Santa Fe Trail | LC's Cottage

Tag Archives: Santa Fe Trail

Cross Country Vacation Sept./Oct. 2025-Post 25

Posted on January 5, 2026 | Leave a comment

Santa Fe Trail, Boot Hill Museum, Kansas

The Hubster and I hadn’t driven far out of Dodge City, about nine miles, when we came upon the Santa Fe Trail Wagon Ruts roadside attraction.

We weren’t looking for it.

We almost missed it.

But we stopped to check this out.

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

The site is undeveloped, but as you can see, from the sign above, there are plans for some development.

The Santa Fe Trail served as the pioneer highway from 1821 to 1872 as a link from the east to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trail allowed traders to move goods across the country safely and easily.

It was customary for the wagons to travel four abreast. This allowed for quicker circling in case of attack.

The ruts are still visible after almost 150 years.

You can also see the remains of the Soule Canal.

The Soule Canal, listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, includes the Eureka Irrigating Canal. This ditch and canal were put under construction in 1883, by Asa T. Soule, a prominent Dodge resident.

The canal was intended to bring water from the Arkansas River to fields needing irrigation. Unfortunately similar projects upstream and prolonged drought led to the abandonment of the project. It however, goes down as a major human accomplishment of imagination and construction.

I found a video that has an aerial view…so much the better to see the ruts!

See the world around you!

Boone’s Lick State Historic Site

Posted on September 6, 2023 | 8 comments

The Hubster and I were looking for a place to have a picnic lunch. Little did we know that we were stepping into such an important part of westward expansion.

Three families, the Mackays, the Boones, and the Morrisons, along with a few others, turned a saline lick into a commercial enterprise that helped shape the Louisiana/Missouri Territory.

The Boonslick Road originally ended in Howard County, Missouri, where the Boones’ salt works is now a Missouri State Historic Site. After this road was extended westward from Howard County, the old Boonslick Road would become the Santa Fe Trail. This ancient thoroughfare later became U.S. Highway 40 and finally modern Interstate 70.

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

What is a salt lick? It is a briny spring where animals come to lick the ground. Approximately one -third of Missouri contains saline waters.

Salt was the main means of food preservation.

Boone’s Lick was not discovered by Daniel Boone as the following marker says. James Mackay was granted the land by the Spanish in 1797.

By 1804, Daniel Morgan and his brother, Nathan Boone were in partnership with Jesse and James Morrison.

There are many sign boards here where one can read about the history of the area. They are very informative.

If this period in American history interests you, then on page 2 of the Boonslick Historical Society Periodical, there is an excellent map detailing the Morrison commercial empire.

The Hubster and I took a short hike to see what was left of the salt lick.

It is very overgrown and very pretty.

There is not much remaining, but one can see a large kettle used to boil the saltwater.

There is one grave marker here at Boones Lick.

It is the grave of Joseph L. Morrison, the son of Major James. Joseph somehow fell into a boiling kettle and was horribly scalded. It is said that he survived for a couple of days. He was 11 years old (16 years say some accounts).