Day 1, Kansas24 May 2009
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| Today was the start of our long trip. We left our home at 5:30 am. Our first stop was in Oakley, KS. This is where learned about Buffalo Bill and how he got his legendary name. Here some of what we learned: Buffalo Bill Cody hunted buffalo for the same purpose that the native Americans did, for food to feed the track crews that were laying the track for the Kansas Pacific Railroad across Kansas which was later to become the Union Pacific Railroad. Buffalo Bill was paid $500 per month to provide a specific amount of buffalo meat for the track crews each day. Common wages at the time were more typically around $30.00 per month. He began his job of hunting buffalo for the railroad in the fall of 1867. By early 1868 he was becoming quite well known for his abilities as a buffalo hunter and his friends began referring to him as Buffalo Bill. Well, Fort Wallace, further down the tracks, had their own Bill hunting buffalo for them and felt that if anyone deserved the title of Buffalo Bill it was their hunter Bill Comstock. The only logical thing to do was to have a buffalo hunting contest to see who would forever be known as THE Buffalo Bill. The contest was designed to determine who could bring down the most buffalo in a single day. A wager was set and the contest was held and, at the end of the day, Bill Cody had 69 buffalo and Bill Comstock had 46. From that day forward Bill Cody has been THE Buffalo Bill. According to Buffalo Bill's autobiography that very hunt took place 20 miles east of Sheridan (a ghost town in Logan County) in Kansas. That would put it approximately 10 miles west of the Buffalo Bill Monument, making Logan County, Kansas truly the Birthplace of the Legend, Buffalo Bill. Our next stop was Hays, KS. This is where we went to the Sternburg Museum. There where many Dinosaurs with in those walls. Wish we could have gotten more pictures. Photography was not allowed. Denton and Hakan had much fun. After Sternburg, we then drove over to Wichita, KS. This is where we will be staying for the night, in our hotel. Our hotel is quite big with a swimming pool and hot tub. Tomorrow will start at about 6:30 am. Oklahoma will be the first stop on our list. Stay tuned in for future updates about our summer trip. We will speak soon GVA. We miss you guys already, but we're having lots of fun! |
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