A Unique Piece of America - If You Can Still Find It
Written: Apr 16 '06 (Updated Oct 28 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Inexpensive and different
Cons: Traffic and getting there
The Bottom Line: Branson is a unique blend of the early part of the last century and the modern. It has reasonable prices to offset the difficulty of getting there and getting around.
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| gamblin_man's Full Review: Branson |
What put a little country town in the Ozarks of Missouri on the map? Actually there were two events, separated by many years that occurred, maybe a third for the area around it. What Branson is today is a tourist trap. What it was before the last event occurred was – a tourist trap. Before the first event it was a sleepy little town that served as a central place for the hard-scrabble farmers in the area that made a meager living on the hills of the Ozark Mountains.
Today Branson and its environs draw tourists from around the world to its multiple music shows, its outlet malls, its relatively low sleeping and eating prices, and its massive traffic bottlenecks that run from around nine am to around 10 pm. Some of the top country performers have bases in Branson. It and Myrtle Beach have actually surpassed Nashville as the centers of country music. The outlet malls and tourist stops have everything one would expect, with a huge collection of country crafts and foodstuffs. If you look a little you can have your very own hand-built log cabin delivered to your site anywhere in the US. You can have a broom that you watched being made or a basket signed by the maker with a lifetime guarantee. One of the best makers of professional scroll saws is near Branson.
If you like music and professional entertainment you can have it for breakfast, lunch, as a matinee, at dinner, or as an evening ender. It will be professionally produced and choreographed and you will get your money’s worth. Some we have enjoyed are the dinner show at Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, the magic of Hamner Barber, Celebrate America, and the Mel Tillis theatre. He was performing when we saw the show but most of the time the named performers aren’t at their shows.
As far as eating is concerned, this is not a venue for fine dining. The food is country with a lot of smorgasbord and chain restaurants to be found. There are side avenues that have some of the best preserves, jams, and jellies the Ozarks can produce but that is for take away usually. My favorite is corncob jelly. It used to have the actual cob in it, but the health folks made them take it out when Branson exploded. Getting to the place you want to be is a significant test of patience. The area has done a lot to help, but there is only so much landscape and it fills quickly with new money making ventures.
This is not, however, the Branson I first knew. Prior to the influx of major shows it was a quaint part of the country, hard to get to and worth the trip. Buried amongst the new Branson is that first tourist trap. If you know where to look it is still there. The new Branson is west of the original downtown and tourist area of Branson, the place where people came pre-air conditioning for a summer getaway. Further west are the three things that made Branson what it was, and set it up for what it is. One is an impoundment called Table Rock Lake. This is one of a chain of flood control and electricity generating lakes that finally tamed one of Arkansas and Missouri’s wild rivers. It is a premier bass fishing lake that has lots of coves filled with vacation retreats and State Parks that encourage its use. But before Table Rock came a book, “The Shepherd of The Hills”. It was written just as automobile touring began to become popular. The author was a New Yorker that lived in the hills West of Branson before the First World War. He was sent there by his physician to help an asthmatic condition and settled in, camping on a farm. His book was a fictional account of the stories he learned there, using thinly disguised local characters to populate his story. It was a best seller and people began the hard trek to the Ozark hills to find the locale and the people. The Shepherd of the Hills Farm and Theatre was one of the first tourist attractions added to a couple of caves already being exploited. It still commemorates the story and the people.
Silver Dollar City also exploded onto the scene long before the Modern Branson Tourist Trap was born. It may be the first theme park in America. It celebrates the Ozarks of the 1880s and is a major player in preserving the areas mountain crafts. It grew around Marvel Cave which was there and being exploited to tourists on their way to the more popular Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Roaring River Park destinations. It was rumored that silver was in the cave and the name came from that. Later they bought another cave a few miles further west and renamed it Talking Rocks Caverns. One of the best underground Creation shows I have ever seen is performed there regularly. Don’t bring small children. If you do go to Branson, save some time for a trip to Eureka Springs and the summer showing of the death and resurrection of Christ. It is magnificently produced and choreographed. There are enough attractions in Eureka Springs to keep you there all day while you wait for the evening show.
If you drive from Springfield, Missouri to Branson proper you will pass along the shores of Lake Taneycomo. This was originally a dammed lake that is still surrounded by the typical summer tourist cabins of the post World War II forties and early fifties. The gates on the dam were welded shut when Table Rock Lake began filling and the water cooled considerably as the feed began to come from the bottom of the new lake. The lake was restocked with cold water fish and is now a great trout lake. The name sounds Indian but is more prosaic. It stands for Taney County, Missouri. This was the draw, along with the two main attractions several miles west of the city, when the cars first started filling the narrow mountain road between Springfield and Branson.
On their way to or from the theme park or farm, they stopped at scattered tourist traps and had a choice of a few Mountain Music shows. The Baldknobbers was one of the first. These half-dozen shows, modernized some to compete with the Nashville influence, still operate quietly among the more flashy newcomers.
Another unique aspect of Branson is the School of the Ozarks. This is a college where tuition is not charged, but you must be from the Ozarks and work your way through. My Nephew is a proud graduate. If you visit the college be sure and sva time for the "Museum of the Ozarks" on the campus. Also Rose O’Neill, the inventor of the world’s most popular toy, the Kewpie doll, lived here at her family place called “Bonniebrook.” Her collection is still available for viewing.
Getting to Branson takes some work. The nearest commercial airport is in Springfield, a regional airport that requires a connection from a larger airport. There are buses from there to Branson and lots of car rentals available during the season. There are lots of rooms available in the area ranging from around $30.00/night off-peak to well over a hundred. Still it is a cheap stay compared to other tourist destinations. Traffic is bad; there is no getting around it. If you know the detours like some do, you can move reasonably well through and around the area. The routes are well marked with brochures in most motels and hotels to guide you. The shows are usually easy to get tickets for except in the peaks. My favorite times to go there are before Memorial Day, the first three weeks of June, and after Labor Day. I have never had trouble finding a place to sleep without advance reservations during those times, the tourists are a little less thick, and the rates are quite accommodating. The weather gets pretty unpleasant in the last half of July and during most of August.
When we lived in the area we went at least twice a year. That was before the second revolution. Now we try to get there every other year. It is always a trip fondly remembered.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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gamblin_man
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Member: Larry
Location: Pacific Northwest
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