Staycation with the Outlaws

Belle Starr

With spring right around the corner I've been doing a lot of thinking about fun little weekend getaways.  (Well let's just say I wish it was right around the corner!)  So I thought I would share with everyone some of our family's most memorable weekend getaways.  I'll post a few today then throughout the next month add to this!  

As a homeschool family we LOVE any little getaway that we are able to turn into a teaching experience.  

Jesse James

So one year, we were learning all about the outlaws of the wild west and one trip led to another, and the next thing we knew we were on a journey of outlaws like Jesse James, Belle Starr, Black Jack Ketchum, and Buffalo Bill Cody.

So here is the journey our family took in these outlaw's foot steps......

Most of these places are only a days drive away, some are just an hour or two depending on where you live.  However far it may be, if you are able to make it to one of these locations make sure to brush up on your history and you're sure to have a great trip!

• Robbers Cave located on the outskirts of the Sans Bois Mountains community in Wilburton, Oklahoma.  Robbers Cave State Park offers camping/cabins, horseback riding, paddle boats, fishing, hiking, and much much more.  When our family went we rented a cabin for the weekend.  We had such a great time!!  We took the renowned hike from our cabin to the famous Robbers Cave.  This in itself is a full days activity.  Once you're at the cave, there is plenty of exploring to do.  Remember this place is large enough for the outlaws to hide from the police back in the day.  And if your kids have a little knowledge under their belts about what they are exploring it makes for a very interesting day!  Later that evening we loaded up the family and went to one of the our favorite Italian places around. (Only a few minutes from our cabin we were staying at.)  Pete's Place,  for those of you who have ate there, need I say more?  For those of you who haven't, well you'll just have to go.  It's family style and if you call ahead you can reserve a room all to yourself.  You place your order and then the waiter closes the door behind him and you and your family sit back and enjoy your dinner in your own private room.  After getting our bellies full, we headed back to our cabin to make smores over a campfire, oh and told BIG FOOT stories.  Because this is BIG FOOT country ya know!!!!  The next day we took the family to the Italian market, now this is one place you won't want to miss!!!!!!!!  Trust me on this!!!!!  After sampling several foods and finding my new favorite pasta sauce, we headed back to our cabin for more outdoor adventures.
• Cafe On the Route, this is a little restaurant in Baxter Springs, Ks.  Some really good friends of ours were living there and invited us up to visit.  The night before we were watching food network's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and this cool little place was on the show!!!  Of course with us going the next day we wanted to try it out.  Come to find out, this little place was once a bank; and not just any bank, it was a bank that was robbed by Jesse James himself!  (Just imagine if we followed today's bank robbers around like this!)



There are still bullet holes in the ceiling
tiles from Jesse James and the
wild west outlaws

St. James Hotel,  now whether you believe in ghosts or not is up to you.  But for me real or not real does not take away form the fact that I'm a big chicken!!!  So when we went to this place we went during the day time and did not, let me repeat, DID NOT get a room!  It's famous not only for it's deep history with outlaws, but also for their ghosts who still roam the hallways to this day.  History is what brought us to this place.  From the registery filled with all the outlaws signatures, to the old roulette table on display next to the very antique piano, it has something for everyone.  It's set up like a museum and it's FREE to tour the hotel.  There are several historical items on display, and if you make an early reservation the hotel offers a Mystery Dinner Theater.  

Well I hope some of you will get to enjoy some of these places made famous by American Outlaws.

If you do, please come back and comment on this post and share your families adventures with everyone.

I look forward to sharing more STAYCATION experiences with you next week.  Till then........

ENJOY