We had hoped to pick up our mail and stay overnight in La Crosse, KS. It is one of a number of small cities and towns in the Midwest and Southwest that have camping sites in their parks. Finding that camping site though was a challenge. There was one small sign on the main street leading down a side road – the actual camping area was not marked.
When we saw the sign for coin operated power we figured we were in the right place.
We did not need power so we chose a spot close to the bathrooms.
The next morning we learned that General Delivery wasn’t everything that the post office had promised as they sent our mail back to Massachusetts.
Our next stop in La Crosse was The Barbed Wire Museum. “How big could that be?” we wondered before arriving at the museum. We found ourselves parked in front of a large building, much bigger than we expected. Inside there were four large displays that once were someone’s personal collection.(We were told his wife told her husband/collector she wanted her house back. Her husband had heard about the museum so he donated these large wooden panels pictured below. I am sure it took some arm twisting for him to part with his twisted wire.)
They had additional displays showing the development of different wire fencing and a large book with all of the barb wire patents. They even had barbed wire from the Berlin Wall.
Need barbed wire in a specific color to match the decor of your field or storage yard? They had that too.
There was also barbed wire art as well as plenty of antique tools.
And if that is not enough barbed wire for you, Cathy of the museum told us we could come back during the Barbed Wire Festival in May. There you can buy, sell or swap various types of wire so long as they are at least 18″ long.
An added bonus was the town museum, old school house and old bank. Cathy’s husband Ron gave us a personal tour of them.
Mr Ram was glad he was not here in the early days of the town with an aching tooth.
Mrs Ram had been hoping there might be some money left in that bank vault but sadly it was empty. Mrs. Ram checked!
In the school house, we were both amused by some of the acceptable reading material for kids back in the 1920s.
I know Bugs Bunny’s slingshot is illegal in Massachusetts.
Once again we found an obscure place that we expected to be a quick stop that was worth spending an entire morning. If you are in the area, stop by the Barbed Wire Museum. Say hi to Cathy and Ron for us.