About nine miles west of Dodge City on US 50, there is a spot in the prairie where wagon ruts, indentations made by the many pioneer wagons the traveled the Santa Fe Trail, are visible. The photograph on the right might show a rut. Or it could be a a tire track from a tractor. The historical marker at the site said the ruts are most visible in the late afternoon and early evening--when I was there.
Five miles west of "the rut" is the town of Ingalls, where the Santa Fe Trail splits. The Mountain Route goes into Colorado, the Cimmarron Route veers into Oklahoma.
As for US 50, before the interstate highway system, it was an important road, one Time Magazine called "the backbone of America" in 1997.
Technorati tags: Kansas travel byways photography photos nature history US 50
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