Oklahoma City National Memorial

Ron and I decided to spend an extra day in Oklahoma City on our way home from South Dakota.  We have driven past the city numerous times while on our way to visit family. We've just never made the effort or taken the time to stop and see the memorial. It is certainly an emotional experience. I really don't know how anyone can mentally prepare for the visit. I had gone to the web site and ended up questioning whether or not I'd be able to handle it. But, we had already made the plans to go; so I "girded my loins" with prayer and hoped for the best.
There is an app that you can download so you have a walking tour of the memorial to listen to. There are several National Park Rangers on site to answer any questions. I'm such a blubbering cry baby, that I preferred the walking tour!

There are 3 bronze gates at the memorial, called The
Gates of Time. They bookend the memorial and remind
visitors of the time the bomb went off, the time the first
responders arrived, and the time recovery began.

                           

The Field of Empty Chairs is powerful! There are
9 rows; representing the 9 stories of the federal
building. Each row has one chair placed for each
individual who lost their life that day.

The Survivor Tree is the only tree on the
property to have survived the bombing. It was
broken, scarred, and had numerous pieces of
shrapnel embedded in the bark. It was nursed
back to health and included in the memorial.

This message was written on the exterior of a
neighboring building, which became the museum. It was
placed there by those who helped with the
clean up and recovery.

The Rescuers' Orchard was planted to remind visitors of
the countless citizens who immediately ran to the site,
willing to help with rescue and recovery.

The Reflecting Pool is simply beautiful. It is so
peaceful and is intended to provide visitors with
a place to meditate and reflect on what had
happened.

This is a large observation area inside the museum.
It overlooks the memorial.

The Fence is part of the original barrier constructed
around the bomb site. Many people place ribbons,
pictures, stuffed animals, etc. on the fence during recovery.
The citizens of the city petitioned the designers to
include at least a portion of the fence in the final
design.

I handled most of the memorial fairly well; but, those tiny
chairs representing the children lost in the day care center
were heartbreaking. So many lives cut short way too early.

  After walking through the outdoor memorial, which took almost an hour, Ron and I decided we just couldn't handle the museum. There are several tours available, of varying lengths, for those with a tougher heart than we have.