Monday, November 12, 2012

Kansas - Little House on the Prairie Museum


We arrived in Chanute, Kansas, Sunday afternoon, 4 Nov.  We had an appointment the next day at the NU*WA Factory service department to get some warranty work done on our 5th wheel.  We dropped our trailer off Monday morning and checked into a local motel for 2 nights. They would have the trailer until Wed afternoon.  So we had time to do some sightseeing in the area.  

We drove to Independence, KS for lunch and then to visit The Little House on the Prairie Museum. The State of Kansas designated the childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Ingalls family near Independence as a historic site.  It is the location where the events of the book Little House On The Prairie  take place.  Much of the surrounding countryside retains its open and undeveloped nature. Then it was located on the Osage reservation, the property is now within the boundaries of the William Kurtis Ranch southwest of downtown Independence.  The museum is open April 1 to October 31.....so none of the buildings were open.  It still was fun to walk around the area.  
Wayside Post Office built in 1885
 Sunny Side School House built in 1872
Next door were several small donkeys

Our next stop was in the town of Neodesha.  The first commercially successful oil well drilled in what would become the Mid-Continent Oil Field was drilled in Neodesha in 1892. Norman No. 1 Oil Well was located in the southeast part of the city. The Norman No. 1 Museum is near the location of the original wellsite.  This museum also was closed.  If you want to visit any of the museums in the area you need to come between 1 April and 30 October. 

 Next to the museum was this cute little Chapel. 

On Wednesday afternoon we spent some time at Chanute City Lake watching the ducks. The lake is just a short walk or drive from the Santa Fe City RV Park where we stayed after we picked up our trailer Wednesday afternoon.  Trailer is like new and we will leave in the morning for Oklahoma City.
 Beautiful Kansas sunset on our last night in Chanute


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