Roy Rogers, Jr. Show

All of us "boomers" remember Roy Rogers as one of our favorite cowboys - "King of the Cowboys". Even Joni, being from New York, watched Roy and Dale and was a big fan. She went to the Roy and Dale Rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York City, many times.

After going to the Roy Rogers, Jr. show at Silver Dollar City, we decided we also wanted to go to the Roy Rogers Museum and live show at the Happy Trails Theater in Branson. It was well worth it. It brought back many childhood memories for both of us.

The Live Show featured Roy Rogers, Jr. (See Roy, Jr. singing in the black shirt.) He sang lots of Roy's songs and spoke about what life was like being the son of Roy and Dale. He had some funny stories to tell, but what came across most was the quality of family life they lived. Roy and Dale had 9 kids, both natural and adopted, and he mentioned many times how much love there was between all of them.

Also joining the show was Roy and Dale's Grandson, Dustin Roy Rogers, seen on stage with his dad, Roy, Jr. Dustin looks alot like Roy!. After the show we got to meet both of them. (See us with Roy, Jr. on left - now wearing a red shirt - and Dustin next to Delton)

We went to the museum where we got to see photos, memorabilia, home movies, guns, costumes and Trigger, Buttermilk, Nellybell the Jeep (see picture), Bullet , and much more. Trigger, Buttermilk and Bullet were all stuffed - the real deal - (see photos) .

The car that they rode in the Pasadena parade was about as "cowboy" as you can get. Check it out! Gun door handles inside and out, guns everywhere, saddle console, bullets decorations lining the seats and lots more.

As I close this story about our trip to the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum and Show - all I can say is: HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!

The Dotys

We had a great treat! We got to see Tom and Karen Doty, friends we haven't seen in about 10 or 12 years.

We met the Doty family at First Baptist Church in Trophy Club, TX. They moved to the Ozarks after only 3 years in Trophy Club, but we became good friends there. They now live in Springdale, Arkansas. And their family has grown. They have 3 kids, Keri, Brady and Dallas. All have married and now there are lots of grandchildren. Pictured are Tom and Karen with Keri's family and Brady's family. Keri and Garth (husband) met in Texas, where Garth played the part of Jesus in our church musical.

When we realized they were only about 2 hours from Branson, we decided a visit was necessary. We drove down to see them for a day, went to church with them, had lunch and spent the rest of the day at their lake house.

Their lake house is beautiful and is enjoyed by their whole family. They are fortunate that they all live close and can get together often.

We have gotten to see many friends and family as we have traveled around the country, many that we haven't seen in a long time. Hope we don't wait another 10 years before we get to see the Dotys again.

Andy Williams Show

Andy Williams presents a show in Branson, It's great! You would never know he is 82 years old. He sings and dances and jokes around as if he is 10 years younger or maybe 15 years younger.

The Moon River Theater is across the street from the Moon River Grill, (pictured) both owned by Andy. We had lunch at the Moon River Grill (pictured) with the Rankin family and guess who walked in??? Yes - it was Andy himself. He makes frequent appearances at the restaruant. What a thrill that was! We forgot to bring our camera with us to the restaurant. Big mistake!

His show was very much like his old TV shows, very lively, fast moving and enjoyable. He had a variety of guests from singing families (pictured), to tap dancers, to magicians and more. He sang many of the songs that made him famous - including Moon River. See the picture of the finale, where all the guests lined up across the stage.

The Andy Williams Christmas Show will be presented during the holidays. We would have loved to see that one but we won't be in Branson then.

Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is a fun entertainment park similar to OpryLand in Nashville. There are arts and crafts, rides, shops, and lots and lots of shows. All who work there wear 18th century clothes.

We went there with Mark, Sherry, Myron and Bill (all friends we met in Colorado). Mark and Sherry work at Silver Dollar City. Mark works in the carving shop (see Mark and Sherry with Mark's canes) and sells the canes he collected in the Colorado mountains and carved in Fun Valley. Sherry works in the children's area, making sure no one gets hurt (see Sherry in her costume).

As we walked thru the park, we enjoyed seeing all the arts and crafts shops. See Delton and Mark watching the craftmen working in the saddle shop. Also see Joni and Delton in jail!

There are many shows going on throughout the day. One of the most popular shows at Silver Dollar City is the ROY ROGERS SHOW (see Roy Rogers Jr. in the black shirt and pants) presented by Roy and Dale's son. You could see the resemblance to Roy. He told stories of Roy and Dale and Trigger and Buttercup and Nellybell and all the stars from the TV show. It was great!

We also went into a saloon and saw a cute musical skit, with bartenders, show girls dancing on the bar, and more.

Have you ever seen a Mule Jump??? A whole show was produced around mules jumping over sticks of different heights. The mules jumped from a standing position and did a pretty good job. I guess the interesting part of the show is that mules are supposed to be so stubborn and one never knows if the mule will jump or not. What do you think????

On the way out of the park, Delton was stopped by a very pretty girl (?) who was fasinated by him and couldn't resist putting her arms around him. Delton abliged him. What a cute picture.

Visiting Chris Jones

Delton's son, Chris, recently moved to Arkansas. We were able to visit him during our stay in Branson. Branson is only 2 hours from Bela Vista, Arkansas, where Chris lives.

We had a real nice sunny day for our visit and playing golf was the perfect thing to do. We got up early (poor Joni couldn't sleep in) and got to the golf course for a 9:30 am tee time.

Chris lives in his 5th wheel in an RV park. Delton has a golfing buddy who is also staying in the same RV park as Chris - Bill Putman (pictured with red shirt). We met Bill in Fun Valley, Colorado and Delton has played with him many times. The 4 of us got together for the game.

The course was beautiful with lush fairways, water all over and rolling hills.

After our golf match, we had a delicious Bar-B-Que diner with Chris and then headed back to Branson. We wanted to get back before it got dark - there are alot of rolling hills and curves in the Ozarks and it's better to drive during sunlight.

Then, a week later, we decided to go to Bentonville with our motor home. We stayed in the same park as Chris stays in and parked right next to him. Chris and Delton played golf 2 days in a row - in the rain. Golf lovers!

We enjoyed our time with Chris. It was like living next to him or 3 days.

The Rankin Brothers in Branson!

The Rankin Brothers are playing Branson!!
We are friends of Mark and Matt Rankin from our hometown of Trophy Club. We have known them and their parents, Larry and Sherry, for many years. (See photos of us with Mark and Matt. Also see separate picture of us with Larry and Sherry.) Our kids went to Northwest High School with Mark and Matt.

We first met the Rankins when they were members of First Baptist Church in Trophy Club, TX (our home town). Matt and Mark were just starting out and had stars in their eyes. We knew they'd make it big one day! Everytime Joni saw Larry (dad Rankin) in the grocery store in Trophy Club, she asked "Have they made it big yet?"

Well, now they have!

How exciting it was to see their name and picture on the big billboards as you enter Branson.


We went to their show TWICE and it was great both times! They performed in the Welk Theater. With a 5 piece band, 3 female backup singers - the Rankinettes, a big stage and wonderful audience, they presented their show.

They opened, back to back (see photo) with their name in lights , starting a very exciting show.

Mark did his Elvis, Sonny (and Cher), and Matt did his Buddy Holly. (see photos) They both performed the Everly Brothers songs, The Rightous Brothers, and many more duet hits. They sound just like the original singers!


After the show, they met their fans and signed autographs, and sold CDs and T-shirts. We visited with them for quite a while after the show and decided to have lunch together on another day.

We were excited to see Mark and Matt's wives and kids when they showed up during the intermission of their Friday afternoon show. See the photo of Matt's wife, Nichole, and his son, David, 9, (right side of photo) and Mark's wife, Mindy, and his children Noah, 9, Chloe, 7,

Ellie, 5, and Heath, 4.

Shown are our friends, Sherry and Mark Watson, (pictured with Mark and Matt) who also went to the show. They had seen The Rankin Brothers last year when they were in Branson. Mark and Sherry were parked next to us in Fun Valley, CO and it was great to know that they had been to the show and thought is was one we shouldn't miss.

To all our Trophy Club friends - THEY MADE IT! TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS! GO TO SEE THEIR SHOW!

Here's the link to their website. Check it out! http://www.therankins.net/