As you might expect, the museum offers multiple galleries covering the life of the 40th U.S. president and displays such artifacts as the suit Reagan wore on inauguration day and the chest X-ray showing a would-be assassin's bullet lodged close to his heart. Don't expect a dry recounting of presidential history, however. This museum makes abundant and productive use of multi-media to pull you along as you follow the president through his early years growing up and as a high school athlete, as a radio sports announcer, as a Hollywood movie star, and as a U.S. Army officer. You'll also learn about his entry into politics and his service as a two-term governor of California prior to the presidential campaigns that eventually landed him in the White House.

As is the case with most presidential museums, the content is biased in favor of the president with scant attention paid to the Iran-Contra Affair or other controversial aspects of the Reagan years. Overall, however, the museum deserves high marks for presenting an accurate and clear portrait of the president's two terms in office.

Ample attention is also paid to Reagan's wife, Nancy. A Hollywood starlet herself, she met her future husband on a movie set. Visitors will see examples of Mrs. Reagan's trademark designer clothes and other examples of the elegance she brought to the White House.

The couple had been married for more than 50 years at the time of the president's death in 2004 of complications arising from Alzheimer's Disease. A particularly poignant artifact in the museum is the handwritten statement the president prepared to announce to the world the tragic diagnosis.

Reagan's gravesite is located at the museum as well. It is a simple and tasteful memorial overlooking the California countryside he loved so much.

The museum has many attractions, including a section of the Berlin Wall, a poignant symbol of the Cold War which ended in the collapse of the Soviet Union during Reagan's term, a three-fourths scale replica of the White House rose garden and an F-14 “Tomcat” fighter plane.

The most dramatic sites, however, are a full-scale reproduction of the White House Oval Office, recreated just as it looked during Reagan's presidency and the display of Air Force One, the presidential Boeing 707 that carried Reagan and six other presidents on diplomatic missions around the world. Visitors are able to walk through the plane and see it configured just as it was during Reagan's presidency.

Amenities include a café, pub and two museum stores. Parking is more than adequate and wheelchair accessible.

As its name implies, the facility is also a working library for historians to use in understanding the Reagan legacy. The library includes more than 55 million pages of administration and personal documents, over 1.6 million photos, more than 55,000 video and audio tapes and more than 670,000 feet of film.

The Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is one of 12 similar presidential facilities that have been established across the country. It is privately funded through donations, admission fees, gift shop receipts and facility rentals.

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Let's Go!

There are lots of ways to get there, I am going to give you a nice circle route. Head south on Highway 2 to Highway 39, then West to Calmar. Calmar has a great little bakery on the north side of the road, and will make a nice stop to pick up a treat to eat in the car. Continue West, you will turn south at a point and pass through Thorsby. Continue south past the many farms and pastures. You will come to Highway 616, at which point you want to turn Right, or West. This will take you on a scenic trip around the lake and past some Bison farms. Unfortunately the roads were not designed with tourists in mind, and this will not be a completely lake shore drive. The 616 is a nice rolling drive, and you want to look for the South (left) turn to highway 771. Here is where you will get close to the lake and have a view. Follow the 717 as it heads south and eventually south east around the lake. At one point you will pass The Village Gardener Greenhouse on your left side. In the spring and summer this may make a nice place to get out and look around.
It is only a few more minutes south west on the 771 until you come to highway 13, turn left on this road, so you are headed east. In about 3 minutes time you will see "The Village at Pigeon Lake" on your left side. It is not a typical "village", nor is it on the lake, and by no means huge, although it is expanding. It is the name given to the development.

The Village

The Village consists of several stores, a grocery store, gas station and many others. The four most popular are in a row, starting with the Eco Cafe. This award winning restaurant is worth a stop just in time for lunch. The food is definitely high quality but not ridiculously priced. Their environmental philosophy, of buying local produce when available, shows in the freshness of the taste. Next is The Clothing Store, a place for womens fashions. The following store is very popular, The Country Sampler, an ever evolving store with pine furniture and home decor like you wont find many other places. Prices are excellent. The other noteworthy stop at the Village is Daisy McBeans, a good dessert stop before continuing on. They have ice cream and many other novelty treats, including home baked goods or incredible sandwiches. This is a good place to have a coffee and treat before heading onward. There is a Spa located in the Inn, and if you can get an appointment they are very good. If you visit the Village during the week, as opposed to a weekend, you should stop in to the ATB Bank to view their display of local artwork. In fact, I would say that coming during the week is better, since weekends are very crowded. The village is open year round, but no not expect late store hours in the winter.

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Continuing On...

From the Village head East, left, onto the Highway, about 1 mile down the road, on the right hand side, is Back Street Antiques, worth a stop, but I caution you that not everything is an antique and prices are a bit higher than in "The Village". Just ¼ mile south of Back Street is The Wilderness Store, another shop worth visiting as it has very unique wood furniture and other items. Phone ahead, often they are only open on Fridays and the weekends. Then head back on Highway 13, going east, which would be to the right. A turn north on Highway 13A will bring you to Ma-Me-O Beach, a man made beach where one can wade in knee deep water for ages. There is not much shopping in Ma-Me-O, but it is worth the stop if you have kids who want to play in the water, and they deserve it after allowing you to shop! You can follow Highway 13A which will loop back south to Highway 13, or can backtrack on Highway 13A to Highway 13, either way, continue East to Highway 2, where you can go North, back to Edmonton.

Trip Time

Traveling time from Edmonton to "The Village" is about one hour, I have suggested some good stops to break up the trip. There are a lot of people who have "cabins" at the lake, but a surprising number come as a day trip from the city. For those who don't know about this hidden treasure, I would like to encourage you to make a trip.