'First city in Kansas' only minutes away

The kids are out of school. The family budget is tight. Gasoline and food prices are climbing - again. A two-week summer vacation in Florida? Maybe not this year, but there are plenty of sites close to home worth a road trip. Sun staffers hit the highways to find the best places to spend a day with the kids.

Leavenworth calls itself the first city in Kansas. From the interchange of Kansas Highways 7 and 10 in Lenexa, Leavenworth, which was founded in 1854, is less than 30 miles away and easy to get to. Simply follow K-7 north.

The Leavenworth area was originally inhabited by the Kansa, Osage and Delaware tribes. In 1827, Col. Henry Leavenworth founded Fort Leavenworth on the bluffs of the Missouri River, and for the next several decades the fort played a major role in keeping the peace between the various Indian tribes and the increasing number of settlers heading west.

The city of Leavenworth became nationally known as the "jumping off point" for the opening of the West. Buffalo Bill Cody spent part of his youth in Leavenworth and also worked in the area as a Pony Express rider and Army scout. His parents are buried in Leavenworth.

The city is known today for the fort, which is the oldest continuously active fort west of the Appalachian Mountains, the National Cemetery, and the U.S. Federal Penitentiary, which opened in 1906. The prison has housed such infamous criminals as Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Robert Stroud (Birdman of Alcatraz), and most recently NFL quarterback Michael Vick.

The fort, which became more secure after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, remains open to the public. A photo identification is required and cars without official stickers are stopped and searched before entering.

To reach the fort, take K-7 north all the way through Leavenworth to Metropolitan Avenue. Turn left (west) and then take the first right (north).

There is no admission fee to get into the fort or to gain access to the historic sites.

The avenues lined with mature trees and the early 1900s buildings give visitors a sense of the vast history associated with the fort.

It is a fort where such historic figures as George Armstrong Custer, Jonathan Wainwright, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and George S. Patton have served. It is where the 10th Calvary Buffalo Soldiers organized in 1866 and where a monument honoring those African-American soldiers was dedicated by Gen. Colin Powell in 1992.

The Frontier Army Museum is filled with more than 7,000 items from the past as the story of Fort Leavenworth and the frontier Army is told. Two of the premier pieces are the 1832 general officer coat worn by Gen. Henry Leavenworth and a Curtiss JN4D "Jenny" aircraft, of the type used by Gen. John Pershing during the "Punitive Expedition" into Mexico.

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sunday and all federal holidays.

The self-guided tour lasts about 45 minutes. Visitors will see horse-drawn wagons, a large firearms exhibit, uniforms and paintings, plus the carriage that carried Abraham Lincoln during his visit to the fort in 1859.

Custer was court-martialed at Fort Leavenworth and lived there for five months following his conviction and suspension for misconduct and not following orders. Because of that, it is said Custer's ghost, the most frequently sighted in Kansas, walks the grounds of Fort Leavenworth waiting for his sentencing.

A pamphlet showing 16 historic sites throughout the fort can be picked up at the Frontier Army Museum. The sites include two French cannons cast in 1774 overlooking the Missouri River, a cut in the hillside that was the water gate to Fort Leavenworth from the river, an old disciplinary barracks, the main parade field, and the National Cemetery.

The Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery was one of the first national cemeteries established by President Lincoln in 1862. Veterans since the War of 1812 have been laid to rest there.

Custer is not buried there, but his brother Thomas, who was twice awarded the Medal of Honor and who died at the Battle of Little Big Horn, is.

There is also plenty to see and do in the city outside the fort.

Youngsters of all ages will enjoy riding a 1913 restored original carousel at the C.W. Parker Museum, 320 S. Esplanade. It is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, or by appointment. Carousel rides cost $1. Admission to the museum is $3 for children 12 and under and $5 for adults.

The Fred Harvey Museum at 624 Olive St. honors the man who developed the world's first chain of restaurants and hotels along the Santa Fe Railroad. Tours are by appointment only and donations are accepted.

For a special treat, visit The Corner Pharmacy on the corner of Fifth and Delaware streets. The pharmacy, open since 1871, still houses the original soda fountain and lunch counter. The venue opens at 7:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and offers daily lunch specials. Drinks include sarsaparilla, limeades and a bottomless cup of coffee for 79 cents.

Desserts and pies are to die for. But if you want to spoil yourself and become best friends with your kids, treat everyone to a chocolate malt. It is the one thing that will make you remember your trip to Leavenworth and make you want to go back.

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