Getting the Duck out of Fodge!

Dodge City, Kansas, has been associated with the wild, wild west all my life, and they definitely keep that idea alive today.  It was the setting for the hit TV series, "Gunsmoke", which is what most of the touristy things surround.  As you walk around town, you'll find Gunsmoke Street

which is the street where you can find the Ford County Government Center.

They've tried to preserve the old storefronts of the olden days on Front Street, which is the main drag through town.

They have these neat little carved out signs randomly on poles throughout the town.

And they have the Dodge City Trail of Fame which immortalizes the cast of Gunsmoke in the sidewalks around the town.  Those who could come in to put their hand prints in the cement did so.

Those who couldn't still had their sidewalk square.

The Trail of Fame wasn't limited to Gunsmoke Stars, though.  Real people who figured prominently in the history of Dodge City, such as, of course Wyatt Earp.

They also have the required old west town with a saloon and gunfight.  Unfortunately, they schedule that at only one time per day, and we missed it.

We did go into the gift shop, and that's where we met Duck Holiday!  The gunfight had just finished, and he was running through the gift shop and out the door.  We just had to follow him.  When we finally caught up to him, we learned he had been playing cards, and his table mates thought he was cheating.  They weren't listening to reason, and he had to get out of there!  I don't know if he was cheating or not, but I had played at that same table and there were some seriously shady things going on!  So we stuck with Duck!

We tried to get Wyatt to give us some help.  He said he had some real criminals to deal with, but he loaned me his sidearm to help take care of his buddy, Duck.

We tried to get Duck on a train out of town, but the last train had already left the station and the Harvey House wasn't taking any more boarders.

The card sharps were hot on our heels, and Duck said Marshal Dillon would help, so we tracked him down.

He pointed us toward an old, unattended engine that we might be able to commandeer to get the Duck out of Fodge.  Bruce did the driving, relegating me to shoveling coal to keep us moving.  The darned thing didn't hold the road well when we jumped the tracks!

Our nemeses kept coming on, all the way to the city limits.

We finally got far enough ahead that they dejectedly gave up.

We finally ran out of coal by the last remaining tracks of the Santa Fe Trail.

We all walked down the path to see the remaining ruts from the Conestoga Wagons

while Duck Holiday regaled us with tales told to him by his great, great Uncle Doc.

When one of Duck's buddies was able to get our car out to us, we headed on down the road.  Just be aware, when you're getting the Duck out of Fodge, be careful where you stop for water!