The Lee Family: Texas! The Musical!

We arrived at the amphitheater at 6pm and were excited for the evening ahead. It was also the most people we'd seen at one time since we arrived at the canyon and it was interesting to try and determine where they all came from. This is the 54th year of Texas! The Musical! and it apparently is a destination all to itself, so I know some of the people were here just for it and not necessarily hiking and exploring by day. Also, the town of Canyon is about 30 miles away and I wondered how many people may have come from there.

Along with the tickets to the musical, I'd paid for the "chuck wagon" dinner, which was brisket, pulled pork or sausage (or all three) with potato salad and cole slaw. For dessert was either cherry or apple cobbler. Dinner actually looked pretty decent, even though the presentation and assembly-line service could have been a little better. We got our food and picked a picnic table outside since it was such a lovely night. The brisket and bbq sauce was really delicious, as was the cole slaw and potato salad. All three of us agreed that the cobbler wasn't worth it. The girls had picked out cherry and I had apple and I think they were expecting it to taste like their Papa's amazing cobbler. It wasn't even close. Just as we finished dinner, a huge gust of wind came up and blew plates and napkins everywhere! We were able to secure ours and get them to a trashcan, but the girls ran around collecting stray trash, which was really sweet of them. Along with the gust of wind, there were very dark and ominous clouds quickly rolling in over the canyon. It also dropped about 20 degrees and the wind continued! The girls played on the ridge by the picnic tables with a bunch of other kids for a few minutes and then we decided to make our way to the gift shop, since it was clearly going to rain.

Just as we got inside, it started to rain and the gift shop was quickly crowded. One of the staff said we were welcome to go up to the amphitheater and stand under the overhang, so the girls and I made a run for it just as it really started to rain! The view from the amphitheater is really quite breathtaking, even in the rain. We hung out under the overhang at the top of the amphitheater and tried to stay warm and dry. The rain came down hard and soon we had lightening and thunder! It was pretty fun to be there and there were only a few other people, which was a nice change from the crowded gift shop. The girls ran around and pretended (what's new) that they were dragons or something. Finally, one the thunder and lightening stopped and the rain had slowed, we returned to the gift shop to buy a sweatshirt for Sofia and rain ponchos for all of us.

While we tried to stay dry and warm, we also waited to hear whether the show would take place or be cancelled. Apparently their rule is that the show goes on "rain or shine" but with the lightening in the area there was a high possibility that the show would be cancelled. It was actually quite chilly out and I really wished we were all dressed a lot warmer, so I was on the fence as to whether I wanted the show to take place. The lightening continued to travel away from the canyon, but it continued to rain as a heavy sprinkle. They announced that the show would continue and the girls and I were both a little leary of the cold and rain, so I told them we should go for the first half and if we were really miserable we could head home. Sadly, a lot of people decided to leave, so the theater was pretty empty. The rain literally stopped just on time! So, at least it wasn't raining anymore. The ushers handed out sections of paper towels to each of us to wipe down our chairs. We found out seats and settled in. We also cuddled up since we were all pretty cold.

The first 15 minutes of the show were spend with several men trying to clear off the water from the stage. The first two rows of the audience was under several inches of water, so the people sitting in the front rows had to move back! The show started and it was very impressive! The show started with a really impressive song and dance number that included probably 30 couples in a very elaborate dance sequence. It was very fun and well done. The show continued and told the story of early settlers to the Texas Panhandle in the early 1800s, including Colonel Charles Goodfellow and Quanah Parker and depicted the struggles between the Indians and settlers. It also included some great Texas humor such as "We live where you can look further and see less than anywhere on earth." There was also pretty realistic lightening effects and then ended with fireworks and a water show. It was so much fun! It was also pretty campy, but very fun! At the intermission the girls bought candy, which got us all through the rest of the show. We were all excited that we stayed and watched the entire show. It was well worth it.

The show ended around 11pm and we headed back to our cabin, tired and more than ready for bed. We walked into our cabin and found a red-headed centipede crawling on our bedspread! Sofia freaked out! She was the only one of us who even knew what it was! Sofia immediately demanded that we go check into a hotel. I convinced her that the nearest hotel was an hour away, so the bed was our only option. Although the centipede on our bed was only about 4 inches long, the get up to 12 inches long, are poisonous (although not deadly) and eat lizards, bugs and even rodents! I tried to move the centipede and throw him outside, but he fell and I had to step on him and squish him. We then stripped our bed and double checked everywhere for more. Finally, we decided to all sleep in the same bed, with me in the middle. The girls were both asleep in less than five minutes. I spend a countless amount of time listening to a mouse, or several, chewing away through the night. I consoled myself by repeating that I would be in my own bed tomorrow night.

Texas!