We had another day off school on Monday, but this time, believe it or not, was because the circus rolled into Warrenton, Missouri.
The public was welcome to come and watch them set up and see "the elephant raise the big top" in the morning. They are the only circus left that uses an elephant to set the four main poles holding up their big top tent.
It was neat to watch and be a part of history, but I just can't be totally okay with it. The elephant didn't seem to mind. She seemed very ho-hum about the whole thing, and not stressed at all, but there is just something not right about seeing an elephant in a harness on a gravel parking lot. That's just my opinion.
They only have a few animals in their traveling menagerie. They include 3 female elephants, 4 camels, tigers, a mule, riding ponies, dogs which were rescued from an animal shelter and are part of an act, and a display of snakes.
The Kelly Miller circus has been around since 1938. We were told they travel 9 months out of the year doing 2 shows a day, 7 days a week. They originate out of Oklahoma, and their caravan includes a cook house, which also serves as the school house for the families traveling with children, their own "power" truck, 7 semis, plus all the RVs, etc, for the performers and workers.
We went back to see the 4:30 show. Their performers come from all around the world, and they put on a good show.
They had a lot of overpriced toys...(sorry kiddos)
Look at that little guy riding the pony. How cute is that!
These ladies were all wet because there was a downpour outside when they were getting ready to come in.
The clowns were the kids favorite part of the show. It was hard to get a good photo
of them because they were moving around so much! They were pretty funny.
I didn't let the kids have any of the overpriced toys, so I
broke down and let them ride the elephant at intermission.
The kids really enjoyed the circus, and how can you pass it up when it's only 20 minutes away! That doesn't happen very often when you live in Truxton, Missouri!
