On the Prairie

Unit #182

After eating a quick breakfast in the hotel this morning, we checked out and headed south on US-69, arriving at Fort Scott National Historic Site just before 9:00AM. From the alert on their website, I knew that the park buildings were temporarily closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but it didn't occur to me that it also meant the visitor center would not be staffed. Oof. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 

Established in 1842, Fort Scott was one of a series of forts built to protect the "permanent Indian frontier". Infantry soldiers and dragoons were posted here to keep peace between white settlers, native peoples like the Osage, and relocated Eastern tribes. During the Mexican-American War (1846-48), troops from Fort Scott left to fight, and with the westward expansion of the frontier that followed, the army abandoned Fort Scott in 1853.

Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 opened these territories to settlement and allowed them to decide whether to be a free or slave state by popular vote. In Kansas, conflict ensued between pro-slavery, free-state, and abolitionist factions, escalating to violence. During the era of "Bleeding Kansas", soldiers returned periodically to Fort Scott to restore law and order, but the "peace" only lasted as long as they were present. Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861.

That same year, the Civil War brought the U.S. Army back to Fort Scott. Because of its location in southeast Kansas a few miles across the border from slave state Missouri, the fort was in a strategic position to defend against a possible Confederate attack and serve as a supply depot for Union armies in the West. After the Civil War ended, the military returned again to Fort Scott from 1869-1873 and established the Post of Southeast Kansas to protect workers from squatters who opposed building the railroad through the area. 

The buildings and grounds have been restored or reconstructed to the fort's appearance in the 1840s. From the visitor center, which is housed inside the restored hospital building, we worked our way around the grounds clockwise. I took photos of all the waysides for later reference, and the virtual tour online was also a great way to see the building interiors that we missed out on.

Hospital (restored) and infantry barracks (reconstruction)

Dragoon stables (reconstruction)

 

Officers' quarters No. 1 and 2 (restoration)

Behind the officers' quarters, we walked the 1/4-mile loop trail through a small area of restored tallgrass prairie and saw several different wildflowers along the way. 

Purple coneflower, prairie spiderwort, and butterfly milkweed

Quartermaster storehouse (restoration)

Fortunately, there were several rangers on hand to prepare for Memorial Day weekend activities, so before we left, we asked if someone could let us in to the visitor center to get the passport stamps, and they kindly agreed! Five stamps from two new units (Fort Scott NHS and Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area) - yay!

    

    Units: 18

    Stamps: 50

    Regions: 2 

Altogether we were here for a little over an hour, but I imagine that we could have easily spent two or more if the buildings had been open. We would definitely visit again, if we are ever back in the area.

From Fort Scott, we drove about 1.5 hours west and north on small highways towards Lebo where we filled up the tank before hopping onto I-35 S/US-50 W towards Emporia. About 45 minutes later, we arrived at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, just north of Strong City on KS-177. We ate a quick lunch of sandwiches in the car and then got ready to explore the park. 

Sunscreen, hats, hiking shoes, and bug spray - check!

Of the 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie which once covered North America, less than 4% remains. In 1996, Tallgrass Prairie NPRES was established to protect 10,894 acres in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

In addition to preserving the prairie ecosystem, there are structures in the park from the Spring Hill/Z Bar Ranch, which operated here from 1878 until 1986. However, we decided to skip the self-guided tour of the ranch complex and hiked the Scenic Overlook Trail out to the Windmill Pasture in hopes of seeing bison instead.

Limestone barn

There was a bit of elevation gain in the first half mile, but the views of the prairie were worth it!

Scenic overlook, indeed!

Thankfully, once we got to the gate to the pasture, we didn't have to walk much farther because the bison were right there! Since we know better than to pet the fluffy cows, we kept our distance. 

I was glad that I brought the 70-300mm lens for my DSLR, but without a tripod, I needed R's shoulder as a makeshift substitute to keep the camera steady. I'm going to have to look into getting compact one for travel. Here are a few of my favorite pics...

Bird hitching a ride on the bison's back

We spent about 45 minutes just watching them. Since the herd was right next to the trail ahead of us, we couldn't hike any further in, so we headed back the way we came. After buying some souvenirs from the visitor center, we were back on the road (US-50 to KS-150 to US-56) for the 2-hour drive west to our hotel in Great Bend.

Even though I hadn't expected much, I think this may be one of my favorite park visits. I loved seeing the wide expanse of the tallgrass prairie and imagining that the native tribes (Osage, Pawnee) who lived here and the pioneers traveling by covered wagon must have shared this same view, all with the soundtrack of "Dances with Wolves" playing in my head.

    

    Units: 19

    Stamps: 51

    Regions: 2 

345 miles, 5.5 hours