Kansas Detour

Ok, this one has to be a geek out post for me.  FYI, I love cowboys and and cheesy westerns.  People mock me for this.  (That and I know all the words to Rawhide)  Don't judge me.  It started with some Rawhide marathons with my mom.  Then we branched out in to the Big Valley.  You name it I am willing to watch it, so long as there is a cowboy in it.  So you might be wondering where I am heading with this preamble.  Well, to Dodge City Kansas of course.

As I am sure you all know (if not I won't judge) Dodge City Kansas is where Gunsmoke was set.  Gunsmoke was one of the longest, if not the longest, running westerns on television.  And in 2005 as my parents were taking me out to Y'stone via the desert, my mom and I convinced my dad to go out of the way (slightly) so we could go to Dodge City.

And being the loving father that he is, he obliged.  So in Dodge City, they have an old tyme set up of the set of Dodge City, including the Long Branch Saloon and a Gunsmoke museum.  Hell, the whole thing is pretty much a Gunsmoke Museum.  And they were celebrating the 50th anniversary.  Honestly I am surprised it wasn't more crowded.  Well, for May anyways.

James Arness was quite dreamy all those years ago as Marshall Matt Dillon.

These next pictures just made me happy.  In addition to Gunsmoke the museum was also about the West at the time portrayed.  So there was a lot of really, really cool stuff, if you happen to be a nerd like me.  The Long Branch Saloon, was neat, and they had their own bottled sarsaparilla.

Also in a related twist.  Just last spring I was at the Minnesota History Museum.  And what do you think I saw?  Just James Arness' hat and boots from his Gunsmoke days.  Supremely Awesome!

(edit: Oops!  I realized I had the same picture on here twice, so I changed one.)