Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri

-->

Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri – Riding on Interstate 40 some more…

April 1^{st, Aprils Fools Day} J – Sir Guinness of Mayhem’s 3^rd birthday today, he got a few more treats in the morning kibble mix; the boy continues to be a very good pup on the trip. Corona has been good too, no aggression noted, but we haven’t been out looking for interactions either. The test will probably be when we kennel them in Atlanta – fingers crossed. Our route today took us through the eastern portion of New Mexico and into Texas. How to put this: BORRRRRRRRRING! Lots and lots of desert, without much change in topography, vegetation or anything to stimulate one’s curiosity, until….  We stopped at the Cadillac Ranch just outside of Amarillo. Created in 1974 by an artist group called the Ant Farm. They planted 10 mid twentieth century (w/ tail fins 1949-63) Cadillacs nose first into the ground at an angle corresponding to that of the great pyramid of Giza in Egypt. These vehicles have been colorfully graphitized, giving the appearance of a bit of circus out in the desert.  We stopped for the night in Amarillo at the local Elks Lodge. Had a good dinner at the Big Texan Steak Ranch Restaurant. Started the evening with an order of Mountain Oysters (yes the Rocky Mountain variety) kind of chewy, but we can say we have had ‘em and an excellent filet. No one took the 72-ounce free steak challenge tonight while we were here, but this was a fun and very good place to eat nonetheless.

Tuesday, April 2^nd – Day # 12 after hearing rain most of the night we awoke to COLD temps ice on the MoHo steps and handle, the little towed car was a popsicle. Interstate 40 took across the rest of the Texas Pan handle and into Oklahoma. Rain, rain, and wind today, just sort drove through the gloom.  We made our way through Oklahoma City before rush hour and stopped for the night at one of OK’s many casinos- The Grand Casino. Another wet night, but we slept nice and dry (THANK GOODNESS!).

April 3-4, 2013 – We got a nice early start this morning, on the road by 6:30am – 300 + miles to burn to get to Branson, Missouri. The day’s drive was fairly dry, but we still bucked a bit of the winds.  The route was interesting to follow as we left the more arid outskirts of Oklahoma and were met with greener and more rocky hills of Missouri. We made our destination about 1:30pm. Our campground was within about a mile of the Branson Entertainment Strip. There were many interesting shows available, so we sort played “eeney, meeney, niney, mo” and chose 2 that sounded good, not too “countryish”.  Many of the Bigger Productions have not started for the season, but being here off-season is worth it; the traffic was manageable and parking was easy, think this place would be a zoo when the summer season starts. Wednesday night we saw an a cappella group called SIX (the Knudson Brothers). These talented guys used their voices to produce rhythmic percussion, toe tapping bass, and wonderful melodic harmonies. Their repertoire of songs ranged from rock, big band, Motown, rap and gospel.  They did a good job of involving the audience in many of their routines – we had a wonderful time.

Thursday morning we took ourselves on a bit of a drive-around to see Branson and her outlying areas. It is a much bigger area that we had imagined. It looks like Branson is continuing to expand, with a lot new housing developments, road/highway expansions, shopping centers etc.  We made a stop in old town Branson and went into Dick’s 5 and 10 store – a real old fashion kitschy place with every imaginable collectable and MORE. Karen resisted buying anything but a couple of postcards and magnet J. This evening should be another good night’s entertainment. We saw a performance of IT – a variety type show featuring The 5 Hughes Brothers and their respective family members: 50+ musicians, singers, and dancers. This was quite an amazing production, very musical and entertaining; great singing, dancing, lights, graphics, and an excellent 5-piece combo that accompanied the acts.  One could easily spend a week’s time and see several interesting sounding shows such as the Red Neck Tenors, Neal Diamond’s Legend Show as well as many funny sounding comedy and magic shows. And for the more adventurous there are loads of zip lines, water parks, golf, boating, fishing, hiking, go-cart racetracks and courses and lots more.

We will leave the Ozarks tomorrow and head further south to Memphis, Tennessee- looking forward to BBQ, Blues and maybe even Elvis.

A Branson Chicken Restaurant

A very good "a Capella" group

Cadillac Farm in Texas