Adventures in Kansas; April, Part 2

We arrived in Medicine Lodge around noon. Every 3 years this town has a 3-day mega-event called the Medicine Lodge Peace Treat Pageant (this historical marker says "every 5 years" but all the literature we've looked at says "3"). It is a re-enactment of the signing of the peace treaty. Maybe we will go next year for that.

We wanted to go see Carrie Nation's house. Now, that was some lady! She "was a member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol in pre-Prohibition America. She is particularly noteworthy for promoting her viewpoint through vandalism. On many occasions Nation would enter an alcohol-serving establishment and attack the bar with a hatchet.

Nation was a large woman, almost 6 feet tall and weighing 175 pounds and of a somewhat stern countenance. She described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like", and claimed a divine ordination to promote temperance by smashing up bars. Hmm.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the house or stockade. It was noon time and the museum curators were having their lunch break. We weren't ready to eat yet. Plus we had read about a place in Sun City that was recommended for lunch, so we drove on.

Three miles out of Medicine Lodge, we turned south on Gypsum Hills Drive, a very scenic route! Kansas??

Part of the road was paved and part was not. When we got to the end of the road, we headed back east to go to Kiowa. There was a museum there that was supposed to have the ax that Carrie Nation used to smash those bars.

When we got to Kiowa, we decided Sun City was too far away for lunch. We wouldn't get there until 3 probably. So we looked for a local diner in Kiowa. The locals seemed to hang out at this place.

We ordered Mexican food and sandwiches. Quite tasty! This is where Al asked about those yellow mustard colored fields and where we learned that they were canola fields.

After lunch, we found the museum. It used to be a firestation in the olden days.

Here is a picture of Carrie Nation, but we could not find her ax. The guy manning the museum didn't know anything about the ax. Well, he had a hard time hearing so maybe he didn't know what we were asking either. At any rate, it seems the guide books are wrong. No ax.

Leaving town, I took a picture of this old hotel. The sign says it is a social club.

Someone commented that with all those boarded up windows, it didn't seem to be so social.