Old Cowtown Museum

We slept in this morning.  The museum is only 25 minutes away and didn’t open until noon so we had plenty of time.

We got directions and drove over.  We arrived 30 minutes early so we drove through the park the museum is in and then we found a shady spot in the museum parking lot to sit and enjoy the quiet with some Old Time Radio Shows.

You knew right away you were in cowboy territory with the statue at the entrance.

This is our kind of museum but it takes a lot of walking.  With my knee I knew I would be slow but we had 4 1/2 hours to go see everything.  This museum is set up like old town Wichita with many original Wichita and area buildings that were moved to this spot for the centennial celebration.

Most of the buildings are air conditioned to help preserve them and are open to go through.  It is self guided tours and you can spend as much time as you want in each building.  There is a residential street, business street and churches.

There is also the Munger House.  It is believed to be the first permanent dwelling in Wichita and is on the National Registry of Historic Sites.

There is a group of players that perform a skit that includes a gunfight several times each day.  It was fun to watch and listen to the dialog.  Denny had his picture taken with some of the actors.  The gal in the blue dress is a champion shooter.

There were several people in period costume to ask questions and hear about life in 1870.  I had a great time talking to Diana who we had met at the dress shop.

We spent our entire 4 1/2 hours at the museum and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  But it was time to get back to Prairie Rose for our chuckwagon dinner.

We thought it was a bit pricey at $30 but the food was wonderful and the entertainment was great. We were served in a large room with white covered tables and real dishes. We had brisket, sausage, wonder cowboy beans and mini-Idaho russet potatoes. Dessert was a warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Yummy.

Three young people from Switzerland sat behind us.  Honeymooners and their friend Eliane who had spent time in Kansas as an exchange student.  She would be heading back home while the honeymooners were headed to Miami Florida before catching their flight home.  They were a lot of fun.

The Prairie Rose Wagoneers performed.

Their style of comedy, cowboy songs and a bit of gospel thrown in was the perfect ending to our day.

Heading for Dodge City tomorrow.  I sure hope the gunfighters there are as nice as the ones we met in Old Cowtown Museum.