YOU KNOW YOU'RE OLD WHEN...

by Rose-Mary Rumbley

Ever been on the Santa Fe Trail? I guarantee that the 900 mile trail is worth driving. It begins in Arrow Rock, Missouri, a little town in the middle of the state, which reminds me of Round Top, Texas--antique shops, cute little cafes, and quaint houses. From Arrow Rock, drive west to the "Big River."

After you cross the mighty Mississippi, you fine yourself in Kansas. There in Southern Kansas you will find all of the shops filled with WIZARD OF OZ memorabilia. As Dorothy said, "Oh, it's so good to be back home." Well, Dorothy and the Wizard are alive and well in Kansas.

Then you drive on Westward until you get to Dodge City. There you will run into Matt Dillon, Chester, and Miss Kitty at the Long Branch Saloon. Truly, it's all there! Those people living in Southern Kansas are very aware of the publicity they have been given via the movies and the TV set!

When you leave Kansas, you will drive through a small corner of Colorado. Bent's Fort is there representing the "old West!" It was a very popular trading post for all travelers.

Then you head south in New Mexico until you reach I 25. This interstate will take you to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. There is no place like Taos, the home of Mabel Dodge Luhan, the eccentric millionaire who left her home in New York, went out west, married an Indian, and built the art colony in Taos. When her friends heard that she had married an Indian, they all chimed in, "God help that Indian."

Mabel was a wild chick, to say the least!

Before you head home, spend as much time as you can in Santa Fe and Taos--very unusual towns.

The museums are great and the towns themselves are museums. The food is terrific and the night life is lively!