Second day in Branson

Thursday, August 4 - We were not sure what we wanted to do today, but thankfully there was a cloud cover, and it was only 80 degrees.  Right beside our campground is a big plastic ball kids ride in, I think it's called Ballknockers, anyhow, I caught one coming down this morning.

Other "to do" things here include a Zip Line, and a tourist trip on The Ducks (we never got to see them splash into the water, although Joe kept trying to follow them).

Typical of us, we opted in favor of the fish hatchery and dam instead of the museums, so we drove out there.  They had a short video of the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery just below Table Rock Dam, which is the largest trout-rearing facility operated by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation.  Then we walked out through the hatchery itself and saw fishes of various sizes.

We drove across the dam, so I got an overview picture of the hatchery.

We drove past the lake and checked out the Table Rock State Park campground for future reference -- this is a place I would enjoy returning to, and this state park would fit our needs nicely (especially if it is not 112 degrees).  Fortunately, the clouds hung around until about noon, and I think we stayed below 100 degrees -- a welcome relief from yesterday.

We thought this site (or any along this row) would work for us, and it has water, sewer and electric (50 amp), and the R means we could reserve it 6 months in advance.

We headed back to town, grabbed a quick sandwich at Steak and Shake (a first for us), then fought the traffic down to the Americana Theatre for our 2:00 Elvis show.   We again had great seats -- 5th row, right in the middle.  The theatre wasn't very full, but it was nice to be up close.

He was no Elvis, but he put on a good show and was properly respectful of the King.  He began the performance with Elvis' early songs.  He even tossed a few teddy bears into the audience (I never caught one, darn it.)  Remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

He changed to the black leather suit and performed some songs from the later 60s.  Then he sat down on the stage with his band and sang with them like Elvis did in the 1968 Special -- I really liked this part (of course, I've seen that special several hundred times).

After intermission, he of course came out in the white jump suit, with neck scarves to pass out to the women in the audience. 

The lady in front of Joe got one, and a kiss, but again, I missed out.

He was very entertaining, had a good voice, interacted with the audience in an Elvis manner, although sort of self-deprecating like he knew we knew he wasn't the real thing, and put on a good show.  And he was easy to look at.

Two girls did background signing and dancing in the 60's style, and they were good too.

 He acknowledged our veterans and troops and dedicated the finale to our soldiers with a very passionate rendition of An American Trilogy.

We left the theatre and drove back out to a Craft Mall that we had seen this morning.  We spent a half-hour walking through that, then came back to the RV for an hour's rest (and me to do the blog) before our evening entertainment.  Looking forward to another good show!

Branson

Wednesday, August 3 - With miles and heat ahead of us today, we got an early start.  We were on the road at 8:12, 81 degrees.  This was a nice little campground, right beside the highway, a lucky find because campgrounds are a little scarce in this part of the country.

We cut down to Hwy 160, which took us through a part of the Mark Twain National Forest.  The first time we visited the Brundiges in Chino Valley, in their directions they said they lived on a hill.  We missed the hill the first time, and ever since, we've given them a hard time about what living on a hill looks like.  So now we have a picture for them.  This is a "house on a hill."

We crossed Bull Shoals Lake twice, and although it is now very dry here, there was still evidence of the April flood waters trapped here in this state park.

The morning keeps heating up, and it's 106 as we arrive in Branson.  It was still further than we thought -- 124 miles (we were expecting 88).  Bass Pro has a store here (not quite as big as the one in Mesa), but their restaurant is totally separate and sits on the water.

The streets were busy, lots of traffic.  We passed the historic "Dicks 5 & 10," which we came back to later and shopped, and there were lots of theatres, restaurants, and hotels on this main thoroughfare.  There was a great chicken in front of one building, which we thought Brenda probably needed for her yard decorations.

We got to the campground about 11:30.  Joe burned his hand unhooking the car, the metal was so hot.  This campground (the Pea Patch) is located right off the main street in town.  It was not very busy, but was a nice enough place -- not too much shade though.  It's a very convenient location, although with the traffic here, it is sometimes a little hard to get in and out of, since we are pulling out right onto Hwy 76, the main street.

We hunkered down inside for a few hours -- Joe took a shower, then a nap, trying to cool down.  We ordered our tickets for the shows here, which they delivered to the campground, and the campground host brought them right to our door.  We finally decided to brave the heat, so we went out to get a late lunch/early dinner and see what we could see.  There's a Titanic exhibit here, which we might do tomorrow.

And a Ripley's Believe It or Not, the world's largest Toy Museum, an amusement park, miniature gold, bumper boats, etc.  Plus hundreds of shows.  We went into Bass Pro, and drove down by the river where a riverboat was cruising by.

It was to hot to wander around, so we went back to the RV until it was time for our show, the Rankin Brothers. 

The show was fantastic.   We had great seats -- end of the fourth row in the middle section.

Bobby and Mark Rankin impersonate singers from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, with a dose of brotherly comedy.  The shorter one, Mark, stays busy switching out wigs and jackets as he sings.  I didn't take my camera with me, assuming photos would not be allowed.  But they did allow them, so at the intermission, I went out to the car and got our spare camera.  But in the first half, I missed the photos of Elvis!  And Sonny & Cher, along with some other great ones.

 As George Strait

 As John Denver

 Bobby as Buddy Holly










Their 3-woman back-up (the Rankinettes) also performed excellently.  One of them is the daughter of one of the Lennon Sisters (from the Lawrence Welk days), and another one is the daughter-in-law.  They were very good as well.

After the show was over (the brothers closed with "Johnny Be Good," a classic for us rock 'n roll lovers), the girls and Bobby all came out to the front of the theatre to meet and sign (Mark was fighting a cold so he did not come out).  We loved their music so much we bought their three CDs.  However, when Joe tried to put them into our player, it seems to have broken, so I don't know when we'll get to hear them.

It was 103 when we left the theatre at 10:30.  And I have not heard that the next few days are going to be any better.  But Branson gets a Thumbs Up for Day 1!