Old Cowtown Museum

Today was such an absolutely beautiful day that we decided we had to finish up our work as early as we could so that we could see a little bit of Wichita before we left town tomorrow.

We were able to get out of the door by about 2:30. Of all the possible tourist destinations Wichita has to offer, we decided to check out the Old Cowtown Museum. We read that it is set up like a living history museum.

We were so pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the area where the museum was located. There is a really nice trail along the Arkansas River and lots of nice green grass and trees and flowers. I thought Kansas was supposed to be all flat prairie grass or something. Wichita has some really pretty areas.

We only had a couple of hours to see everything at the museum. We learned some Wichita history from the 1800s.

Fur Trader's Cabin 

First wood frame building in Wichita, 1870

Parlor of an upper middle class home. Spence and I were excited to see the stenciling
on the walls because we are reading a book about an itinerant journeyman painter in the early 1800s.

I think Brighton wanted one of these mowers.

Spencer rolling the hoop outside the one room school house.

The Munger House. First Wichita House built in 1868.

Inside the Munger House kitchen.

 Wagon rides around town.

Gunfight in front of the saloon.

That's right! We bellied up to the bar and got us some sarsparillas. So satisfying
on a thirsty, hot afternoon.

Spencer was so excited to make this work, but I had to burst his bubble and
let him know that it was chained in place, attached to the track.

Hello there. This guy was cruising through the grass
 along the train tracks. I think he'd definitely have had
 a chance against the hare.

We all had a great time at the museum and thought it was definitely worth the trip and the admission price. We were there late on a weekday afternoon so there wasn't as much going on as far as historical interpreters (actors) as there might be on a Saturday or a special occasion, but there was still plenty to see.

We decided we weren't quite ready to head back to the trailer and we felt like trying something new so we looked up restaurants in the area and took a chance on Little Saigon, Asian Cuisine. We tried several Vietnamese dishes that we'd never tried before and everything was delicious and fresh. We also ate some really great chicken pad thai. 

When we got back to the trailer, it was bed time for the little boys already. We are planning on getting out early tomorrow, I'd better get myself to bed too.