Since no funds are accepted from federal or state governments and they subsist on donations, the work progresses slowly. I recall seeing the statue in the 70's and it still looks the same which makes me wonder if it will ever be finished. The finger pointing, when completed, will be 29' long and I read that the statue will be the largest in the world!
There are plenty of things to do at the Memorial; Laser show (which we did not see), orientation movie, Indian museum, sculptor's studio, Native American artifacts and dancing. Everyone scattered to different parts of the Memorial until it was time to board the bus to head to Keystone and the National Presidential Wax Museum.
The museum of wax figures was practically across the street from where we were staying so as people finished looking at the forty-five wax presidents, they were able to walk to the motel. There was a lot of history to be learned and we were able to listen individually on remote looking apparatuses. As we entered the museum, Felix greeted us and I had my picture taken with him!
A quick rest and we headed to the Circle B Ranch where we would have dinner and a western show.
Once the bus parked in front of another bus filled with teen-agers, we all made our way to a grassy area to wait for the shoot out that had been advertised. The wooden structures housed a country store, the dining area and the ticket office. In the center was a jail, a lasso a bull area, and a place to shoot blanks!
We entertained ourselves by taking pictures, sitting on the couches or on a deck to await the promised shoot out!
I suppose if I was a kid, it would be quite exciting to see two men shooting at each other, but my thought was that the shoot out was pretty corny!
After the brief shoot out we entered the dining area filled with wooden tables and benches. We had our own section and as we took our places by lifting a leg and sliding into the bench, we waited for instructions on how the large groups would be fed. We were called by numbers in sections, very much like our Young At Heart dinners, and picked a tin plate stacked vertically. We continued to where the food was being served; baked potato, barbecue beef and chicken, beans, apple sauce, biscuit and spice cake were placed on our plate and we marched back to the table.
The entertainment began by the owners of the Circle B; husband(bass), wife (singer) and son(guitar) joined by a fiddler player. What fun as they played old tunes and told funny stories. Someone told me that the Circle B was a highlight of the trip!
The rain was pouring when we left the Circle B but our hearts were filled with joy after the fun show.
The rest of the evening was a free night so some walked into Keystone, others went to bed, some met
to chat and my room mate and I retired to our room. In the morning the plan was to go to an eight o'clock mass. Around 9:50 p.m. I received a text that the mass was at 7:30 a.m. An angel of mercy took it upon himself to verify the mass time. That's when the fun began! I called everyone to let them know to meet at the bus at 7 a.m. I hated to call the bus driver because he had worked hard and my guess was that he was sleeping but he sounded wide awake and said he would have the bus ready at 7 a.m. I finished calling everyone around 10:30 p.m. and then asked for the desk to give a wake up call to my group around 6:15 a.m. the next morning.
Our last day on our journey will continue in my next blog.
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