fort Scott was very quaint with a number of interesting looking shops and restaurants, so it’s likely that we’ll make a point of getting back there at some point.
After spending the night in Joplin, MO we stopped at George Washington Carver National Monument the next day enroute to our last overnight in Clarksville, TN. We had always thought of Carver as the “peanut guy” but he did far more than that. It was another unexpectedly educational visit. After our night in Clarksville we “took the last train” and drove home through Tennessee while (unsuccessfully) dodging heavy thunderstorms!
All in all we drove a total of 8,230 miles over 25 days, and I took nearly 4,500 photos. My picks brought the total down to 1,745 and there are just over 800 photos in the 10 online galleries.
I now have a complete collection of photos from our road trip in my Adobe Portfolio page here.
Well written, again. Good imagery, again. You do have a good eye for capturing the story of places like this. I’m envious. I am also impressed by all the information you two seem to acquire when on these adventures, whether locally or across the continent. You’ve taught me a lot in all these post about your trip.
Kathy & I joked recently that if we had known these places were so interesting while we were in school we would have been much better students!
We’ve come to realize that all these historical sites are there for a reason, and all we need to do is go and experience them and we’ll learn something. There is a lot of history all across this country, and sometimes in unexpected places.
Too bad the Gordon Parks Museum was closed. He has always been one of my favorite photographers. The was gutsy and his photos always had a strong social impact. Enjoyed seeing your photos and story of the visit to the fort.
Thank you, Jeff. It was one of those things that we had hoped to do but it didn’t work out. Since we tend to stay off the major highways there’s a good chance we’ll be wandering through Kansas another time when it will be open.
Stay warm out there!