One of the reasons to take this route is to go through Fort Scott, Kansas. The town has a nicely preserved Main Street, with buildings dating back to the 1800's.
That's when the military fort--that gave this Kansas town its name--was built. Fort Scott was a military post, needed as a buffer between the Indian tribes and the western settlers of the 1800's. Its nicely restored white buildings now make up the Fort Scott National Historic Site.
They have a great visitor center, where we learned more about the political and human aspects of Kansas before the Civil War. This fort was actually auctioned off to private citizens when it was no longer needed in 1853.
We could walk through most of the buildings, including these fancy officer quarters. When they were auctioned, they became private residences, then a hotel, and then leased back to the army when military housing was needed during the Civil War.
Walking through the interior of the buildings, we saw a glimpse of the 1800's. This was the hospital ward, where doctors didn't yet know that washing their hands and knives would be a good idea before surgery. More soldiers died from the care they received here, rather than their initial injuries.
Our next stop in Kansas was the Louisburg Cider Mill. This time of year the mill isn't squeezing apples into juice, but this sweet nectar is still available for sale. We purchased a gallon of their quick-pasteurized juice and a dozen apple cider donuts before we left.
But of course, our main destination of the day is Kansas City, where our new granddaughter was sleeping when we arrived. At two weeks, Carter is still sleeping like she did all those months in the womb. What a precious little girl to come home to, as we returned to our motor home parked in a campground 20 miles south of the city. We were settled in for another week-long stay, but our plans would change . . .
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