A Taste of Branson…Table Rock State Park, MO 5/31

When we woke up this morning there was a very slight drizzle. At first Ned thought there were just a lot of fish biting in the lake. Less than 30 minutes later it stopped, but it was so hot and humid you really couldn’t tell the difference between rain and just plain muggy. We said our goodbyes to Teri and Terrie, and promised to meet up again somewhere next year for another camping trip. We drove through the Ozarks and into Southern Missouri taking backroads and scenic routes. The hardwoods were really thick and lush, so unlike the forest of the Sierras! When we eventually arrived in Branson, MO it was a little bit of a shock. We were so used to the solitude of 3 days at Lake Wedington that the tourist attractions of Branson felt over the top. Just for kicks we drove through downtown but really didn’t see anything that struck our fancy. By anything, I mean country shows, go-karts,, bunge jumping, or helicopter, railroad, boat or duck rides. We did settle on trying out Andy’s Frozen Custard. Meh. It was on par with your standard soft-serve, not even on par with Farr or Blue Bell’s league. I thought the picture would give you a taste of the area. When we pulled into Table Rock State Park earlier today, we got the usual person wandering over asking questions about the Winniemoblie and wanting to take a look inside. He was a sweet grandpa from Missouri. We asked him for recommendations on what was a “must see” and he suggested the Ralph Foster Museum at College of the Ozarks. So, after meandering thru Historic Branson to catch the dancing water and fire show, we decided to mosey on over to the College. By this time it was close to 90 deg. and humid as hell. It felt great to be inside an air-conditioned building. The museum had everything from the original car of the TV show “The Beverley Hillbillies” to an extensive gun collection from the last 400 years. There was also quite a bit of Country Music memorabilia specifically related to the Ozarks. We enjoyed the museum a lot and would recommend it to anyone passing thru. (Did you know that Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf was an alumni of this college?) We got settled into the campsite in the early evening but were still too hot to do anything. Once the sun was near setting, about 7:30 we hopped on our bikes and pedaled along this really nice bike path that took us along the lakeshore from the marina to the dam. By the time we got back to our site, we decided to put on our swim suits and go for an evening swim. The water felt great! We floated around for awhile and when the fireflies began to come out we decided it was time to head back! It was a skootch disconcerting to have a skunk wander onto the bike path, but he eventually headed home. Currently, it’s 10ish at night and the temp is a very muggy 88 degrees. I’m sure going to appreciate the fan that Ned rigged to blow air across our bed tonight.