June 12 - Fort Reno is an inactive military base with tons of history to share. It has served as a fort then an active Army base in WWI. It was the breeding farm for Army horses and mules. During WWII it was also a POW camp for German and Italian prisoners from South Africa. It is now a USDA Grasslands and Grazing Research Center and recently become the new home of the US Cavalry Museum. The museum was housed at Ft. Riley Kansas but has been removed due to space needed at the active base. It will take a while for all to be displayed since the new home is in old quarters that were abandoned in 1985.

The parade grounds are still used for the Annual National Cavalry Competition. The cemetery has two sections – one for members of the military serving and their families and the other for 70 prisoners who died while living at the camp or at camps in Oklahoma and Texas. A couple prisoners have been disinterred by family members who traveled from Germany and Italy to claim their family. Black Jack, the spirited riderless ceremonial horse used in the funeral processions of Presidents Hoover, Kennedy, and Johnson, and General MacArthur was raised and trained at Ft. Reno. From here we continued down old Route 66 in the pouring rain until we reached a forest campground on Lake McClellan. The lake has been dry as a bone until this spring …. Over the spillway now for the third time. How lovely!