Dodge City & the Wild West

Because of the issues we were having with the RV, we spent four days in Dodge City, an interesting little place that celebrates both its historical and fictional past.  Dodge is located on the 100th meridian which is considered the line marking the beginning of the arid high plains.  It was where the large southern buffalo herds roamed which attracted the plains Indians and it was where Coronado crossed the Arkansas River in his search for the city of gold.  Later, the Santa Fe trail passed through Dodge.  After the railroad came through, it became the destination for the cattle drives from Texas which brought rowdy cowboys and the famous lawmen who controlled the town. Later it became the big agricultural center that it is today.  The whole story is told at the Boot Hill Museum, a recreation of the old town.

Some of the Indian Artifacts that tell the importance of the buffalo to their culture.

     The buffalo where here first which attracted the Indians.  The cross marks the spot where Coronado crossed the Arkansas River.  The arrival of the railroad brought the cattle and the cowboys and that lead to the town hiring famous lawman, Wyatt Earp.     

There are plaques on the sidewalks throughout Dodge honoring both real and fictional citizens. 
In the top row are real people.  Starting on the left is Big Nose Kate Elder, a love interest of Doc Holliday; center is Wyatt Earp, who was a Deputy Sheriff under Bat Masterson; right is Doc Holliday, a dentist, gambler and gunfighter.
In the bottom row are some of the fictional characters from movies and TV shows about Dodge.
Left is Milburn Stone, who played Doc Adams on Gunsmoke; center is James Arness, Marshal Matt Dillon on the show and Gene Barry, who played Bat Masterson.
There are many more plaques including the entire cast of Gunsmoke.

I found this display of original signatures of some of Dodge City's most famous citizens very interesting.  It is a direct link to past characters, many of whom I grew up with as the were portrayed in the movies and TV shows of my youth.

Nanc is checking out the pictures of some of the famous people who have visited the Boot Hill Museum.  They included politicians like John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford, who where both here before they became president and many famous entertainment personalities.

The recreated Front Street of Dodge City.  All of the businesses where actually in the city during the frontier period.

Here is the inside of the bank, mortuary, newspaper and blacksmith shop. 

The Long Branch was not just the fictional saloon in Gunsmoke, but one of 19 bars during the cowboy days that lead to the city's reputation as the "Wickedest Little City in America". 

You can have a beer or a sarsaparilla while listening to the piano player at the Long Branch.  In the summer they have can can dancers in the bar and old time Western shoot outs on Front Street.

This is where the name Boot Hill comes from. This was really just the cemetery for the down and out who could not afford to be buried at nearby Fort Dodge.  All of the bodies were relocated years ago as the city grew and took over Boot Hill.

A stop in Dodge City sure does bring back a lot of memories from the old Western movies we watched as kids.

Another RV Repair and On To Plan B

Well, the saga continues.  As I reported in the last post the stop engine light came on again while we were in Oklahoma. It seems that it is happening whenever we stop and the engine is idling. Even though the folks at Woodward Diesel could not work on the rig they where extremely helpful.  They put it on their computer and had a mechanic check out a couple of things that could have caused damage if we continued to drive.  They assured us it was ok to continue on and gave us the numbers of people in Kansas to contact.  They did all this and charged us nothing.  To bad they could not do the work, I am sure they would have done a good job. 

After spending the weekend in Dodge City (blog to follow), we headed to Cummins in Garden City for a Monday afternoon appointment.  With all the information we provided them from all our repair slips going back to the first turbocharger in 2009 and the first stop engine light issue last September and their hands on look beyond what the computer said, they diagnosed the problem as a bad wiring harness which they could have delivered by Tuesday afternoon.  The bad news was we could not stay in the rig so we needed to go to a motel.  We stayed at the Comfort Inn and it turned out to be a very nice place with a wonderful staff.  The morning complimentary breakfast was served on real plates and each evening they had a free sandwich in the bar. During the winter months they offer free soup in the evening.  If you are ever traveling through Garden City, Kansas, the Comfort Inn is a great place to stay.  On Tuesday afternoon we returned to Cummins and were happy to see they were hard at work installing the new harness.  I only realized what a big job it was going to be when they had me open the slides so they could get to the access panel from inside the bedroom in order to get to the engine to install it.  After working four hours on Wednesday they were still not done so it was back to the Comfort Inn.  By noon on Wednesday Billy had the rig ready for a test drive and for the first time in the last few trips the stop engine light did not come, Hoooooraaaaay!!!!!!! We hope that this is the end of this issue and we can begin our summer travels.

Here is Nanc with the wiring monster.  It was over six feet long with 17 connections.  She is smiling because we had not yet received the bill.  That said, we were happy with the way the people at Cummins in Garden City approached the problem and the effort they put into getting the job done.  Only time will tell if their fix was the right one.  It does make me wonder if Cummins in Idaho Falls and Houston just took the easy way out and repaired the first thing on the list of defaults that the computer printed out.  Having your rig worked on at so many different places around the country is a problem that all fulltimers face and there is no way around it.

All these repairs have set us back both time wise and financially so we have decided that we are not going to Alaska this summer.  The thought of being miles away from a repair shop and having to wait days or weeks to get parts, as happened to friends of ours last summer, is not a pleasant one.  We figure that Alaska will always be there.  As I write, we have driven two days without a problem and are surrounded by mountains in Alamosa, CO staying with our friends Jim and Bobbie Chapman.  We plan to explore this area and then work our way north to the Canadian Rockies.  That was to be part of our Alaska trip. Then we plan to head slowly east across Southern Canada or the Northern US.  We hope to be back in WashPA by the beginning of August.  We have friends in both Canada and the US that we hope to see along the way.  While we are disappointed, these kinds of things are just a part of the lifestyle that we live.  As Nanc always says, life is what happens when you are making other plans.  So on to Plan B.  

Dallas

When I think of Dallas, as with many people of my generation, I always remember November 22, 1963 and the Kennedy assassination.  I still remember my friend Dave telling my in the hall at school that the president had been shot.  My reaction was to tell him he was full of s**t, but at about that time the principal made the announcement on the PA.  I am sure the attack on Pearl Harbor was the same for that generation and 9/11 is for all of us who lived through that terrible day.  Where we were and what we were doing is burned into our memory.  Since we were in the area we had to visit The Sixth Floor Museum in the old Texas Book Depository Building.  The museum does a very good job of telling the story of that day and all the related events from the funeral to the conspiracy theories that more people than Lee Harvey Oswald were involved.  Standing in that window and looking down on the site really gives you a clear picture of how Oswald had a straight line to fire at the president.  One thing that struck me was the display that talked about how much hate there was here in Texas toward President Kennedy.  It is frightening, like much of what you hear people saying today about Obama. No photography is allowed inside the museum.   

 Looking up at the sixth floor window (right corner second from the top) from the spot (X) where the second shot hit the president.  It is really chilling to be standing here.  One story they told was of a Dallas policeman who noticed pigeons fly from the roof of the building when the shots rang out.  He immediately ran into the building and actually stopped Oswald, but was told he was an employee and he let him go. Oswald, who was captured later in the day after he killed a Dallas police officer, was shot and killed two days later as he was being transported to court.

 This is the Grassy Knoll in Dealey Plaza where many conspiracy theorists think a second assassin shot from.  This spot is at the side of the road and would have required the shooter to pan as he shot rather than having the straight line of fire that Oswald had.  This is also where Abraham Zapruder, who filmed the only footage of the actual shooting, was standing. Being here and walking the area gives you a clear understanding of the events of that day and it is still shocking. 

 Near Dealey Plaza is the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza.  The memorial is designed as a cenotaph, open tomb, to symbolize the freedom of Kennedy's spirit.  This is all a must see stop for anyone who lived through the events of that November day.

 Another day we visited the Dallas Museum of Art.  The museum has an excellent collection including many impressionist paintings that are Nanc's favorites.  Above are works by Calder, van Gogh, O'Keefe, and Degas. 

 This is the work of glass artist Dale Chihuly whose works we have seen in Las Vegas and Tacoma.

 We found this art work by Robert Rauschenberg with its Kennedy theme to be very interesting.

 The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection is one of the most interesting in the museum.  When their collection was given to the museum in 1985, a replica of the interior of their French home, Villa La Pausa, was built inside the museum to display the works.  The villa was originally the summer home of Coco Chanel.

 The entrance of the villa with tapestries, paintings and furniture.

 The Reves bedroom (above) salon, and dining room all had the works of art displayed as they had been when they lived in the villa.

One of the most interesting rooms to me was the collection of art and other artifacts they had from Winston Churchill who was a close family friend.  The DMA and the villa are a great stop.

As I write this, we are sitting in Dodge City, Kansas and have an appointment in Garden City on Monday for a continuing problem with the motorhome.  While traveling on Thursday the stop engine light came on once again and we had to have it checked in Woodward, Oklahoma.  They were too busy to work on it, but after putting it on the computer they assured us it was ok to drive and even gave us the name of someone to call to have it looked at.  This obviously puts a hold on ALL travel plans as we need to find someone who can figure out what the real problem is once and for all.  

Cummins Turbocharger & Friends

For the second time in our five years on the road we have had to replace the turbocharger on our Cummins diesel. No Cummins representative can tell why this has happened twice, only that it is a rare occurrence, even once. If anyone who reads this has any information that could give me some insight into this problem I would love to hear from you.

 

All that said, after a really bad start the staff at Southern Plains Cummins in Houston did work very hard to get a discount on the repair even though the warranty on the last replacement was only one year and had expired in September 2010.  We had made an appointment for annual maintenance and to have a couple of other items taken care of on Monday. We arrived at 9:30 AM for our 10:30 appointment, signed in, gave them the keys and went to the waiting room.  No one came to talk to us all day so we thought all was well.  WRONG, they had done nothing but park the rig and had not even looked at it.  At 5:30 they moved it to a spot where we had electricity and told us they would be on it the first thing in the AM.  On Tuesday at about 10 AM they delivered the bad news that the rig needed a new turbocharger at which point began two days of haggling to determining who would pay for it.  Late Wednesday they told us that they would cover 65% of the turbo and labor which reduced the cost a great deal.  We were told it would not be done until the following Wednesday and we would have to find a place to stay over the weekend since they are closed and locked down.  We made a reservation for a hotel in Livingston so we could visit SKP friends at Rainbows End RV Park.  Guess what, when we checked in with Cummins before leaving on Friday morning they told us the rig may be done by the end of the day.  We were stuck with a reservation we could not cancel so we told them to take their time and do it right and we would be back on Monday.  It was done on Monday and after we talked to the service manger they gave us a credit for part of the work which covered the cost of the motel. This was in addition to a $200 credit they had agreed to earlier to cover the scheduling snafu.  While we were not happy with things as they happened, the staff at Cummins did step up after a really bad start and hopefully this will be the last time I have to write about turbochargers.  We did think that Running Down Our Dream would be easier than it has been when it comes to RV service and repairs.

After we picked up the rig on Monday we drove to the SKP park in Livingston so we could give it a much needed cleaning, inside and out and spend more time with friends.  On our weekend visit Mark and Renita had us over for dinner and we had a chance to return the favor with a meal of gulf shrimp we had purchased off the boat in Louisiana.  We were joined by Marvin whom we have spent much time with at Betty's.  It was great getting together to talk about all our old adventures and future plans.  Mark and Renita are planning to travel to Alaska this summer and we have decided that we are still going to head that way too.  We figure that there is no time like the present and if we wait another year the rig and us will just be older.  So unless something happens on our way heading north in the lower 48, it is ALASKA OR BUST.       

Jim, Renita, Mark and Marvin getting ready to chow down on that gulf shrimp.

Happy Hours to Sad Days

Well our time at Betty's had ended, but not without one last party. This time it was a going away party for us. This is a bit unusual as the last time we were here they had "our" going away party after we were gone:) It was another great evening of fun and fooling around. We left on Easter and spent the night at a Flying J so we could be at our maintenance appointment in Houston first thing Monday morning.One of the joys of being at Betty's is her works of folk art that she has created to decorate the park. She picked out this piece of wood at Gerald's and turned it into a neat looking folk art gator complete with teeth and shiny bling. We nicknamed her Miz Gator. If you visit Betty's make sure you check out her folk art and if you don't like it, well folk you. Friends gather for our last supper. At left are old friends, MaryBeth and Tony, whom we met here and have visited in Michigan. At right are new comers, Julie and Jim, from Oregon. Part of their contribution to happy hour was homemade wine, beer and cheese which were all excellent.

Jim, Judy, Cookie and Maggie, all friends that we have met before. Cookie and Jim were at the Escapade in Gillette last fall, we have enjoyed Judy's music several times and Maggie is a regular here.

As with almost everything that happens at Betty's there was a lot of great food. For this night almost everything was vegetarian so Nanc could try it all. These people really are special.Pictured here is our old friend Dan and newcomers, Dennis and Laura. Right are Judy and Jim getting ready to enjoy the meal. We are so glad that Judy joined the party because we got a chance to just talk to her a bit because she was not providing the entertainment.Bottom left are Cal and Marie who pulled in the same day we did and after a couple of times doing the Betty Shuffle were our neighbors for the last month. At right are Peggy and Paul who still have a house but are tooling with the idea of going fulltime. We all warned them they will not find another RV park like Betty's. Top of course is our great friend Betty who makes all this possible. Without her we would not have met any of these great people and without her RV park we would not have met her. We had a great stay and are already planning our return next spring. We truly are caught in Betty's web.Betty's is an adults only park but that does not mean there are not toys to play with. Cookie and Marie each had their own Elmos and Cookie discovered hers was really Elmolene, so she made her a skirt and dressed her up for a special date. As you can see they hit it off right away and were soon sharing a bottle of wine and swapping stories. At first it appeared that Elmo had had a bit to much to drink but he recovered and the two of them were soon getting it on. In the end Elmo did pass out while Elmolene finished the bottle. It is hard to believe these stupid little things had us all rolling with laughter. It may have been the case that Cookie, Marie, Nanc, Merlene and Betty had as much to drink as Elmolene. No toys or adults were harmed during the evening events.Our plan (always written in sand) was to have the rig serviced in Houston on Monday. Other than routine maintenance the stop engine light that had resulted in us being towed last fall had come on a couple of times for just a few seconds on our way to LA. It always went out before we could even get to the side of the road so I figured it was once again a bad sensor. WRONG, it turns out it was the turbocharger AGAIN which had been replaced in September 2009. The repair had only a one year warranty so we went back and forth with Cummins for two days and they finally agreed to pay 65% of the turbo and labor. Of course there is more involved but with their help the bill went down a great deal.

Below is the rig finally getting worked on. It will not be finished until next week so we have to get a room for the weekend because this place is closed and locked down. We decided to go to Livingston so we can visit with Marvin, from Betty's, and with Mark and Renita who are going to Alaska this summer. For us Alaska is up in the air. The possibility of a breakdown hundreds of miles from a repair shop is not a pleasant thought. We will wait until next week and drive north a bit to see how the RV performs and then decide what to do. Just another bump in the road of this wonderful life we live.

Food, Fun, Music; Cajun Style

We are nearing the end of our stay here at Betty's with more of those Cajun traditions of fun times, food and music. You never know what to expect, who will show up for a visit and who will be hitting the road. Marvin, Russ and Lori who have been here all winter have pulled out to start a summer of travel. George & Judy and Omer & Sylvia, who we have met previously, passed through for a few days. The sites always fill up quickly with new RVers. It is great getting to make new friends and meet up with old ones here at Betty'sIf you stay at Betty's for very long you will end up seeing her underwear and this stay was no exception. Here are Betty and Carol showing off those "BIG" red under garments for all to see. What a hoot!!!!!A big crawfish dinner is usually on the agenda of most visitors so along with a few new RVers we returned to Big John's for some great mudbugs. They were much bigger than the ones we had on our first visit as the water in the ponds is warming up. It does not take much to decide to have a party here at Betty's and when several people are celebrating big events a big party is a must. Here are Birthday celebrants Jim, Betty, Sandra, Buz and Omer along with Peggy (right) and Paul (behind and left of Peggy) who were having an anniversary. The food was wonderful and the entertainment was great. The crowd gathering for the party. Top left are George, Judy, Dan and Merlene. Top right are Marvin, Maggie and Jim. Bottom left are Peggy and Paul. Bottom right are Nova Scotians Sylvia, Omer, Marie and Cal. Here at top are CeCe, Nanc, Lori and Cookie and bottom are Cal, Russ, Chris, Joyce and Betty. We all had a great time and ate way to much. There is an incredible amount of musical talent that passes through here and this week was no exception. Regulars Dan and Cal are joined by newcomers Don (drummer), Omer and Ann on guitar. That evening Sylvia, Omer and Judy Bailey joined in the festivities. Omer was really happy getting to play with Judy as he is a big fan of Moe Bandy whom Judy had a top ten hit with. Here at Betty's you never know who might hop in to play a tune. Saturday was our last chance for a Cajun jam session at Touchet's. Here is a link to hear a short clip of the music. A few of Betty's RVers join in the fun. Top right are Merlene, Dan, Don and Ann. Top right are Gene and Linda. Bottom left are Omer, Sylvia and Nanc and on the right are Jim, Buz, Sandra Cal and Steve. Yesterday morning there was a knock on the door at 7AM. Who in the hell is knocking at this hour? Well it turns out that Marvin was leaving and a few people were going to breakfast with him and wanted us to join them. Here is the breakfast bunch at CC's. On the left are Dan, Merlene, Jim, Cookie, Dave, Pricilla (who just returned after a work assignment in Oregon) and Betty. On the right are Jim, Nanc, honoree Marvin, Cal and Marie. There is not another RV park around where all these people would get out of bed to see a friend off. We had no sooner gotten back from breakfast than Betty was at the door to tell us the Lil Man, a shrimp boat, was in and if we wanted some fresh gulf shrimp we needed to go right away. This is not to be missed so off we went. Here Captain Rene and his crew are weighing our shrimp. I got a whole new appreciation of what it takes to be a shrimper just watching them work on the dock for a few minutes. I don't think I will ever complain about fueling up the motorhome again after watching Rene pump $7,000 worth of diesel. That is what they burned on a ten day trip and they did not catch one shrimp the first four days. The group bought a total of 100 pounds and it all had to be cleaned when we got back to Betty's. Oh well, it was not too bad as Dan made Bloody Marys to help us complete the job. It was a fun time and of course there were a couple of fresh shrimp appetizers for happy hour.

Music, Music, Music & More

The good times here at Betty's continue with another week of lots of music and more fun times. We went to listen to music at five different places in four days. It included country, Cajun and swamp pop and it was ALL fun. I talked about the Betty's shuffle and how people get caught in her web. Many, many times people extend there planned stay and many, many times people return for another visit. This has sure happened to us as we have been here for a total of six months during our five years on the road and this will be the first time we have stayed in the same site for our entire visit. Above left are Gervais and Joycelyn who left on March 5 and returned without reservations last Friday for a few more days. Of course, they had to shuffle to stay as Betty had most sites reserved. At the right are Buzz and Sandra who were here earlier and made a reservation to return on Friday because they knew what a big fun week was planned. Welcome to Betty's web.

The musical week started with Judy Bailey and the band whom we saw twice. Here are Joe, Kristi, Judy and Dave whom we went to listen to at Cullpepper's on Tuesday and at Touchet's on Friday. Here are a few people from Betty's on Tuesday night. Top are John, Don, Kathy, Stella Marvin, Carol and Tom. Bottom are Cookie, Merlene, Dan, Jim, Peggy and Paul enjoying the music. A few more RVers at Cullpepper's and Touchet's. Top left are Sandra and Buzz who were celebrating his birthday. Middle are Lou and Lorraine who tried to find a different place to dance every day. Top right Betty and Nanc are cutting the rug. Bottom are Dave and Sarah and Cal and Marie listening to the tunes. Here are a few of the people from the park who on Thursday went to Sounds in the Square in Abbeville to hear the Don Rich Band, a great group that played a lot of different types of music. Don's sister is Liz the Gator Queen and he sang the song he wrote about her gator hunting adventures. Betty roped herself a cowboy on the dance floor.On Saturday we did a road trip Mamou and Eunice for some more Cajun music and culture. Our first stop was Fred's Lounge where they have been having Saturday morning music for 65 years. Today Fred's is only open from 8 to 2 on Saturday for the music. The band this week, Johnny Sonnier and Cajun Heritage, had the place absolutely rockin. Here is a link to hear a bit of this great band.
Left is Fred who bought the lounge in 1946. Right is Tante Sue, today's hostess. She was passing out boudin so the tourists could get a taste of Cajun culture. For the last 50 years the Saturday morning session has been broadcast live on KVPI - Voice of the Cajun Country.
The minute we stepped through the door Nanc was asked to dance while I signed the guest book. Center is KVPI's Mark Layne who does the live show in French. Even though we could not understand a word it was wonderful. Right, Tante Sue on the dance floor. Fred's is all about having a fun time.Here are Jim, Nanc, Merlene and Dan having a fun time with our 10AM Bloody Marys.

The old sign at Fred's may say it all.

Please Do Not

Stand on the Tables, Chairs

Cigarette Machine, Booths

and Juke - Box!

Thank You. Fred

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

From Mamou we went to the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice. The center, part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, has an excellent display covering the influence of the Cajun people on Southern Louisiana. Above is an old Cajun fiddle made from a wooden cigar box. On Saturday afternoons they have a jam session that includes a bit of history about the music and each of the instruments. Audience participation was strongly encouraged with people playing the spoons and triangles to accompany the band. After a long day we passed on another music event on Saturday evening at the Liberty Center.Also in Eunice is the Cajun Music Hall of Fame & Museum. This local museum is to honor those individuals who contributed to the Cajun music culture. One of the honorees was Grammy nominee D.L. Menard whom we met last year. Here is Nanc checking out the Hall of Fame.Among the items in the museum is a French Cajun CD that was carried into space aboard the shuttle Atlantis. A old squeeze box and the parts of the fiddle before it was put together.It was time for a new computer before we head North to Alaska as our old one, just like its owner, was using up most of its memory. This purchase resulted in three weeks of total frustration and so many hours on the phone that we used almost all of our minutes. I first purchased one at Best Buy (it wasn't) and after days of not being able to connect to the Internet (Dell even sent a tech out to change the wireless card) I returned it and bought another one on line. Guess what? It also would not connect to our wifi spot. After more phone calls on Monday I finally got someone from Cradlepoint, the router company, who could tell me what needed to be updated. It is unbelievable that the Dell techs could not figure out what the problem was. All that said, this is the first blog entry on the new machine and all seems to be well.