Fort Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, Kansas
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.
Fort Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, KansasFort Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, KansasFort Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, Kansas
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.
Fort Scott, Kansas
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.
Old train station in Fort Scott, KansasFort Scott, Kansas
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!
George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, MissouriGeorge Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, MissouriGeorge Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, MissouriGeorge Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, MissouriGeorge Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, Missouri
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.
Entrance to Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas
Fort Larned National Historic Site in Kansas was our final major stop on our way toward home from Fort Collins, CO. We had spent the previous night in Hays, Kansas and stopped for a picnic breakfast at the picnic area just outside the entrance to the park. While we were there, we only saw one car drive in, and it was a guy with a dog, both of whom needed to use the “facilities” but neither went to the fort.
Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas. Flag was at half staff due to the recent passing of Supreme Court Justice GinsburgOfficers’ quarters at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasOfficers’ quarters at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasOfficers’ quarters at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas
When we arrived in the parking lot for the fort, there were a few cars in the parking lot, but I have no idea who they belonged to. Other than a groundskeeper, who we only saw a few times and from a distance, we didn’t see another soul the whole time we were there. The metadata from my photos shows an hour and fifteen minutes between the first and last pictures. But all of the buildings were open for viewing, and the rangers had set up a little table to get stamps for our National Parks Passport.
Officers’ quarters at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasOfficers’ quarters at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasOfficers’ quarters at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas
We visited a number of different historic sites on our western loop, and three of them were forts. Interestingly, all three of them were from different periods in our history, and each one served a unique purpose in its time. Fort Clatsop in Oregon was established by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 and was their quarters for the winter of 1805-1806. Fort Scott, which we visited later the same day as Fort Larned, was established in 1842 as one of a chain of forts intended to protect settlers from the Plains Indians, as well as to protect the Indians from the settlers’ encroachment.
Troop barracks at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasMedical facilities and infirmary at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas
Fort Larned was originally established in 1859 as The Camp on Pawnee Fork. It was renamed Camp Alert in 1860 then moved to the current location and renamed Fort Larned, after Colonel Benjamin F. Larned, the paymaster general of the United States Army at the time the post was established. Fort Larned’s purpose was to protect traffic along the Santa Fe Trail.
Shop areas at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasShop areas at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasShop areas at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas
The park is very well done, with numerous buildings all restored and preserved in near-original condition and is a fine representation of a complete and authentic army post from the 1860s -1870s. This well-preserved fort on the Santa Fe Trail shares a tumultuous history of the Indian Wars era. The sandstone constructed buildings sheltered troops who were known as the Guardians of the Santa Fe Trail.
Food, clothing, supplies and munitions storage at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasFood, clothing, supplies and munitions storage at Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas
I’ve added a gallery of more photos from Fort Larned on my Adobe Portfolio site for anyone who wants to see more. Enjoy! 🙂
Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, KansasFort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas. Flag was at half staff due to the recent passing of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg
Kathy & I had just left our motel in Hayes, Kansas and were speeding down the highway when I spotted this barn alongside the road. It had a very interesting character to it, the light was beautiful and I knew immediately it would make a nice photograph. But I didn’t stop.
Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas
I don’t know how it did it, but soon after I passed the barn I started hearing this voice. It said, “hey dumba$$, come back here and take my picture.” It took nearly 2 miles, but eventually I started slowing down and told Kathy, “I’m going back.”
Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas
As I was walking back to the car the farmer drove by in his pickup. I waved at him and he waved back. Maybe he had heard the voice, too. 😉
Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas
A few days earlier I had passed another barn in Colorado where there was no safe place to pull off the road, and I stewed about it for a long time. So I didn’t really want to pass this one by. But I was already in “Get There Mode” and almost let it go. I’m glad I didn’t!
Fort Larned National Historic Site near Larned, Kansas
Interesting history to this fort, which was established in 1859 and whose role consisted of guarding the transport of the US Mail as well as general traffic along the Santa Fe Trail.
The best part for us was that we spent over an hour at the fort and the only other person we saw was the caretaker, who we saw only from a distance. A very quiet and peaceful experience!
Sorghum fields along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas
Driving through Nebraska and Kansas we kept seeing these interesting plants but didn’t know what they were. The bottoms look like corn stalks but the tops were definitely not corn – more like big bushy cattails. Finally Kathy consulted the interwebs and discovered that the plant in question was sorghum. I’ve eaten sorghum but didn’t know what the plant looked like. News you can use!
One our stops in Kansas was at the Oz Museum in Wamego. Kansas=Oz, right? It was a very well-done museum, with lots of movie and book memorabilia as well as displays documenting various scenes and characters in the movie. While I knew that the movie was based on a book by L. Frank Baum, I didn’t realize that the tale was actually comprised of a series of 14 books. Now I’m going to need to read them all!
As I’ve been doing, there are a few highlight photos here in this post, and anyone interested can see more at this link: Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas.
Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, KansasWizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas
