Kansas and Missouri

April 2015
When we were in Laughlin (Nevada) at Rick and Marilyn's place, they suggested we go to Branson, Missouri and visit a theme park called Silver Dollar City.  We had never heard of it but it's similar to a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee called Dollywood.  We went to Pigeon Forge during Summer break 2013, but didn't go to Dollywood and later regretted it.  So we thought...why not.
We picked up the new hire car and began the long drive across the I70 leaving Colorado, and making our way into Kansas

where we welcomed by the "Welcoming Committee".

We've only see bits of Kansas and most of that has been on the I70 so we can't really give an opinion except to say there are lots of wind farms

and fields.

We headed south towards Missouri and stayed the night at a town called Wichita, Kansas. 

We found a cheap motel where we felt slightly uncomfortable when the only other person in the motel was in the room next to us and when Stu saw him and said hello, this guy's eyes were rolling into the back of his head.  And then there was the constant coming and going of his "visitors"...all night long! Suffice to say I was glad we made it through the night! But I did like this concept of outdoor furniture.

 Stu had contacted a few house exchange homes in and near Branson and there were a couple of declines.  One couple did reply however and said we could stay at their holiday home in Lampe, Missouri,

which was about a half hour drive from Branson. We stopped at Roaring River State Park on the way, but there wasn't much roaring going on,

and arrived at the house in Lampe, Missouri mid afternoon,

found the key where Deb and Derek said it would be and let ourselves in.  It was a gorgeous 3 storey lakehouse

that they had built themselves. It slept 18 people, had huge verandahs and balconies surrounding it,

bedrooms and bathrooms galore, a big kitchen,

and two huge living areas...on ground level and downstairs.

 

The best part of the house for me was the decor...especially the bathrooms....and I searched so many Walmarts in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas searching for the toilet seat stickers with no luck!!

It was right on Table Rock Lake and Deb and Derek had their own private dock overlooking the lake which was complete with every water lovers toys...boats, canoes, jetskis, paddleboards 

and a resident snake that gave me the fright of my life.

It was too cold for us to use any of the water equipment, but it was lovely sitting out on the dock enjoying a drink and the view.

Our first night there we were woken by a message on my phone.  "Tornado imminent, seek shelter immediately!" Bloody hell!  We didn't know what to do, so of course Googled it! We had to find a room without windows and in the lowest part of the house.  Fortunately there was a bedroom that fitted that description and we stayed down there while the wind howled around us outside.  Turns out the tornado didn't hit us, but at least we got to experience a tornado "warning" in the mid-west of the US !
We bought a 2 day pass to Silver Dollar City theme park, which is  an 1880's-themed experience that fits Branson's vision as a family-friendly vacation destination with down-home charm.

paying with our own currency that Stuart invented and surprisingly we were allowed in.

The first day there was bitterly cold, so it wasn't very busy.  But there were roller coaster rides, cooking exhibitions,

shops, woodchoppers, glassblowers, a blacksmith and live music.  There were shows on every few hours and we were able to listen to some great music by some very talented performers, including a Christian family band, made up of 3 very talented teenagers and mum and dad.

But our absolute favourites were a band we stumbled across by accident.  They were called The Homestead Pickers.

We happened to walk into an old one roomed building, sat down with about 15 other people and these musicians started chatting amongst themselves, (with the best accents) then started playing their instruments and singing.  Their voices were amazing and for 40 minutes we were mesmerised by these guys. Here's a clip of them performing at Silver Dollar City in the room where we watched them....Homestead Pickers and another one...Homestead Pickers (2)

They were hilarious with the banter between them and looked like they loved what they were doing.  So we bought one of their CD's for $10 and love listening to it. (Butterface)

 The next day was a bit warmer and this time when we went back to Silver Dollar City Stu donned his quick dry hiking pants and took on a few of the water rides.

It was still too cold for me so I was official photographer and "holder of wallets, cameras, keys, sunnies" while Stu did the big boy rides.

We aren't big shoppers but we did have a look at an antique mall in Branson which was full of eclectic stuff...(we bought a sign for the chook pen as you do) but one thing that caught Stu's eye were these handbags....and the conversation he overheard between two ladies who were looking at them.."I don't need one of these, I prefer to carry my handgun in my pocket!"

Branson was very much like Pigeon Forge: cheesy, touristy, family friendly....and really cool!

We went to a couple of shows...a musical evening by a family called the Haywards, who were 5 brothers and a sister and who could all sing, dance and play numerous musical instruments.  Reminded me of my family! Ha!  But our favourite show was the Dixie Stampede.

For $50 each you got a full 2 hours of singing, dancing, horses, bison, cowboys, cowgirls, pigs, whipcracking hootin' and hollerin' fun.....Yankees vs Confederates and each side of the stadium was North and South and there was booing and cheering.  It was fantastic!

AND we were served a delicious 3 course meal, with unlimited drinks! Yummy soup, a whole small chook, corn on the cob, biscuit and baked potato, finished up with apple pie.

 We all sat on a long seat, with a bench in front us and a Yankee or Confederate served us our meals....no knives, forks or spoons...use your hands!  It was really well done, the riding skills were amazing and the animals so well trained. A great night.

We drove down into Arkansas which was only 1/2 hr away

to visit a town that Deb and Derek had told us about. Eureka Springs, which was in the Ozark Mountains, in Carroll County. A small historic tourist town...(nicer than Jerome) with some lovely old buildings.

 and a huge Christ of the Ozarks statue that could be seen for miles.

But the best thing about Eureka Springs? We bought this!

The owners of the house we were staying in...Deb and Derk....invited us out to their farm to meet them and we had a great afternoon with them.  Such a lovely couple, great stories, interesting people and we loved their accents!  We all drove to Sikeston, Missouri to go out for dinner to a place called Lambert's Cafe where as we walked in, they threw bread rolls at us.  Then they take your order and for the rest of the evening walk around with huge steel bowls and spoons and fill your plate with beans or potatoes or gravy and if you're still hungry they throw more bread rolls at you!  It was a great night...like nothing we'd been to before...and we only went there because we met this gorgeous, generous couple.  I hope they do get over to visit us one day!

So we sadly left Lampe, Missouri after what turned into a fabulous 5 days, discovering an area we never would have thought about visiting and meeting wonderful, hospitable people. Thanks Missouri.