Thursday, Oct. 30: We got up at 6 a.m. this morning, so we could leave camp by 9 a.m. to go to Springfield to visit the big Bass Pro Shop, and to meet friends for lunch at the excellent restaurant in the store.
We arrived around 10 a.m. Bass Pro Shop has lots of interesting exhibits, like large aquariums, a waterfall, and mounted animals, as well as an art gallery, a Tracker boat exhibit, and all manner of sporting goods. There was plenty to do to fill a couple of hours before we met friends at 11 a.m. for an early lunch.
The store, which is very conservation-conscious, included information about endangered fish like the paddlefish, which is confined to the Mississippi Valley. It's only other living relative is found in the Yangtze Valley in China. Another endangered fish is the pallid sturgeon (shown above). It is found in small numbers in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
Normally, Bass Pro Shop also features a Wonders of Wildlife Museum. However, it is currently undergoing renovations and wasn't open for our visit today. It won't be open again until sometime in 2009. We were disappointed not to be able to see this museum, but we'll return when it is completed. We saw this very worthwhile facility several years ago and really enjoyed it.
The moderately-priced lunch at Hemingway's Restaurant was very good. The buffet is laid out in a circle, with salads, sliced meats, soups, pastas, rolls, and desserts (including bread pudding with rum sauce) on the outside edge, and a variety of entrees, which today included fried catfish, chicken prepared with sun dried tomatoes, and sliced pork in an orange sauce, on the island in the middle. I ate more than I should have, because I wanted to sample several of the delicious dishes.
After lunch, we followed our friends to their house for a visit, before leaving Springfield around 2:30 p.m. Interesting Adopt-a-Highway signs along the way: "Alpha Dragon Warrior Lords," and "Rubbish Rangers." I guess these days, it isn't enough to simply announce a roadside litter-gatherer's organization, it must also have a cool and memorable title.
When we got back to camp, Hubbie and I strolled around the campground, particularly along the lake shore near the marina, where I took several snapshots.
We weren't very hungry by suppertime, so we ate small bowls of chicken noodle soup, before getting ready to go see "Noah, the Musical." If we hadn't had such a large lunch, we might have considered having the chili we brought along...although Mother reminded us that if we ate anything with beans, we might be in danger of blowing the roof off the Ark.
We had reservations for the show, but were advised to be at the theater at least 30 minutes ahead of showtime, in order to get seat assignments. We were able to do that within a few minutes, so we had plenty of time to tour the large and interesting ticket sales and gift shops area (see photos above), where I took lots of snapshots, including a model of the theater set. Photography is not allowed while the show is in progress.
"Noah" is quite a remarkable show, particularly the elaborate and huge set. We were amazed at how quietly set workers are able to move the enormous 40-foot high Ark and other large set pieces onto and off of the stage. Amazing, too, are the well-trained animals. Horses, donkeys, zebras, goats, pot-bellied pigs, and others, led by cast members, ran quickly down the middle aisle of the theater and trotted right up a ramp into the Ark. Doves flew to and fro between the Ark and backstage, and a couple of goats, on their own, slid down a ramp, hopped down a couple of steps and ran up the aisle to the back of the theater.
We were seated in a middle section of the theater, with Mother sitting in the aisle seat. So she got the total benefit of horse and donkey hineys, as well as wheeled carts filled with all manner of fowl coming within a hair's breadth of her right arm and shoulder.
At the start of the second act, the lights went out, and when they came back on, curtains had been drawn all along the right and left walls of the theater, where three layers of caged animals (300 in all) appeared...some live, some animated. Camels, llamas, donkeys, horses, etc., were live, while life-size elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions, bears, and such, were animated. This wrap-around set gave the audience (over 2,000 can be seated in this theater) the feeling of being inside the Ark.
The show, which began at 7:30 p.m., ended around 10 p.m. We feared we would have trouble exiting the parking lot, but traffic flowed smoothly, and we arrived back at camp around 10:30, tired and ready for bed.
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