by Sheila O'Connor

t’s been a tough encounter. But finally guns are drawn and the sheriff and his men are just about to sneak up and catch the bad guy. You could cut the air with a knife as the tension mounts. Without warning, the crack of a gunshot rings out and there’s a flurry of activity with people scrambling everywhere. Suddenly, a booming voice yells out:

“Picture!” And the whole cast freezes, mid-step.

… gunfighters freeze in mid-fire and turn to a tourist’s camera and smile (in some cases that smile is toothless …)

They all turn in the direction of the visitor’s camera, smooth down their disheveled hair or beards, and give out their best wide-mouthed grins to the tourist with the camera. Then the show continues and the bad guy gets his punishment.

It gets a laugh from the audience and the visitor gets a great, unblurred photograph. After all, the last thing you expect to see are gunfighters freeze in mid-fire and turn to a tourist’s camera and smile (in some cases that smile is toothless — don’t expect them to have had teeth back in ‘them thar days’). But this is the way memories are created. That and the whole of the rest of this knee-slapping show.

This is the Rockin’ B. Ranch Cowboy Supper Show in Liberty Lake, half way between Spokane, Washington and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where you can join the wranglers for a Western Chuckwagon supper show served up in an authentic rustic barn.

When the owners, Scott and Pamela Brownlee, purchased the ranch they didn’t want it to be a horse ranch. They wanted instead to create an entertainment show that was entirely horse-less. And they’ve done it with their foot-tapping, sing-along, laugh-out-loud show that works for the whole family.

And funny is the name of the game, right down to the storytime that Dusty Bicuspid, the lead actor, goes through (you’ll first see him as you enter the area — he greets all the visitors personally as they arrive). All the children are called out to sit in front of the stage and two lucky ones get to sit alongside the actor on their very own saddles mounted on poles.

“I am going to give you both a theatrical prop to wear and then I want you to tell me what children’s story I am going to tell you,” he says, handing each a pig’s nose

“Three little pigs!” cries one.

“Good guess. But no. We’re going to hear the story of Rinder-cella (Cinderella), her mugly other (ugly mother) and her two sad blisters (bad sisters).” And so the story continues. The story of Cinderella with all the words transposed. The adults are busy trying to work out what the words are actually saying while the kids just squeal with laughter. Who needs the correct translation anyway? They all know exactly what he is saying, in that way that only kids can.

This is super fun in an evening that’s dedicated to the history, heritage and traditions of the American Cowboy way of life. And don’t forget the food. Three choices of meat, baked potato, corn bread, applesauce, home-made beans and barbeque sauce and sheet cake make for plenty to eat. For drinks it’s lemonade and coffee. If you’re still hungry, the organizers urge you to go back for as many belly-fillin’ helpings as you can manage. Even this vegetarian, without the meat course, had plenty to eat.

And if you’re not still laughing at Rinder-cella, then you’ll have enough energy left to join in with all the cowboy songs. A great night out to be had for only $30. It’s very popular, so reservations are required. Check it out!

Rockin’ B Ranch: tel. 888/762-5462; www.RockinBRanch.com.

Sheila O’Connor is a freelance travel writer based in San Francisco, California.

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