Looking to Our Routes

I grew up along the then brand-new I-35 in San Marcos, TX. As a child, I thought I-35 was a thing made of asphalt and concrete, a way to escape Central Texas. (Leaving the state was a big deal and reserved for vacations.) I lived my first 34 years within a half-hour drive of I-35 in two states. And I have come to see that I-35 is not made of concrete or asphalt. It is an idea like any other route. It is a path through a maze of concrete and asphalt roads. It is indicated by a route number. But these routes existed before cars and trucks. They are the traditional pathways people and animals used to roam North America. This week, I celebrate I 35, the modern name for the Chisholm Trail, which began as a 12,000-year-old Indian hunting trail. This week, I invite you to follow the last 100 miles of the 1,000-mile-long Chisholm Trail.

The Chisholm Trail

The Chisholm Trail was named after Jesse Chisholm, who, along with his friend Black Beaver, originally herded cattle from the Red River to Kansas City through Indian Territory after the Civil War. When the Kansas Pacific Railroad was built, the cattle were herded to Abilene, where they were sold and sent to Kansas City meat packers by rail. The trail gradually extended to the Rio Grande and became a major route for cattle to market. When the Union Pacific Railroad was built, many cattlemen followed the Goodnight-Loving Trail to Cheyenne, WY, or the Western Trail to Ogallala, NE. All three of these trails are the settings for our Western history following the Civil War. Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, and others roamed the streets of these towns. Hundreds of dime novels were written glorifying their exploits in the Old West. Abilene, KS, was one of the most notorious, and its Texas Street, following the railroad, was the center for several generations of Wild West fantasies. For more information about the trail, please click The Chisholm Trail link.

We began our week in Wichita, KS.

The Keeper of the Plains

The Plains Indians used rivers to navigate the hundreds of miles of open plains. When two rivers met, a meeting place for tribes developed. Wichita sits at the confluence of the Little and Big Arkansas (pronounced Ark-KAN-sas in Kansas.) A trader/trapper met with the tribes and established his trading post with their agreement. The city grew and prospered. It is now the largest city in Kansas. The Sculpture served as the city's symbol and was moved from the nearby Mid-American All-Indian Museum. It was placed on a rock base facing the rising sun at the confluence of the rivers. The Sculpture, by Kiowa Comanche Artist Blackbear Bosin, is titled The Keeper of the Plains. The Plains Indian Chief has his hands raised in gratitude and supplication for all creation. It sits in a large medicine wheel that acknowledges the four elements of Indian Cosmology: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Each evening, a quarter of the base is set afire to complete the Medicine Wheel and offer a prayer for all creation. This is a confluence of more than two rivers. Here, the ancient wisdom of people who have lived on these plains for 12,000 years meets the short-sightedness of people who have been here for less than 200 years. And we have much to learn from those who have been Keepers of the Plains for 300 generations. 

The Confluence of the Little and Big Arkansas Rivers

Canada Goose

At the Base of the Keeper of the Plains

A Fish swimming below the bridge.

Hands raised to the Great Spirit

A Drake Cayuga Duck

Mallard

Great Blue Heron

Old Cowtown is a museum dedicated to the later inhabitants of Wichita. Most buildings are replicas of old Western structures. Still, a few are original and have been relocated to this outdoor museum. We walked through many of the old homes as well as several businesses. We watched a cast of reenactors play out a gunfight on the streets between Kansas Farmers, the local Sheriff and deputy, and a couple of Texas Cowboys who were accused of cutting the farmer's barbed wire fences. Western Justice prevailed, and the Cowboys paid the ultimate price. I think that this “dime novel story” of all things Cowboy highlights values that stand in stark contrast to the values of the Sculpture and Museum that sits a mere ½ mile away. In reality, these two perspectives are a universe apart. They are very different ways of following the same routes through life. One is far older and more in tune with the world around us.

At the entrance to Old Cowtown

The Trappers Cabin

One of the nicer Houses

Kitchen

We have one very much like this in storage.

Not too comfy

The Railroad Office

An 1890s baseball game

The Blacksmith

The Marshall's Office

The Farmer's Wife and Daughter

The Sheriff and Deputy

The Town Drunk

The Farmer

The Farmer Confronts the Sheriff

The Texas Cowboys Confront the Farmer

The Cowboy declares his innocence.

A fight in the middle of the street.

The Barkeep appeals for calm.

Then the Sheriff Shows up!

And Cowboy Justice is done!

The publisher at the Newspaper

The Cowboys last stop

The Schoolhouse

The Oldest House in town

The Kitchen

First Presbyterian Church (Original Building)

On Monday, the winds started blowing, and we stayed in to take care of a few chores. The most exciting thing was putting new slipcovers on Koko’s dinette. RVs are notorious for poor upholstery. The manufacturers use the cheapest faux leather. It looks good, just long enough to sign the papers on the rig. It does not matter how much the rig costs; the builders use the same cheap materials that wear out within the first 3-5 years. It was Koko's turn, and we ordered slipcovers and new seat pads. Now, we need to figure out how to recover the couch.

 

We returned to the rivers on Tuesday to visit the Mid-America All-Indian Museum. This museum was the original home of The Keeper of the Plains sculpture before it was moved to its new home 100 yards away. The museum houses a sizeable collection of Blackbear Bosin’s artwork and arts and crafts from several North American tribes. It also houses a large indoor dance ring with the flags of the Indian Nations in North America surrounding the US Flag. There is also a large dance ring outside where the Sculpture used to sit. I invite you to linger with the pictures of the artwork. They are an essential piece of the American Indians recovering their place in American Society after the cultural genocide of the 1800s. They represent the continuing battle with American Culture by their greatest warriors, the native artists, musicians, dancers, and storytellers. They are definitely the “good guys” in this 21^st-century version of Cowboys and Indians.

Innuit Art

The Artist Blackbear Bosin

The Songmaker

The Inside Dance Circle

An original Model of the Keeper of the Plains

On Wednesday, we packed up and drove 90+ miles to the trailhead of the Chisolm Trail in Abilene, KS. We set up at the Covered Wagon Campground, an older RV Park, though not quite as old as its namesakes. This is the boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower. His library and museum are just up the road.

Abilene was the site of a Stagecoach stop that was initially called Mud Creek. In 1857, it was renamed Abilene, meaning "grassy plains." In 1867, the Kansas Pacific Railway came through Abilene, prompting Joseph McCoy to purchase 250 acres to build stockyards and horse stables for the cattle drives. The trailhead shipped nearly 500,000 cattle between 1867 and 1871. The money flowed in, and the gamblers, prostitutes, and grifters followed. Abilene was among the most notorious towns in the West. Wild Bill Hickock served as Town Marshal and tried to tame the city. 1887, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe built a branch line, and Abilene's place in history was set. We walked through Downtown Abilene and saw the history, even though the Texas Cowboys had moved on, leaving the Kansas Farmers in complete control.

A Young Dwight D. Eisenhower

Downtown

The World's Largest Belt Buckle at the Rodeo Grounds

Eisenhower Park

The Eisenhower Boyhood Home

Our stay in Abilene was cut short to avoid driving in near gale-force winds. We had to make hard choices for our last full day in town. We chose to see the Dwight D Eisenhower Museum and Library. Ike was born in Dennison, Texas, but his family moved to Abilene via Hope, KS, where his Dad worked at the Creamery. They raised six sons in a one-bedroom home until they bought this one home on the edge of town. It had three upstairs bedrooms and an extensive garden plot that his mother would use to grow enough food to feed the family through the winter. They did add another bedroom in time. As you will see, the house is small, but they made do. Ike grew up in this house and left to accept his appointment to West Point. But it and Abilene were forever home to him wherever he and Mamie traveled. After leaving the presidency, they bought a Farm in Gettysburg, but he knew he would be buried at the old home place. All of his routes brought him home to Abilene.

The property includes the home place, a large Museum (planned before he ran for President), his Presidential Library, and A Place of Meditation where he, Mamie, and their first son are buried. This was the original site of the home. The other houses were moved to make room for these grounds. It is a fitting tribute to one of our most important Presidents and Military leaders.

 

RIP President and Mrs. Eisenhower

The Chapel

The Museum with grain silos as a backdrop, Very Fitting!

His Greatest Challenge was Waging Peace

The General's Staff Car

The General and his Mom on the porch of her home.

The Table where D-Day was planned and carried out.

The Eisenhower home and garden.

His proud Mother's picture of her son when he got his first star!

The President's Parents

The Proofing Box for the 20 loaves of bread she baked three times a week

His Dad's Hat Rack signaling that it was time to get cleaned up for supper.

The Family Pillow

A Later Dining Room Table

The Formal Parlour

The Family Bible for David Dwight Eisenhower (Nope, that was his birth name,)

The Formal Parlour

A small bedroom added to the house.

The Upstair's Bedrooms.

The Family Parlour

The Home

Mamie's Family Electric Car

The President and his family

Well Done, General!

Our way of traveling is about something other than riding routes to a destination. In fact, the last couple of years have taught me that we do not drive routes; we explore them. For us, driving I-35 is about something other than getting to the Canadian or Mexican border. It is about making and enjoying a journey. The Indians traveled what would become the Chisolm Trail to feed their tribe and, in doing so, live a life of gratitude to the Great Spirit who had given them the land, water, fire, and air. These routes through North America are not things; they are pathways that offer us the opportunity to live the good life filled with gratitude for the bounty along the way. However, if we are going to find the joy that the route has to offer, we must choose our values and rules for the road very well. We should listen more carefully to those who have been walking these routes far longer than our ancestors.

Travel well, my friends. The paths are filled with the bounty of life. Enjoy the journey!

 

Bob