Branson, Missouri - I'm not sure what we expected but King Kong and a 30-foot rooster wasn't it. But here they are, together with miniature golf courses, water parks, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Hollywood Wax Museum, and lots of restaurants and hotels. There are numerous theaters with live shows starting as early as 10 a.m. with most last shows at 8 p.m. The shows are fairly expensive, between $25 and $50 each so we only went to two, the Rankin Brothers and Shepard of the Hills. Both were excellent. The Rankin Brothers and their supporting five-member band and three backup singers, do vocal impersonations of Elvis, Neil Diamond, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, George Strait, and many more. They also have a great personal interaction, with each other, their band, and the audience. They sounded amazingly like the original artists and we really enjoyed the show. www.rankinbrothers.com Shepard of the Hills, presented in an outdoor amphitheater, is the dramatization of Harold Bell Wright's novel of life in the Ozarks. It has been running for 43 years and I don't think much has changed in the production. It is a tradition for first time visitors to Branson; we enjoyed it but it is one of those shows you only see once.
We were very surprised at all the flooding we saw as we traveled west across lower Missouri. All the news reports were focused on the Mississippi River flooding with no mention of the Missouri. However, many of the Missouri lakes and rivers were very obviously over their banks with power lines and parking lot lights barely visible above the flood waters. We even saw a cemetery with some of the larger headstones peeking above the water. Table Rock Lake just south of Branson is 12 feet above normal and all the dam gates are closed to prevent more flooding downstream. But they are still producing power. 
The Veterans Memorial Museum contains over 2000 exhibits covering WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. Some of the items are very unusual such as the Ho Chi Min Trail bike, a small Cushman scooter that was dropped by parachute on D-Day, an exhibit on the homing pigeons used to take photos and deliver messages during WWII, and a silver hair brush that belonged to Hitler's mistress, Eva Braun. An impressive 70-foot long sculpture of fifty life-sized bronze soldiers is one of the world's largest war memorial sculptures. On the walls around the sculpture are over 400,000 names of men and women who gave their lives to defend our freedoms. 
We did a day trip to the Pea Ridge National Military Park just over the border in Arkansas. Although much smaller than Vicksburg, we found the presentation to be excellent with an outstanding 30-minute introductory film and excellent exhibits in the small visitors center. We particularly liked the two "light maps" showing how the battle progressed and where the Union and Confederate lines were at different times. It made it easy to visualize the battle as we drove the seven mile auto tour. More than 10,000 Union and 16,000 Confederate troops met on this battlefield.
The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail runs through this part of Missouri. The story of the relocation of American Indians from Florida, North Carolina, and Florida to Oklahoma is a tragic story in American history. Between 1830 and 1850 about 100,000 American Indians, including Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, were forced to move from their historic tribal lands in the east to land west of the Mississippi in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. Many were brutally treated and an estimated 3,500 Creeks and over 4,000 Cherokees died on their westward journey. Although not a national park, the Trail of Tears Trail runs from North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama through Arkansas and Missouri into Oklahoma. 
We did another day trip to the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, MO. Born a slave shortly before the Civil War, George Washington Carver grew up to be an inventor, educator, and great humanitarian. He was a humble man whose love of God and nature became a ministry to benefit humanity. In 1896 he started up an Agriculture Department at the newly created Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and remained there until his death in 1943. He is best know for his work with peanuts, aimed at liberating the economically-stressed South from "King Cotton". He developed over 300 uses for peanuts, including the use of peanut rubbing oil and massage therapy for polio patients. The visitor center film was excellent and we enjoyed a one-mile walk through the woods and fields where George Washington Carver spent his childhood.
Today we head to Springfield to have the levelers on the coach and the dash A/C fixed. Can't wait to find out how much that will cost. Drop us an email or leave a comment to let us know if you enjoy the photos and the blog. Keep in touch.
I remember the chicken from when I lived in Springfield, but King Kong is new. I only visited Branson once while I lived in Missouri. Sounds like it has grown since then. Hope the coach repairs went well.
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