Wednesday June 13th 2018

There was a lot of stormy weather in the area today. It was mostly cloudy all day, but still very hot and humid. During the late morning thunder started sounding to the south. It continued to threaten the rest of the day.

Bugs for lunch.

A sever thunderstorm watch was announced on the TV around 2pm. I always find out what county I’m in when I arrive in the area. The announcements are done by county not be community or other identifiable characteristic. It gets even more complicated when they announce other counties that the storm front is moving through. Knowing the county your in is one thing, knowing all the surrounding counties is a little too much to ask. I have to rely on my weather radar phone Aps to give me good insight.

Looking to the northwest with the storm to the south.

Barge heading up river shortly after the storm.

Today the actual sever weather stayed to the south. We got a brief period of rain in this area but none of the problem issues associated with the storms. The area to the south got strong winds that brought down trees and hail. The little rain we got lowered the temperature ten degrees or more. It was actually comfortable outside for a change.

I’ve stayed in the twenty five states in red during my Rambling Road Trip.  The two states in green were visited via my SUV while I was staying in nearby states. 

While I was stuck inside during the rain, I had a chance to reflect on the fact that Arkansas is the twenty fifth state that I’ve stayed in during my Rambling Road Trip. I’ve traveled through several others to get from place to place but can’t really take credit for a visit. I’ve visited two others, California and Wyoming, but I drove the SUV into those states while my RV home was in the neighboring state. I made an attempt at creating a map of my travels online. As I got it ready to include it in this blog post I noticed it was incorrect for traveled through states in the northeast. The motor home has never been in the State of New Hampshire, even though I lived there for thirty seven years. It hasn’t been in Vermont either. This falls travels should resolve those omissions.

Tuesday June 12th 2018

There were scattered showers in the area today. One storm passed by close enough to provide about ten minutes of rain around noon. Other storms went around this area to the north. The occasional clouds kept the sun from heating everything up as warm as yesterday, but the humidity was still present. The temperature peaked around 90 degrees.

Marching to the water for an afternoon swim.

“Hey wait for us!”

I spent the day at home. I finished setting up the campsite for my two week stay and got familiar with the campground. This is the type of campground I like the best. There is a reasonable amount of space between sites, the area has trails to be near the wildlife and there is another form of entertainment. In this case the other form of entertainment is the Arkansas River with barge traffic and recreational boaters.

Clouds building to the northwest.

The storm area moves east on the north side of the river.

Looking east as the storm area moves on.

So far I’ve seen one tug pushing a set of barges each day. Monday evening one was headed up river and this evening one was headed down river. There may have been another one or two, but I didn’t see them. They slip by very quietly. Most of the recreational boat traffic is in the evening. The boat ramp is near my site. In the afternoon fishermen start arriving to launch their boats for a few hours of fishing in the river. I understand that it is a great fishery for large mouth bass. There is also a marina just up river from here. So far I haven’t seen much activity there. Maybe the weekend will change that.

Tug pushing a string of barges down river in the evening.

I haven’t finished exploring all of the park. So far I’ve checked out about two thirds of the water front area. There are other camping loops and a trail through the area inland from the river that I still need to explore. The heat and humidity have kept me from wandering too far. Staying out of the sun and in the breeze it’s not bad. The breeze isn’t constant and doesn’t seem to reach to far inland from the river bank.

Monday June 11th 2018

The calendar may not agree, but summer has arrived in this area. The daily temperatures are consistent with July norms. It was very humid with highs in the mid 90s today.

Getting packed up and on the road was difficult this morning. For some reason people on both sides of me wanted to talk while I was out trying to get ready. This can be a recipe for disaster. Getting interrupted in the middle of some tasks can leave critical things incomplete. The only way I have to safeguard that everything gets done is start over after the conversation is complete. I wanted to leave by ten, but didn’t get on the road until 10:30.

Most of my journey south was on US 65. It had some sections that were divided highway with cross roads and other sections that were just two lane roads. Almost all of the road was a twisting, turning, up and down ordeal. It really required attention to driving. There were many sections that could benefit from some earth moving. Blasting out some ledge and using it to fill in other areas would straiten the road and reduce some of the grade. I’m not a civil engineer, so I don’t know if there are technical reasons it can’t be done, but cost savings would seem to be one reason to subject the driving public to the roller coaster approach. Today I was using the brakes more than I want even with gearing down for the down hill sections. It seemed like there were many thirty mile an hour curves near the bottom of the hills. Some of the thirty mile an hour curves ended in a school zone or at a traffic light. It really wasn’t a fun drive.

Site B2 at the Maumelle Army Corp of Engineers Park.

I arrived at the Maumelle Army Corp of Engineers park northwest of Little Rock around 2:30 in the afternoon. This campground is right on the banks of the Arkansas River. Getting setup was a challenge. The site slopes some from back to front so I needed to used some blocks in addition to the leveling jacks. That alone isn’t a big deal, but when added to the humidity and having to back in between two trees, it was slow going. By the time I was finished setting up I was soaked with sweat.

View from the front of my campsite of a barge heading up river this evening.

Sunday June 10th 2018

Today was my last full day in Branson MO. The weather followed the pattern of the last few days. It was in the mid nineties with lots of sun. As long as you stayed out of the direct sun it was a great day.

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My hope that the traffic would be more navigable today was in vain. When I left the RV park this afternoon the roads were almost as full of cars as yesterday. Even the by-pass routes had a great deal of traffic. Getting to the big box stores on the north side of town was a royal pain. All of the roads had long lines of traffic. The intersections with traffic lights took multiple cycles to get through. The intersections with stop signs were also a problem getting through. Then you need to factor in the hills. The intersections are usually at the top or bottom of the hill after coming around a blind corner. It just isn’t fun getting around.

The traffic and terrain contribute to my overall impression of this area. The novelty museums and amusement rides are not my thing. There are probably museums that would interest me, but it’s not Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Similarly, I’m sure there are shows I’d like to see. I just wasn’t prepared to find the good shows in the sea of possibilities. Perhaps if I’d done more research prior to getting here I’d have a different impression.

I will probably be back again when I’m in or passing through the area. Next time I’d like to stay outside of town, possible in Table Rock State Park. I really enjoyed Table Rock Lake and the area around the dam. This stay has been eleven days. My next stay will probably be shorter. The bottom line is I like the area. It just isn’t what I expected.

Once I navigated the traffic to the north side of town, I got some shopping done. I found a replacement mouse for my computer at Target and I was able to restock my food supplies at the Super Walmart. These were all newer stores cut into the hills. If you didn’t know they were there you might miss them. The approach road that I used to enter the Walmart parking lot felt like it was straight up a cliff. There were better ways to get in that I found later, but they weren’t easy to find.

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I’ve started to pack up for tomorrow’s move. I’m traveling around one hundred and seventy five miles to the northern suburbs of Little Rock Arkansas.   It will be a hot travel day, so I want to get started by ten.

Saturday June 9th 2018

It was another beautiful weather day very similar to yesterday. The TV weather reporters are calling the weather hotter than normal for this time of year. The low nineties, moderate humidity and a gentle breeze is fine. Anything higher is in the oppressive camp as far as I’m concerned.

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Branson proved to be a weekend town today. It’s not surprising that everybody flocks to the area for recreation and entertainment opportunities. This campground is close to full with RVs from Missouri and the neighboring states. They started to arrive on Thursday with the majority showing up yesterday afternoon and evening. They are mostly families with young kids. Table Rock Lake is a major recreation draw and the amusements and shows in the community of Branson fill another major component in this resort area.

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I made one attempt to leave the park but didn’t get very far before I was in a long line of traffic. It was worst than last Saturday when I arrived. Not having any real destination I basically went around the block and returned to the campground. The places I did pass all had full parking lots. My guess is things will be much better by tomorrow afternoon.

Most of my day was focused on chores around the RV. I took advantage of the close proximity to the laundry and did another load. I’m now caught up on my laundry. Some of my other cleaning tasks also got some action. The hard surface floor ares got swept and a couple of spots got a little bit of a washing. The whole floor really needs to be washed, but it didn’t get it today. The carpet in the drivers area of the motor home could use some help too. Last weeks muddy fairgrounds arrival and departure days got the carpet very muddy. The vacuum cleaner along hasn’t cleaned it up.

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Tomorrow I need to do some shopping for groceries and other things. I still plan to stop at the outlet mall. It is also my last full day here in Branson, so I need to start to pickup and pack up for Mondays move south into Arkansas.

Friday June 8th 2018

Today’s weather was a repeat of yesterday. The high was in the low 90s, the sun was hot and bright and the humidity was in the mid range. The only difference was a little more breeze in the afternoon. I left the air conditioner on over night. It wasn’t needed after about ten last night, so I didn’t remember to turn it off. The result is that it was on when I got up this morning keeping the RV in the seventies. When I opened the door and stepped out of the RV the heat and humidity hit me hard. Any ambition I’d worked up by that point when away faster than ice would melt in the direct sun light.

Some of the nice flowers scattered around the campground.

That was the theme for the day. I had low to no motivation for doing much of anything. I haven’t found any shows here in Branson that I must see. There are so many choices and nothing stands out. When I checked into the campground I was provided with a list of almost 100 shows and I’ve seen billboards advertising shows that aren’t on the list. Figuring out what each of the shows is about in order to judge its merits is an internet search nightmare. So far nothing has jumped into the must do column.

The other thing I thought about doing today was some shopping. There is an outlet mall in town that has some shoe stores. I’m still trying to find some good footwear. I do a lot of walking and hiking on uneven and rough ground. The soles of my shoes get worn through faster than they ever have. Finding comfortable shoes with thick stable treads is difficult. I will probably buy a pair of good Merrell hiking shoes when I find the right store, but I also need more general purpose footwear. Tomorrow or Sunday I’ll probably make it to the Tanger Outlet mall. I just wasn’t in the mood for shopping today.

I’ve spent most of the day reading and doing some research on future travel destinations. I still haven’t locked in anything from July through November. I know in general terms my direction of travel during that time period just not where I’m staying. I even know some of the places I want to stay, but not the day I’ll arrive or depart. Today I was wishing for a paper calendar to layout and erase possibilities. I ended up printing out a few calendar grids that I put the dates on. It helped, but didn’t produce a magic solution. Surprisingly, the places that offer online visibility to availability still show sites available even for the Fourth of July. Even so, I have to get going on making reservations.

Thursday June 7th 2018

It was another day with above normal temperatures. The temperature peaked in the low 90s with high, but not oppressive humidity. It was hot in the sun which wasn’t blocked by any clouds.

Table Rock Dam in the background. The hydro electric plant and the fish hatchery in the foreground.

Closeup of the Table Rock Dam spillways.

Just below the Table Rock Dam is a power plant and the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery. I spent some time touring the hatchery this afternoon. Built at the same time as the dam and power plant, it uses the cold water from Table Rock Lake that passes through the hydro electric plant to raise trout.

Some of the bigger trout in the raceways.

Smaller trout thinking they are about to get fed. The fence above the raceway is to keep the birds away from he fish. 

It takes from sixteen to twenty months for the fish to grow from egg to eleven or twelve inches in size. The hatchery can produce around 800,000 fish in each “crop”. Most of the fish are released into the area below the Table Rock Dam. This body of water called Lake Taneycomo stretches from the Table Rock Dam to the next dam the other side of Branson on the White River. The hatchery has made Lake Taneycomo one of the best trout fishing lakes in the country. It was interesting to know that trout are not native to Missouri. They are only here because of the hatchery and the cold water produced by the depth of Table Rock Lake.

In one of the older dirt raceways that aren’t in use a couple of ducks are enjoying lunch.

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There is a conservation center at the hatchery that describes the trout growing process. It has a fish tank with some really big Brown and Rainbow Trout. Today the center was busy with a group of school age kids and signing up people for a trout fishing derby this weekend. After passing through the conservation center you can wander through all of the long concrete “Raceways” full of trout in various sizes. If you stand beside one of the raceways the fish will swim toward you and make the water appear to boil. They are expecting to be fed.

Large trout in the display tank inside the conservation center.

Looking into the display tank from outside and above.

Great Blue Heron hanging around to see if lunch swims by.

Behind the hatchery is an access area for the Lake Taneycomo. Several people and a few birds were fishing. I watched for several minutes, but didn’t see anyone catch a trout. Clearly trout fishing is a very popular in the lake.

Flower Blossom of the day.

Wednesday June 6th 2018

It was another few degrees warmer today with increased humidity. The sun shined brightly most of the day bringing the high temperature into the mid 90s. There was a brief period late in the afternoon that it clouded up and looked threatening, but within an hour or so the sun was back.

Table Rock Lake and Dam from high up Baird Mountain.

I took the Branson Duck tour of Table Rock Lake today. It’s seventy to ninety minute tour in a modified World War II era amphibious “duck” vehicle. The duck holds about thirty five people with a driver and a captain. The captain is the tour guide for most of the excursion only taking over the drivers seat when the vehicle became a boat. The narration was an advertisement for the local attractions punctuated with bad jokes and puns.

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Showboat Branson Belle in Table Rock Lake. On the tour we were told it was originally owned by the singer Kenny Rogers.

The tour starts on the Branson Strip and makes its way to Table Rock Lake. Once across the dam it climbs to the top of Baird Mountain. This is the location of the quarry used to to excavate the rock for the Table Rock Dam. In the quarry the tour company has setup a display of military vehicles as a way to add value to the tour. For me the view of the quarry and of Table Rock Lake from the high vantage point was value enough. The only thing that would have made it better would have been seeing more interesting wildlife than some Turkey Vultures.

The surface of Table Rock Lake shortly after we splashed into it.

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From the top of the mountain the Duck Boat descended to the lake. The captain took over the drivers seat and Duck Boat splashed into the water. Everybody got a little wet. We were told that was the safest way to get into the water without stalling the vehicle. I’m a little skeptical of that claim. On the water we made a loop out around an island and back to shore a few hundred yards from where we entered the lake. While on the water all of the kids on board got a chance to have their picture taken in the drivers seat.

Some of the action on the lake today.

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The ramp out of the lake.

The return trip to the Branson Strip was more lame jokes and puns I could have done without. In between the attempts at humor I did learn a few things about the area and got some ideas about other things I’d like to visit while I’m here. The tour provide a decent overview of the area along with the novelty of riding in the Duck Boat.

Blossom of the day.

Tuesday June 5th 2018

Today continued a warming trend from yesterday mornings low temperatures. It was a sunny day with low humidity and a high temperature in the low 80s. It was a near perfect weather day.

Table Rock Lake Dam from the north side of the lake.

Table Rock Lake Dam from the Dewey Short Visitors Center on the southern side of the dam.

One of the big recreational attractions in the area is Table Rock Lake. It is one of a series of man made lakes created by dams on the White River. The White River is 733 miles long starting in Northwest Arkansas looping through Missouri and emptying into the Mississippi River 2120 feet lower in altitude. The Army Corp of Engineers have built multiple dams on the river for flood control and hydroelectric power generation. The Table Rock Dam holds back the waters of Table Rock Lake more than 200 feet above the out flow of the White River below the dam.

Catamaran style sailboat under sail on Table Rock Lake.

I visited the Dewey Short visitors center run by the Army Corp of Engineers just across the Table Rock Lake Dam. The dam was completed in late 1958 and this visitors center opened in 2012. There are some nice exhibits on the river, the lake and the fish and wildlife in the area. My timing was all wrong to watch the movie, but I may go back.

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There is a trail from the visitors center into Table Rock State Park. I took the hike a little over a half a mile to the pier for the Showboat Branson Belle excursion boat. The replica paddle wheel showboat was out in the lake while I was there, but people were starting to arrive for the next departure. Beside the Showboat pier is the landing site for the Branson Duck boat tours. While I was there I saw two of the duck boats departing the lake. I was intrigued enough that I’ve booked a duck tour for tomorrow.

Duck tour getting ready to return to land.

Showboat Branson Belle out on the lake.

The lake is a very popular site. Even on a Tuesday in the spring people were fishing and wading in the lake along the trail from the visitors center. Out in the lake there were fishing boats, sailboats and a few fast moving boats. On the other side of the dam one of the Corp of Engineers run beaches had a few swimmers in the water. I didn’t test the water temperature, but I think it must be cool this time of year.

Flower blossom of the day.

Monday June 4th 2018

The temperature got down into the low sixties overnight. There were high clouds all day that kept the temperature in the low 80s. It still was a very nice day.

This is the Branson Strip. It’s one lane in each direction with a turning lane in the middle. On Saturday there was a solid line of traffic in both directions. It is hard to tell from this photo, but the road is going down hill in the picture. It also goes down hill in the opposite direction. This intersection is at the top of a hill. The power and telephone lines and the big advertising signs are another constant.

Late in the morning I left the campground to check out the area and buy some groceries. I continue to be amazed by the absolute absence of flat land. As you drive around, you are either going up a hill, down a hill or around a hill on a sloping road surface. Even the parking lots and this campground are on uneven ground. Thankfully the campground is terraced to get the sites level.

King Kong hugging a building in the New York sky line towers above the Hollywood Wax Museum.

Missouri route 76 in Branson is known as the Branson Strip. It is packed full of things for tourists. There are amusement rides, restaurants, miniature golf courses, novelty museums, and theaters. The number of theaters and the acts they attract is what makes this area unique. Some of the theaters are purpose built and impressive. Other theaters look to be in converted strip malls.

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There are shows in the morning, afternoon and evening. Most of the acts seem to be tribute shows to famous artists of the last few decades, but there are plenty of novelty, dance and magic acts advertised as well. Bigger named headliners seem to come in for a show or two as they tour the country. Right now most of the headliners seem to be scheduled in the fall before the area converts to Christmas shows. November and December seem to be filled with holiday shows.

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I’ve been looking at all the options to select a few shows to see. I’m trying to avoid the temptation to just go to the Branson version of shows I’ve seen in Las Vegas. The magician Rick Thomas has a show at the Andy Williams Performing Arts Center. I saw his show in Las Vegas a couple of times. There is also a Branson version of the Legends in Concert tribute show which I’ve seen in Las Vegas many times. What I need is a good description of some of the other shows.

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I found a Walmart on the Branson Strip to get a few supplies. This Walmart is in a building built for something else. It is not a Super Walmart so it had limited groceries, but I was able to get most of what I need. There is a Super Walmart on the north side of town that I will probably get to before I leave the area next Monday.