Little Tour Bus on the Prairie

This weekend we went to Dighton, Kansas, to celebrate my step-grandmother's 90th birthday. The celebration lasted three days, and good times were had by all.

Kinfolk and friends from all over the place gathered Friday evening at G'ma's house. After the hellos, handshakes, great food, and companionship, we broke for the night. We stayed at Shay's Inn, a tiny little place that was clean, quiet and pleasant. Its' eleven rooms was also full to overflowing, which turns out to be the case most of the time, so if you're passing through call ahead for reservations.

Saturday morning we met again at G'ma's house for breakfast. Then a tour bus came up a little later from Montezuma, Kansas. The plan was to visit all the places in the area that were important to G'ma Roberts. It was overcast and foggy when we started, but it cleared as time went by. We visited houses, farms and an old country school house for lunch. One of the more memorable stops was at the Bentley gravesite overlooking the old Butterfield Overland Dispatch Route. The view from this grave is really nice. As Carl said, "You almost see the old stage coming up through the valley and going off west across the prairie." The route went in hops all the way to Denver from this point. There is no road there now, (see the picture below) and it was a real experience riding the tour bus across the tufts of blue grama and buffalo grass. G'ma Roberts talked about her experiences as we traveled, sometimes using the bus' microphone, other times using a megaphone!

At four o'clock the bus had to get on to Dodge City, Kansas, for another tour, so we headed back to Dighton. We had supper at the Calico Apron, a family-owned catering concern. The food was outstanding. Call 'em at 620-397-5914 to try their cooking for yourself. The building at 140 S. Lane is large and has quite an interesting history.

Sunday morning we got together again at the Calico Apron for breakfast. We had a slide show of old (and some not so old) photographs. Later we went to Church and with all the relatives, we practically doubled the attendance. The parishioners were gracious and generous enough to share a potluck dinner with us.

We had a great time and hope to see everyone again soon. Most of all it was great to see G'ma Roberts again and wish her a happy 90th birthday and many more to come.