May 21

We took the short drive to Branson today. Diving through the Ozarks is so pretty with the tree covered hills, balds (grassy areas) and farms. The balds have been kept a grassland since the Native American days. They kept them burned off so the grass would grow and they would have plenty of game to hunt. The early pioneers did the same. They have been cutting the hay recently so the balds are spotted with fresh round hay bails; very scenic. A couple we met at Petit Jean love Branson and recommended an RV park right near the center of town on the Lake Taneycomo. The lake looks like a river and actually is part of the white river system but they have many dams over hundreds of miles. The White River starts in Arkansas south of Fayetteville and empties into the Mississippi. On the map it arcs north through Arkansas and Missouri in a series of lakes that is amazing.

We drove down the “Hwy 76 Strip” with theaters and tourist attractions on both sides for miles. We saw remnants of the tornado that hit here in February. It hit the strip and damaged the Hilton hotel and condos down on the waterfront. A couple of locals we asked about it said it hardly caused a hiccup making it sound like no big deal. I remember hearing that many people were injured. Some of the businesses only had minor damage but I doubt that some of the older ones will be opening again. We had no idea what show to see, so Norm got online and we picked a musical review with the Rankin Brothers impersonating country and rock-n-roll stars. It was voted best show for the last three years, a pretty safe bet. We got our tickets at the theater and then saw an IMAX film called Ozarks Legend and Legacy. We were expecting a National Geographic. It wasn’t that, but even with it being a bit hokey, we enjoyed it. The settling is the Ozarks with a saga of a Scottish family settling here. It took us through the frontier days to the Civil War. Outlaws took advantage of men leaving their families behind to fight in the war. After the Civil War, vigilantes groups formed that finally brought order after thirty years. One of these groups was known as Bald Nobbers. They were famous for meting out their brutal brand of justice. The film continued to the present day with a grandpa telling his grand daughter the story revolving around a violin that traveled through generations. Their belief in God was ever present. It kept with the IMAX idea with beautiful photography and an airplane swooping down a river and such. Yea! We found another frozen custard place - Andy's!

Frozen Custard at Andy's!

In 2005, Branson opened an area called Branson Landing right down on the water with restaurants and shops along a wide pedestrian street. It is very classy. We had dinner outdoors at Cantina Lorado that was fabulous! Chris kept exclaiming that it was the best salsa and soft tacos she ever had. We sipped our margaritas, Christy included, as we watched the water fountain show set to music. We shopped a little after dinner waiting to see the 9:00 water fountain show with the lights and we were glad we did. It was very impressive. At $7 million, it should be. Lovely evening.

Dinner at Cantina Lorado sipping margaita's
 and watching the water fountain show on Lake Taneycomo.

Beautiful $7 million water fountain with it's 9:00 show! It is set to music and has fire!
A cruise boat is catching the show from the water.