I do not know how people ever took their entire families, got into a covered wagon and went. I am having issues getting into my vehicle with my entire family. Of course, there is the camping-along-the-way factor, which sort of makes it feel like the covered wagon. Except we have a heater, a stove and restaurants.
Anyway, it was a rough start this morning. I did ok until Hornet III (that’s Caroline) decided she didn’t want to eat or wear the clothes I had selected for her. Luckily, we got that worked out and somehow got on the road just five minutes shy of our goal time. We even remembered to change our clocks (that was confusing) and call Nana to wish her a Happy Birthday.
The first stop on our agenda for the day was the world’s deepest hand dug well. I kid you not. Here's a picture...
When we arrived in the town, we noticed tons of construction and D said, “It looks like they plowed Main Street and started over.” That is when we realized we were in Greensburg, KS. And we realized what had happened there in May 2007. An F5 tornado leveled the entire town. The destruction was still obvious. But Greensburg is rebuilding “green.” It is the first green city in the United States. The well was interesting, but we quickly got involved in reading about the tornado and the subsequent rebuilding efforts while in the gift shop. What a remarkable story.
The houses there now have solar panels and there are crazy looking homes and buildings…the hospital even has its own wind mill--the big, modern kind. If the grocery store there is any indication, “green” is not handy for those of us who are vertically challenged. The toothbrushes were on the top shelf and Derick had to stand on his tiptoes to reach me one. Did I mention that I forgot my toothbrush?
Here's a picture in Greensburg. You might still be able to see the destruction in the background...
Next stop (and less than an hour down the road), Dodge City! We did a quick drive through of Fort Dodge (not what I expected) and went along to our campground. There are always train tracks near KOAs and, while this campground isn’t officially a KOA, it’s obvious it used to be. We parked the camper and made it to Boot Hill Museum in the windy, cold day. Sadly, none of the shows and shoot-outs happen in the winter, but we were able to tour the whole place and it was a neat lesson in history.
Tomorrow is a slow day. I hope it warms up so that the girls can run circles around the wagon. I mean, van. I mean playground!!!
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