This past week was spring break so my parents decided to make a trip down south for a visit. They also brought my niece and nephew along for the ride. Usually when they come down we just end up hanging out around the house and going out to eat. This time we wanted their trip to be a little more eventful, so we decided to meet up in Branson and take in a show. I have now been in Branson, MO three times in my life. It is a very surreal experience for me that a place like this can exist, let alone thrive. I don't know how well the folks of Branson are doing, but every time I have been there, it is packed. Maybe there just isn't anything better to do in the mid-south, but it seems crazy how many flock to this little town every weekend. My previous two trips to Branson were fairly uneventful. We didn't go to any shows, we just randomly observed the town. This trip we decided to attend the ultimate Branson experience that is Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede.
The Dixie Stamped is akin to one of those medieval times places but with cowboys instead of knights. You all sit around a big open arena where they have performances and competitions with live animals. There is a ledge in front of you where a server brings you food and drinks that you have to eat with your hands. I knew all this going in. However, I did not expect the north vs south civil war theme. They split the place in half and encourage each side to insult the other, all the while reminding you it is all in good fun. "Come on, call them northerners lilly livered horse patooties! We are just having a good time." I found it all a bit weird. Aside from some mild discomfort caused by this, the show was very enjoyable and the food was good.
We didn't have any set plans for our Sunday in Branson, but we did want to spend some time showing the town to my parents. However, we woke up to rain changing into sleet, then snow, then back into rain. It wasn't a good day for driving about town, and definitely not for walking around anywhere. We got breakfast, then went and did an "old-time" saloon photo with my niece and nephew. You know, those places where you dress up as cowboys and bar wenches and get a black and white photo done. It was a fun time and we got a really good picture. It is included at the bottom.We didn't feel like waiting around for the weather to get even worse. We decided to take off while the rain was still falling in liquid form. The shortest path from Branson to Rogers requires driving on some narrow, curvy, and hilly roads. I wasn't looking forward to it. Just before we left I got a call letting us know that the precipitation closer to home was all snow, and the road we were going to take was basically blocked. We decided to drive 40 miles north to Missouri 44 and go home on the highways. These out-of-route miles combined with the bad weather turned the 2 hour trip into 4 hours. We finally made it back home safe to see about 8 inches of snow on the ground at the end of March.
-deric
It's the best I could do.
