Monday, October 7
Sherryl's great-grandson, Tristan, and his mom came into the Visitors Center for a quick visit. Tristan was a tad fussy, so Ron (aka the baby hogger) picked him up and Tristan went right to sleep!!
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| Tristan is such a sweet baby boy |
Tuesday, October 8
Today we decided to go to the College of the Ozarks for lunch at the Keeter Center and to visit the Ralph Foster Museum.
The College of the Ozarks is located in Hollister, about seven miles from Table Rock Dam. The college is also known as "Hard Work U". This is a Christian College; in return for free tuition each student must agree to work 15 hours per week as well as 40 hours for two weeks each year. Most students continue working at their jobs to pay for room and board. As a result, the majority of students finish college debt-free.
In addition to lodging, the Keeter Center (which is part of the College) has a four-star restaurant.
All of the food, from beef to vegetables is grown on the campus. The food is outstanding. As you drive around the campus, it's not uncommon to see cows grazing...
After lunch, which we enjoyed on the beautiful patio, we decided to visit the Ralph Foster Museum. It's fondly referred to as the Smithsonian of the Ozarks.
The museum has three levels and contains history of the Ozarks...from the Osage Indians to the Baldknobbers to the Viet Nam War and everything in between. Really interesting.
The last few episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies were filmed in Branson...
This museum is so large, one could spend all day here and not see everything there is to see...we will make a return visit.
Wednesday, October 9
We received word today that due to the Government Shutdown, the Dewey Short Visitors Center will be closed at the end of business today. The only other Corps facility that had remained open was The William Carl Garner Visitor Center at Greers Ferry Lake in northeast Arkansas. This Visitor Center will also closed at the end of business today. For now, we're staying put. We've been told that we do not need to vacate the campground...so, for the time being, we wait. The Port of Kimberling Campground and Resort, in Kimberling City, has offered reduced rates for displaced work campers. Whether we're working at the DSVC or not, we plan to stay in the Branson area until the end of November. In the meantime, we wait. As do so many others...
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| Coop looking for all his friends that have been furloughed... |
Hooty has joined our traveling family. Thanks Becky for crafting him!!!
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| Cute, isn't he? |
Tonight, Ron and I went to see the production of Joseph at the Sight and Sound Theatre.
And quite a production it was!! The stage is in front, and on each side of the theatre. An amazing production with a cast of 45 professional adult and child actors. Live animals, horses and camels, are also part of the production. My favorite parts were the awesome dream sequences, including Joseph in his colorful coat "flying" over the audience. The Egyptian palace scene spanned 300' and wrapped around three sides of the audience.
Joseph's run will be ending on October 18. They'll be having a Christmas Show, Miracle of Christmas, which begins on November 2. We plan on attending that show.
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| Ron and his new buddy... |
If you've not been to a production at Sight and Sound, we highly recommend it. There is a Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as well as Branson.
Friday Oct 11.
Today is a beautiful, sunny day in the Ozarks. If only the leaves would turn colors...
As it was a very warm day (mid-80's) we decided to take advantage of the great weather and "Ride the Ducks"...
Ride the Ducks takes passengers on a land and water tour of Branson. We traveled along the strip (entertainment distinct), to Table Rock Dam, Table Rock Lake, Lake Taneycomo as well as Baird Mountain...
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| Captain Tater |
Sights along the way...
At the top of Baird Mountain. It was here that the Army Corps of Engineers set up an aggregate plant supplying gravel for the concrete to build Table Rock Dam. The aggregate was transported one and a half miles on a conveyor belt which was also built by the ACE.
Views of Table Rock Lake from the top of Baird Mountain
A touch of history as we travel down the mountain...veterans are held in the highest esteem...
Next stop, Table Rock Lake...
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| Heading into Table Rock Lake... |
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| We made it!! |
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| A better view of the Branson Belle |
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| Gilligen's Island |
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| Out of the Lake and onto land... |
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| Hey, there's Danna's! One of our favorite places to eat!!! |
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| Enjoying the ride back... |
After dinner, we went to Motown Downtown at the Hot Hits Theatre. It's a small theatre, (only seats 85 people) but it's producing some great music!!
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| Barney was waiting for us! By the way, the man can SING!! Fabulous voice |
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| Ron and Becky waiting for the start of the show... |
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| Hanging with Barn... |
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| Barn's been writing a lot of citations!!! |
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| Me and Becky with Kirby. Kirby happens to be from Detroit, and sings some great Lou Rawls tunes! |
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| The show would not be complete without a tribute to the Temptations!!! |
Tuesday, October 15
The Grascals are in town! The Grascals are in town!! They are in town for three performances only...so of course we, along with David and Becky just had to see them!! The Grascals are a three time award Grammy nominated Bluegrass Band. They've also won numerous other awards. We saw their performance at the Starlite Theatre. They did not disappoint. Best. Show. Ever!!
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| The Grascals!!! High energy, great sound!!! |
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| Lead Singer Jamie Johnson |
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| Danny Roberts on the Mandolin. He's numerous awards for his playing... |
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| Jamie Johnson, Terry Smith and Terry Eldridge |
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| The Fiddle Player has only been with them for two weeks...outstanding. The Banjo Picker, long time member Kristen Scott Benson, has also won numerous awards for her playing... |
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| Did I mention that they put on a high energy performance??? |
Wednesday, October 16
All eyes are upon Congress. Hopefully, they will vote on an agreement to end this shutdown tonight. In the meantime, we continue waiting. Ron and I are so blessed. The shutdown has not as of yet adversely affected us (other than the fact we can't "work", which we so enjoy). However our concerns are with our friends who have been furloughed...and we wait...
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| Sunset over Table Rock Lake |
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| Moon Rising |
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