Colorado Springs to Hastings
US Air Force Academy & Dodge City, Kansas
Day 33 — from the Rocky Mountains east across the Great Plains, through one of the most famous towns in the American West.
Day 33 started at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and ended on the Nebraska plains.
The US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs was the first stop — the undergraduate institution for future Air Force officers, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rampart Range. The Cadet Chapel, with its 17 aluminum spires, is one of the most distinctive buildings in America.
Then east on US-50 across the Kansas plains — through Dodge City, the legendary cattle town of the Old West. Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday — they all passed through Dodge City. 'Get out of Dodge' entered the American lexicon here.
Across the Kansas-Nebraska border to Hastings, Nebraska for the night.
Photos from the Day
The Day's Route
US Air Force Academy — Colorado Springs, CO
The United States Air Force Academy — the undergraduate institution for future Air Force officers, established in 1954. The campus is set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Cadet Chapel, with its 17 aluminum spires, is one of the most architecturally distinctive buildings in America.
Dodge City, KS
Dodge City — the legendary cattle town of the Old West, at the end of the Chisholm Trail. Wyatt Earp served as assistant marshal here in the 1870s; Bat Masterson was sheriff. The phrase 'get out of Dodge' entered the American lexicon from this town.
Hastings, NE
Hastings, Nebraska — a small city on the Republican River in south-central Nebraska. Kool-Aid was invented here in 1927 by Edwin Perkins.