Days 161-162 – 11/1-2/11 – Cimarron

Pierceville to Cimarron; Distance = 15 Miles; People Met = 10

We arrived at the Cimarron Hotel last night knowing of a storm blowing in.  This hotel is more historic than active; Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday stayed here.  You should see how this place is decorated in the interior.

One of the common bathrooms at the Cimarron Hotel

The “Hotel” is owned by Kathleen Holt.  We did not meet Kathy directly; our stay here was set up by folks from Garden City.  On the phone she told us about the original team that mapped out the American Discovery Trail staying at the hotel.  She recalled what a grand time they had playing Taboo while cocooning from wintry conditions around Christmas time.  Now Kathy has some renters at the “Hotel,” but mainly people she knows and is helping out in some way.

Meanwhile, down the street they have Clark’s Drug Store, renowned for its old time soda fountain … and for Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King stopping by.  They named an orange smoothie after Oprah, since she asked what they were, though they were far more impressed with King’s manners than Winfrey’s.  Sandi the proprietor filled us in with some details, but perhaps I should just leave my reporting at that.

The staff at Clark Drug. Sandy is second from the left.

We originally planned not to take a rest day in Kansas until we reached Lawrence, but the storm changed that.  Ky drove us into Dodge today to give a talk at a Lions Club luncheon, then to be interviewed by the Dodge Globe.  We swung by Dodge Community College for a potential talk tomorrow night (though still up in the air) and then arranged to stay at the Methodist Church for when we actually hike into Dodge tomorrow.

Lee and Don, past and current Lions Club presidents

There have been two major storms now since we’ve entered Kansas but we have managed to avoid hiking during the brunt of either one.

The storm abates