Surprised by Kansas, Little Jerusalem & A Norman Rockwell Town
Part 3: On our last morning in Dodge City, we got up as we did every morning and walked Fritzi at Wright Park. While we paid more than I thought we would, staying at the Holiday Inn Express was worth it. The location is ideal for enjoying downtown on foot, and there’s a water park and a big beautiful park next door. Honestly, it doesn’t get any better in Dodge City.
We decided to grab breakfast at Red Beard Coffee, just a couple blocks from our hotel and then headed out of Dodge City. There’s construction all around Red Beard but go anyway. Construction can be hard on a small business, so make an effort. We parked at the Pizza Hut (closed in the morning), which is literally around the corner from this cute coffee shop. When I encounter a small, locally-owned business like this on my travels I always think, “Wow <insert random town> is lucky to have this place!”
Heading towards Cimarron, we left Dodge City behind, but not the lore. Eighteen miles out of Dodge, heading west, Cimarron is where cowboys went to “get outta Dodge.” Today, the population of Dodge City is 27,422, and Cimarron is much smaller at 1,998. In 1876, Wyatt Earp’s day, Dodge City boasted 1200, and while I can’t find population numbers for Cimarron in that year, it was a little smaller, but back then the population difference between the two towns wasn’t so vast.
During the planning phase of this road trip, we considered staying at the Cimarron Hotel. However, I believe they have long-term lodgers at this point and only rent one room to guests, so it didn’t work out. We did stop so that I could take photos of this 1886 Kansas gem.
Cimarron is on a branch of the Santa Fe Trail and is chockablock with historical stories stained with blood. Many of the famous names of Wild West history have come through this town including Bat Masterson who features prominently in “Doc” one of the books that played a part in the evolution of this trip.
However, we weren’t there to explore, just passing through. Our next stop is a place we’d learned about at the Visitors Center in Dodge City. Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park is northwest of Cimmeron, but we took a little detour on County Road 95 by the Battle of Punished Woman’s Fork National Historic Site and Lake Scott State Park.
By the way, we were on Western Vistas Scenic Byway. Kansas has 12 scenic byways and you can find them all here. Two are listed as National Scenic Byways. Who knew Kansas was so scenic?
The park, surprisingly green in May, is home to Scott Lake, surprisingly large. Originally from the West Coast, I’ve always imagined Kansas as a flat, brown, empty space that was home to Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. And if one drives from Denver to Kansas City on Interstate 70, as we did in the early 2000s, this can be the experience. However, there is more to Kansas than I’ve always thought.
Our visit to the region, home to Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, was an eye-opening look at some of Kansas’ unique landscapes and geology. As stated above, we took the backway into the park, over bumpy dirt roads, across empty creekbeds, nearly hitting a large snake sunning itself in the quiet roadway.
A highlight of the three-day trip was this sight, near the park, but not in it.
Driving into the parking lot of Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park is underwhelming. Of course, I was excited about a wildflower I immediately spotted, but otherwise, it looked like we’d arrived in a featureless land.
Hiking the park reveals another view altogether. Little Jerusalem gets its name because the rocks that tower up from the canyon below are supposedly reminiscent of the walls of Jerusalem. This is a Niobrara chalk formation and 85 million years ago the entire area was part of a giant sea.
Being a childhood fan of Indiana Jones, Ryan is obsessed with finding fossils, and kept stopping to inspect the indentations of clams and oysters along our trail (they are quite common here as this was once a sea). Technically this is paleontology, not archeology, which Dr. Jones studied, but this fictional character made 10-year-old Ryan a lifelong fan of all things old (and if they are covered in dirt and dust, all the better).
Why We Visited Antonito, Colorado: An Indiana Jones Story
A little warm, gentle breezes tugged at the grasses and flowers that littered the ground. By the way, this state park is home to the largest population of Great Plains wild buckwheat, found in western Kansas and nowhere else in the world (The Nature Conservancy). I suppose botanists would find this fact to be intriguing.
As we walked, the land came alive. Hawks soared, cliff swallows dove, and little birds flitted. A lizard scurried by and we even found a Horned-Lark egg in a bush on the ground (of course, we left it alone). We knew it was a Horned-Lark egg because the bird flew from the bush insighting our interest. There weren’t many people on the trail, which was nothing like hiking the crowded trails on Colorado’s Front Range. Hopefully, no one else or nothing else found the egg.
We walked the 1.5-mile Life on the Rocks trail; the wind whistled through the canyons below us. There’s a shorter one-quarter mile to the first overlook. The following is the vast view from the second overlook.
Dogs are allowed on this flat trail, but please keep them on a leash, pack out any excrement, and for the love of God, pack water. While short, I have little doubt that this hike can swelter in the summer. Even in May, at each overlook stop (there are two) Fritzi slurped down the water we’d brought for her. You should pack water and wear plenty of sunscreen because there isn’t a tree in sight.
FYI: Visitors to this park must purchase a daily Kansas State Parks vehicle permit, currently $5, at the park or have an annual Kansas State Parks vehicle pass.
Back on the main road, we headed north on Hwy 83. Hungry, we stopped in Oakley at the Dairy King for a to-go lunch. This spot is a true throwback with those vinyl bench chairs that bare legs stick to while you’re sucking down a strawberry milkshake on a hot summer day.
These kinds of gems are my favorite on road trips. With a friendly staff who seemed to be familial, we got hamburgers to go with fries and lamented that places like these are difficult to find anymore. Of course, Ryan did get a strawberry milkshake.
One memorable little town we passed through before leaving Kansas was Oberlin. With shaded sidewalks downtown, and light poles displaying flags with recent high school graduates’ photos, I couldn’t figure out how it was possible to have that many light poles. After all, I graduated with 199 in my small town of 5,000. As it turns out, only 19 people were in this year’s graduating class because Oberlin has a population of just 1,700. So, that’s how they could all have their very own light pole.
This kind of town pride gives me all the warm fuzzies, and I wish we’d had time to stay and explore Oberlin. I have little doubt that this charming little town would make Norman Rockwell want to get out his paintbrushes.
Next up, we arrive in McCook, Nebraska, and celebrate 22 years of marriage.
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Read the first day of our road trip. Read the second day of our road trip. And learn why we made the Cattle Drive Road Trip in the first place.
