Sadly it's the end of an era.

We just learned that the Roy Rogers Museum in Branson, MO. has closed.

The owner, Roy's son Dusty said they had to close because they were losing too much money due to the bad economy and lack of visitors.

My husband and I have been to Branson twice and visited the museum both times.

It was an extensive overview of Roy and Dale's lives.

We spent hours in there and still didn't see everything.

Trigger, Trigger Jr., Buttermilk (Dale's horse), and their dog Bullet are all immortalized by taxidermy in life-like positions.

Nellybelle, the jeep from the TV show was there too.

There was a section showing pictures of Roy's co-stars from the many films he made.

A video of their children talking about Roy and Dale was very moving.

As you may or may not know they had both natural and adopted children.
They loved children and did a lot of charity work on their behalf.

They also had a lot of sorrow in their lives, having lost several of their precious children.

Roy's natural son Dusty, ran the museum and had a show there.
We met him when he welcomed visitors after every show in the foyer and gift shop.
He was very warm and friendly. He talked to people and had pictures taken with them; as though he was a long lost relative.

I can understand why the visitors have waned. The younger generation of today don't really know Roy and Dale, including my children.

Their popular TV show from the 50's never made it to reruns like "I Love Lucy" has.

The contents of the museum including Trigger will be auctioned off by Christie's

At least we have memories and Dale's books.

Happy Trails Roy and Dale. It was a pleasure to know you.

Saturday was quite the day.

Hubby and I arose early in the morning to go to his Uncle Charlie's funeral in NJ.

Uncle Charlie was 91 years-old and lived independently; then he fell and fractured his hip.

The hip replacement surgery was successful, but a few days after the surgery his 91 year-old body had all it could handle and shut down.

Back to the trip to NJ. When we left home at 5:30 AM it was raining gently.
This was a good thing, since the ground was parched from the previous week of ninety-plus temperatures.

We stopped in Wind Gap, PA for breakfast. When we left the car, there were only a few drops of rain. When we left the restaurant there was a deluge.

It poured like that almost all the way to our destination. The water wasn't ponding on the roadway, it was forming lakes.

We passed one accident scene in the opposite direction, where an SUV rolled over. Not a hard thing to do in that weather.

In NJ we passed a mini-van on fire. The emergency and rescue vehicles were out en masse trying to put the fire out. I sure hope everyone got out okay.

By the time we arrived at the funeral home the rain ceased and the sun came out.

Hubby enjoyed visiting with all of his cousins he hadn't seen in a long time.
It was amazing how many of them looked like their parents did at the same age.

The ride back home was enjoyable. Sunshine all the way and traffic that was tolerable.

On the news that evening, the weatherman told of the area we were in as having an enormous amount of rain in a short time.

He was absolutely correct. The good news was, we didn't see an Ark.

Narrowsburg, NY, a lovely town just across the PA border along the Delaware River.

The people who live and visit there are warm and friendly. It's a family-kind of town.

Every July 4th they have a celebration with a parade and fireworks.

The main street is lined with vendors selling all types of goodies.

The quaint shops are open for browsing and finding just the item you've been searching for.

In the evening after the fantastic fireworks display, families would slowly walk back through the maize of vendors seeking the treat they missed earlier.

However, this year's celebration was a great disappointment.

Someone had a better idea -- or so they thought.

The vendors were scattered all over town. If you were looking for your favorite food item, chances are you didn't find it.

If you were the least bit handicapped you were at a great disadvantage.

After the parade many people left. In the past years they would have stayed and yes, spent money.

This year the weather was spectacular. I suspect many who would have stayed and enjoyed the festivities went southwest to the town of Greeley, PA, and helped out the fire company by partaking of their chicken dinner.

Whoever was in charge of this year's event I would suggest they pay heed to the old adage, "If it ain't broke don't fix it".

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend.

There were fireworks all over our neighborhood last night.

You know, the kind that whistle then explode, in an assortment of patterns. All colors of the rainbow against and inky black sky. WOW!!

It certainly feels like July here in NEPA (Northeast PA).

The humidity and temperatures are heading upward.

Predictions are for 100' or more.
It's July after all.

It seems once the 4th of July comes and goes the remainder of the summer flies by at break-neck speed.

Remember last summer, it was cool and rainy most of the time.
So enjoy this hot weather while it is here.

Now if only we could preserve it in jars for January...sort of like tomatoes. Could you young scientists work on that please?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

A big thank you and God Bless you, to the brave men and women serving in the military on the battlefront and in support positions all over the world, for keeping us safe.

If you could talk to one of the founders or signers of the Declaration of Independence whom would you choose?

I would like to talk to Benjamin Franklin. Not to interview him but just to sit down with a cup of Earl Grey and a cherry scone and chat.

I would ask him what he thought about how far our country has strayed from the original Constitution and how he would fix it.

He was a brilliant self-educated man and was responsible for many inventions such as the lightning rod and iron furnace stove. But did you he invented swim fins and bifocals?

Learn more about our founders at www.ushistory.org

Whether you are traveling, enjoying fireworks, grilling, camping, swimming or whatever your activity this weekend remember what Sgt. Phil Esterhaus from "Hill Street Blues" told his fellow police officers, "Hey, be careful out there".

We want you back to enjoy America's next birthday. For that one I think I'll have a chat with Thomas Jefferson.

God Bless America and all her citizens. May she ever be the home of the free and the brave.