Today, the "Cowboy Trade Days" was supposed to be in full force with plenty of vendors. It opened at 6am to make sure people could get there early to see all the stuff. I decided to show up at 10am or so.
Ultimately, with deciding what I was going to do later in the day, I did not get out of the hotel until 10:30. Getting to the swap meet at 10:45 or so, I saw that I did not miss much. There were only a handful of additional vendors, plus a couple of food vendors and someone singing. Oh and kids could ride horses for a fee. "Underwhelming" (based on the hype) is too kind of a word.
I think I stayed at the swap meet all of 45 minutes or so. For the evening, I planned to head into Eureka Springs, Arkansas to see the Great Passion Play.
There were a couple of ways to get into Eureka Springs. I could take US 412, or I-44. Either one was tolled but US 412 was $1.50 cheaper. However, US 412 involved some local driving in Oklahoma and a lot of local driving in Arkansas. Fuel efficiency would definitely be lower with my car. I-44 would cost extra and involve more miles, but I'd save money on gas in the long run. Plus, I'd get to see some small towns and scenery in Missouri that I've enjoyed seeing in the past.
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I visited Eureka Springs for the first time in my 2008 cross country trip. I only learned about it via a former co-worker. I rolled into Eureka Springs on a Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Great Passion Play does not perform on Wednesdays. Otherwise, I'd have seen it back then. The play area is a nice spot with a large statue of our Lord, a chunk of the Berlin wall, and some beautiful flowers. Eureka Springs also has a whole bunch of interesting shops but they were closed (probably because it was a Wednesday) when I was there in 2008.
Back to 2010. As I drove through the Ozarks a bit, there were some interesting towns. The scenery was beautiful. And of course, the GPS didn't like the Ozarks. It never does.
At one point, I noticed a marquee on someone's lawn that read "Will it rain?" It was raining before that. Shortly after I passed the marquee, it rained again. I hoped it would not rain for the play because it was outdoors.
The play was scheduled to begin at 7:30pm. I had some time in Eureka Springs to look around before the play began. I also noticed that a Catholic Mass was happening at 5pm. Saturday evening would be for Sunday obligation. But, I had already determined where the Sunday Mass would be and figured I'd wait until the next day. I wanted to check out the rest of Eureka Springs first.
When I got to the shops, I noticed that parking was a bit expensive. It was $5 just to walk around. I was only going to have a short time and really didn't feel like spending $5 to park for an hour. I had just enough time to get back to the parish center for Mass.
Getting to the Mass just as the opening hymn was being sung, I was glad I made it. The priest gave an excellent homily.
When I left, it started to rain. I got nervous because the play was taking place outside. But, I had already purchased my ticket online so I was going to see it regardless.
Signs announced that if the play was cancelled due to rain, they would give tickets out for a future performance. Since I live far away, I wasn't terribly excited with that idea.
When I went to my seat, I was amazed with the sets. They were up against steep Ozark hills, which allowed all sorts of opportunities for sets on multiple levels in a compact area. The buildings (the Temple, Pontius Pilate's area, the Upper Room, etc.) were all on a lower level. The cave tomb was located way above as was Golgotha.
Animals were going to be in the play and the area definitely smelled like it. A shepherd and Annas the pharisee were answering questions and selling programs before the play started.
When the play finally began, it rained again. Plastic ponchos were being sold. There was thunder and lightning. It got worse and I kept expecting the play to be cancelled. After really getting soaked (my umbrella didn't help much) I gave in and bought a poncho.
The play began with our Lord raising Lazarus from the dead. It proceeded through much of His final week before being crucified. This part went rather quickly and it really helped if the viewer had some knowledge of the New Testament.
As the web site says, it has a "cast of hundreds." When someone other than a major figure was talking, it was difficult to identify who was speaking. In fact, even when major figures such as St. Peter had their first lines, it was difficult to locate them amongst the other people. If a Roman soldier had a line, it took a minute to determine exactly which one was speaking.
An interesting part was when our Lord chased the moneychangers out of the temple. He turned over cages of live doves, releasing them. It was amusing to watch the doves circle around and around, only to fly back behind the set....probably knowing they had a guaranteed meal back there.
The play took two hours. For major figures, it was kind of amazing how they could go so fast and have such energy. The production values were excellent.
A few strange things happened. For example, Claudia (Pontius Pilate's wife) ministered to our Lord after He was flogged. I don't really ever remember hearing about that. There is debate over whether he carried an entire cross or a crossbar. But they made Gestas and Dismas carry just crossbars while our Lord had to carry the entire Cross. This seemed odd. I don't remember really hearing about all three of them having to carry anything, just our Lord. In any event, if the other two were going to be present for that part, it should have been consistent.
The devil was played by a woman and was almost constantly around. She looked similar to the devil in the movie The Passion of the Christ. As this play has been going on for eighteen years, perhaps the inspiration for the devil in the movie being a woman came from this play.
The choreography was absolutely amazing for such a large cast. Of course, for a play that takes place every night (except Wednesdays) for much of the year, they would have it down to a science.
After the Resurrection, the play continued on up to the Ascenscion. I was surprised they could pack that much into two hours. Even the movie the Passion of the Christ did not have that many events.
My hotel for the evening was in Harrison, Arkansas (this is almost directly south of Branson). It was only 33 miles away, but almost an hour's drive through the Ozarks on US 62. The road twisted and turned quite a bit. The GPS became even more obnoxious, showing me on other roads and telling me to get back on US 62. I never left US 62.
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The small towns and cities along the way definitely close early. I drove out around 9:45. After 10pm, many of the gas stations close up. Thankfully, I did not need any gas. Prices ranged from $2.54 to as high as $2.72 (even Clifton Park back home is cheaper than that).
The GPS did not have my hotel's address in there, but I remembered seeing it on my last visit to Harrison in May. It was right along US 62. So, I didn't really need it.
The hotel room was very nice, and it was pricy (but this was a Saturday night). But, I'm sort of stuck in Choice hotel brand hotels since their stay two nights get one free promo is well worth it.
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