Day 89B - Oak Grove, MO to Chebanse, IL - September 26, 2011

The Britton's got up and moving around 8:30.  We went to the door and looked, no Heidi there waiting for a treat.  ;-(   No Cockerell's parked next to us.  Had it all been a dream?

                                                            We headed down the road.

                                               Saw a lot of small town America on the 2 lanes.

                                                    The roads in Missouri were good.

                                          Pam got us a little turned around with her navigation.

                                                    But then she got us going......north???

                                                   We finally came to the mighty MIssissippi.

                       We crossed into Illinois.  Diesel 20 cents more a gallon and crappier roads.

                                                        Miles and miles of grain fields.

In Pittsfield, IL, Lon had a Big Mac attack.  He pulled over and Pam went back to get some junk food for him.  What a sweetie.

                                         About 5:30 we got to the Chebanse KOA and parked.

                          It started to rain but we had planned on having KC strip steaks for dinner

                                                and by gosh we did.  It's a wonderful life.

                                            Tomorrow the final leg to Waterford, MI.

Day 88B - Medicine Lodge to Oak Grove, KS- September 24, 2011

                             Lon and Pam got up early and went to the outdoor Cowboy Church.

                                                                     It was a little cold.

                                                                But the message was good.

                                     The cavalry was there to hear of God's grace on calvary.

The Britton's went back to the Ransom's and said their goodbyes.   There are no pictures of this part because Gail and Pam cried all over the film and ruined the pictures.  Almost three months ago the Britton's hooked up with the Cockerell's in Mitchell, SD.  It was a great trip, complete with some trials and tribulation but wonderful none the less.  It was a true pleasure traveling together.   Heidi will be missed.

                                                              The Britton's hit the road.

The scenery was pretty non-descript as they worked their way east then north.  There was cattle and more cattle.

The drought is so severe in south central Kansas, ranchers are selling their herds early.  It got greener as we headed north.

                                                  Out of the country and into Kansas City.

                                                                  Then into MIssouri.

          We camped for the night at the KOA in Oak Grove, MO, with thoughts turning towards home.

Day 87 - Medicine Lodge, KS - September 24, 2011

The town of Medicine Lodge, KS has a population of about 2,300. Every 5 years it commemorates the signing of the Peace Treaty.  The Medicine Lodge Treaty was a set of three treaties signed between the United States of America and the Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Southern Arapaho in October 1867. The site of the Peace Council camp was about three miles above that of the future town and on the same side of the river.  A Peace Treaty Pageant, first presented in 1927 in an outdoor amphitheater on a quarter section of Kansas prairie, commemorates this significant event in Western history.


First they have a parade downtown.  This year they had an former Navy Seal who was born in the area bring in Old Glory to start the parade.

                 Martina McBride, on the left, who was also born in the area sang the National Anthem.

                     The parade covered the era of history in the region including the trader/trapper era,

                                                                The plains indian era,

                                                                        the settler era,

                                                                  the US Cavalry,

                                                                       the lawless era.

           After the parade we went to the concert featuring Kris Ransom's band, Small Town Anthem.

                                           We wore our t-shirts so they'd have some groupies.

                        Mother Barb and sister Lauren made any passersby buy a t-shirt and a CD.

             Kris invited his dad, Don, who had just finished riding in the parade, up to join them for a song.

                                                                  Some people danced.

                                     Gail noticed that Kris didn't make Don wear his "silly hat".

The crowd demanded an encore and Martina, who watch the entire concert came up and talked with Kris.  The concert was great but we had to get moving to get to the pageant.  We rode a hay wagon from the parking field to the outdoor, naturally formed, amphitheater.

                                                   We set our chairs on the side of the hill.

                                                           We watched the indians attack,

                                                                 the cavalry respond,

                                                         and the Peace Treaty signed.

                                                 The cowboys drove in the Longhorns,

                                                   the rustlers tried to take them away.

                                              Yep, that's Dr. Donald Ransom, cattle rustler.

All in all it was a great day.  We were hot and tired.  We headed back to the rustlers ranch, put away our cameras, had some grub, washed the the dust from our parched throats, listened to a little more hoot-n-anny music and crawled into our bedrolls.  What a wonderful d... ZZZZZZZZZ.