Seven miles from Larned, I approached Fort Larned, a national historical monument. It had been several days since I came across anything even remotely interesting, so I decided to stop. Curious to see the fort, I was even more interested in the visitor's center which had air conditioning and a soda machine, so I hung out on the bench right inside the front door and drank two Cokes before even looking at any of the exhibits.

From 1821 to 1880, one of the most important overland routes in America was the Santa Fe Trail. Annually, it carried millions of dollars in commercial traffic between Independence, MO and Santa Fe. As the Trail gained popularity and increased traffic, the area's Indian population began to resent the disruption to their way of life and started to fear the possibility of losing their homeland. Believing their very existence was in jeopardy, the tribes began to attack the commerce, mail deliveries and travellers on the trail.

To counter these attacks, the United States government began to establish military posts along the Trail to protect their interests. Fort Larned was one of these posts. For several years, Fort Larned was the principal guardian for the Santa Fe Trail, providing militariy protection and escorts for the commerce and travellers that used the Trail. Fort Larned also served as an agency of the Indian Bureau in its attempt to provide peaceful solutions ot the conflict between the Indians and the whites. Ironically, the last function of the fort was to help end the usefullness of the Santa Fe Trail after the much cheaper and faster means of transportation, the railroad, finally reached Santa Fe.

The fort itself still stands pretty much as it did in the 1800s. Inside the buildings are pieces of the original furniture, equipment, and uniforms used by the soldiers that occupied the fort. The exhibit isn't too different from any other historic village or military fort, but it gives you a pretty good sense of how hard life must have been on the plains during the 1800s. The landscape is hard enough to ride my bike across during the 21st century, and there is at least civilization every 40 miles or so. I can't imagine the torment the soldiers and travellers of the 19th century must have endured. In the northwest, it is easy to understand why people fought so hard over the land, in the plains, the only explanation can be the greed that we called Manifest Destiny.

After spending an hour and a half at the fort, I got back on the road to ride to Larned. On my way to town, I came across yet another Dutch couple who were riding from Miami to Seattle. They looked extremely hot and worn out, probably because they were carrying all of their worldly possessions on the back of their bikes. I've met a lot of bikers on this route and have yet to see two people as loaded down as this Dutch couple. They were each carrying gallons of water, bags upon bags of stuff on their back racks, and curiously somehow attached folding lawnchairs to their bikes. I guess if you're going to be carrying so much weight anyway, you may as well bring a comfortable place to sit when you finally reach your destination for the night.

We spoke for a little while, sharing tales from our experience and giving pointers to what lies immediately ahead for each of us. I then advised the couple to enjoy the trees and green grass in the area, because it was the last they would see for weeks. "This is green? I haven't seen a worse landscape in all of my life. We're from Holland, so we're used to it being flat, but where is the grass and the trees?" asked the man.