“…the events of today have only the importance that belongs to today. I greet the unknown with a cheer, and press forward joyously, exulting in the great adventure.” -Emmet Fox

June 30, 2021

Greetings from Branson, still☺️

I hope y’all are well and having a good summer. I’m writing this immediately following our tween granddaughter’s visit…10-days of almost non-stop activity. We’re exhausted. Except for the three half-days Dave and I worked at the Visitors Center, we played Tourist and did A LOT. It was great, and we had fun making memories. We discovered what bazillions of people already know: that Branson, Missouri is a fantastic place to go on vacation.

This was the perfect time to take advantage of a benefit available to us as volunteers—freebies and discounts at many of the attractions and live shows. Tickets for two live shows, Amazing Pets (they were!) and the Magnificent 7 (they were, too!) and a couple of truly fantastic attractions, the Butterfly Palace and Talking Rocks Cavern, were all gratis. (Besides being the Show-Me State, I learned that Missouri is also known as the Cave State, having more than 7,300 recorded caves!)

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We also saw Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, something everyone who visits Branson should do at least once. Even though our granddaughter couldn’t bring herself to eat very much of the four-course meal (to include a whole chicken) barehanded, she loved watching the trick horseback riders, the 32 magnificent horses perform musical productions, and the unbelievable stunts—especially the rider who commanded two horses to jump through a flaming ring of fire as she rode them standing, one leg on each horse.

We did some outdoor things, too. With almost 800 miles of shoreline, Table Rock Lake is another major attraction in this area, and we are blessed to have it right in our backyard. Literally. So another activity was floating in the lake on inflatable inner tubes. We did that a couple of times before our granddaughter freaked out, thinking that a fish nibbled on her bottom! After seeing the size some of the bass and trout that are pulled out of the lake, that very well might have happened!

We spent an afternoon riding bikes in magical Dogwood Canyon, all the way to Arkansas! And when we were back at the RV, she was either walking the grounds and picking up litter (with Papa) or playing cards, mostly double solitaire and blackjack (with me.😉)

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Although Missouri is my home state, I didn’t know much about this part of the Ozarks, so being here has been both educational and eye-opening. Previously my impression of Branson was that it was a family-friendly Las Vegas with a lot of live shows, attractions and amusements. But that is only part of the story. There are outdoor activities galore—boating, scuba diving, kayaking, fishing, swimming, tubing, waterskiing, golf, spelunking, hiking, zip lining, and more. No wonder so many people come here year after year on vacation!

Until next time…stay safe, and be well. Happy Independence Day! Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸 Love & Peace, Maria.