Today was an eventful day. I had to be in Branson, MO hopefully in time to catch a dinner show. Branson would be the last major stopping point before the long drive home. But, I still wanted to see the Oklahoma City Memorial.
Oklahoma City Memorial
Initially, I assumed it was strictly an outdoor memorial and planned to spend a few minutes there seeing it, paying my respects, and then beginning the long drive to Branson.
When I arrived, I put in enough quarters at the meter for an hour just to be safe. I didn't expect I would need that much. The Memorial has two large slabs marking the minute before and after the blast, 9:01 and 9:03. The blast obviously took place at 9:02. There is a reflecting pool which marks the location of a former street. Where the actual federal building stood are chairs to represent each of the victims, along with remains of the outer wall of the building. I was overwhelmed at seeing this and my eyes began to tear.
In walking through, I noticed the chairs were each a little different, representing different people. Each one had a name listed on it. I learned from a park ranger that smaller chairs represented the nineteen children murdered by the monster, Tim McVeigh. The park ranger pointed out that each night, the chairs are lighted. I had spent two nights in Oklahoma City and wish I had known of this before. My hotel was only ten minutes away from the Memorial.
I parked on the 9:01 side. On the other side (the 9:03 side) there was a chain link fence where people could leave gifts such as stuffed animals, notes, license plates, etc. There were all kinds of items attached to the fence. Periodically, the items are removed by the museum staff. Toys, I believe, are given to the poor.
Across the street from the 9:03 side is a large statue of our Lord bowing down with His hand on His forehead, distraught over the violence. This too was overwhelming.
I visited the museum. This is very well done. The staff is very friendly. I have seen numerous historical museums and this has to be the best one. It is so very sad yet excellent in its preservation of this tragedy. Families of the victims were given an opportunity to help in shaping the exhibits. There is detailed information about each of the victims, which is also a wonderful thing. I wish I had had time to read more about them.
One of the most upsetting but well done aspects of the museum was the room where you could hear the blast. Across from the building on that fateful day, a water department hearing was taking place. It started out like any other day. The hearing began and was recorded. The blast was recorded and this was the only known recording of the blast. You enter the room and listen to the sounds of the hearing taking place. Then the blast happens. At that point, the faces of all the victims flash across a large screen and fade away. Then another door opens and you continue with the exhibits. It is so sad to think of these lives snuffed out in an instant. All of these people had family, friends, coworkers, etc. and were just erased.
Other parts of the museum included continuous streaming of the coverage from the broadcast networks (remember them?). There were exhibits showing glasses, watches, and other items belonging to unknown workers that were recovered from the debris. In some cases, photographs showed damage everywhere in a room yet one item (such as a coffee pot) remained totally undisturbed.
On the second floor there was a display showing thousands of pennies collected by school children to help pay for the museum. Another panel showed the connection between Oklahoma City and NYC when it came to 911. People who had been through the horrific experience in Oklahoma City went to NYC to help in the aftermath of 911.
At one point I knew I was over time at the parking meter. Thankfully, there was no ticket. I went back into the museum to see more. After I emerged the second time, I was again out of time but once again was lucky enough to avoid a ticket.
This had to be the best historical museum I have ever seen. Obviously, they had an advantage in that the event is still recent and the museum was created by people who were personally affected by the tragedy and still had it in their memories.
Drive to Branson, MO
The drive to Branson was going to be at least five hours. I would head north on I-35 and then northeast on I-44. That stretch of I-44 in Oklahoma was the Oklahoma Turnpike. I drove it once in 2006. There are tollbooths at certain points along the road. You can drive 75 mph on the road, which was fun to do. The top speed limit anywhere else on this trip (even Texas) was 70.
View Larger Map
There were two tollbooths. Each one collected $4.00. If I recall correctly, it was MUCH cheaper in 2006. It looks like Oklahoma is competing with NY to have the title of expensive tolls. The tolls cover the stretch from Oklahoma City to Tulsa and then from Tulsa to the Missouri line. You get a receipt and if you get off at an exit, you get a refund which declines depending on how far you drive. Of course, if you take it to the end, you get nothing back.
I have to go back to Oklahoma at some point. I definitely want to visit the various Native American reservations and small towns, particularly in the city of Miami, OK. This is right near the Missouri line so it's easy to get to on a subsequent trip to Branson.
After leaving the Tulsa area, the road splits so you can either stay on I-44 or travel US 412. US 412 brings you to the Fayetteville, AR area. I drove that in 2007. (In 2006, I accidentally got on US 412 when I meant to stay on I-44. I ultimately had to go on a side road off US 412, and take a left across the road to get back towards I-44. Note that US 412 has a speed limit of 65...and yes, thanks be to God, I safely made a left turn on a 65 mph road.) Anyway, for some reason the GPS wanted me to take 412. Sure, it would have saved $4.00, but it would have been a very indirect way to get to Branson, which likely would have added an hour onto the trip. So, I overrode the GPS and took I-44 despite its protests.
Once I got into Missouri, I stopped and got gas at the truck stop where I made my very first visit to Missouri in 2006. Back then, I was so new to traveling, I considered a visit to a truck stop to be enough to count the state as being visited, and then turned around to head back to Kansas. I had also visited this truck stop in 2008 on my cross country trip just for old time's sake.
The stop to get gas almost sunk my chances to get to a Branson dinner show. As I traveled further on I-44, traffic came to a stand still. Two tractor trailers were stopped in the middle of the road. I expected I would just miss the show by a few minutes because of this. I'd have to try for an 8pm show. Anyway, traffic ran smoothly after getting past this.
As I went further, I saw all the familiar billboards advertising Branson. I was really looking forward to this.
Circle B Chuckwagon
I arrived at the theater for the Circle B Chuckwagon show. I had wanted to see this show last year but arrived too late. This time, I got there about five minutes before the start of the show. There were lots of people present but a couple of seats remained. One was in the front row. One of the performers came out to greet me. It was really a very nice place.
They began by reminding us that the soldiers fought for our freedoms. We said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we said grace. They introduced themselves with a Powerpoint presentation, and thanked God for everything in their lives. It was wonderful. Nobody seemed to object to any of this. (My feeling is that anyone who has objections simply does not have to participate or pay attention. Simple as that. But don't tell everyone else they can't do this.)
Christmas time in Branson begins on November 1st. The stage had Christmas decorations. The songs were basically done in bluegrass but were both religious and secular Christmas songs. In between songs was an ongoing comedy act. One of the performers played the part of being an airhead. Although she was a brunette, one of the audience members asked out loud if she was really blonde. She didn't miss a beat with that comment and continued right one.
At the end, one of the performers encouraged us to drive safely. But, if we didn't like the performance, well, who was he to tell us how to drive?
After the show, I took a drive through "the strip" of all the hotels/theaters/restaurants. Christmas lights were everywhere. It was beautiful.
I went to my hotel for the evening. It was one of the same ones I had stayed at when visiting Branson last year.
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