Places Visited:
Missouri: Branson, Missouri.
Arkansas: Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Monday October 1, 2001
ABC AMERICA'S BEST CAMPGROUND: Branson, Missouri

We arose to a beautiful day clear blue sky and temperatures in the
low-70s. It has been days since we have seen a cloud. How wonderful
can it get?

Our friends Vern and Elaine went to Springfield today and left us to
do some shows on our own. At 2:00pm we took in the Country Tonight
show. This show did not feature any recording stars. However, it was
one of the best we have seen. They have assembled a very talented
group of "almost stars" that put on a superb show.

After dinner we headed to Andy William's Moon River Theater to see
Andy and Glen Campbell. This was another excellent show. Andy was a
bit before our time but Glen Campbell is another story. We were
around for all of Glen's hit records and he had a list of them. Glen
performed Lee Greenwood's God Bless America every bit as good as Lee
Greenwood. I am not sure how old Andy William's is, but he can still
sing. They may have to roll him out on a stretcher next year or find
a way to prop him up; the old boy has been around for ages, AMEN!

Branson is a place that is much different from most American cities.
The average age walking the streets must be in the 70s. In front of
each Theatre are 30 or 40 handicap parking spots. It is absolutely
amazing how many handicap spots there are and a car is in every one.
We all hear so much about the "baby boomers" well; Branson appears to
be catering to the group that spawned the baby boomers.

Tuesday October 2, 2001
ABC AMERICA'S BEST CAMPGROUND: Branson, Missouri

This was a full day. We met Stan & Carol Riley around 10:30 this
morning and socialized for an hour or so before going to Mcfarlan's
for lunch. Stan has been reading the travelogue and commenting from
time to time. They are fulltimers. Stan retired from the IRS the
last day of January where he was working in the Virginia area of
Washington DC. They sold their home and are happily experiencing the
good old USA. Stan and I have crossed paths several times this
summer, once in Las Cruces, New Mexico then again recently in Cody,
Wyoming. Both times we missed each other by a day, sometimes even
staying in the same RV-Park. This time we communicated enough to
finally meet.

After lunch Joyce and I went to the "50s at the Hop" show. This show
did not have any "stars" but it had some of the best talent yet. This
group of young people put on a super show. The audience in this show
consisted of 5 or 6 busloads of geezers in tour groups. The music
"50s" was high energy and of such quality that it DEMANDED applause.
The old geezers would not clap or show any signs of life. It amazed
us to see entire rows (complete tour groups) that were just sitting
there like in the middle of a boring sermon. These folks won't be
able to stay awake during the Andy Williams or Lawrence Welk shows.

We took in the Mickey Gilley show for their evening performance.
Mickey has 39 hits that made the top 10 Country List with 17 of them
making # 1. I guess you can say he is a STAR! Mickey put on a good
performance with his singing but the best part of the show was the
comedy. I think the banter between Mickey and his comedian was the
best comedy so far. Many of you will remember the film "Urban Cowboy"
with John Travolta filmed in Mickey Gilley's bar in Pasadena, Texas.
That bar has the distinction of being in Ripley's Believe it or Not as
the world's largest Honky Tonk. Mickey sang several songs in that
movie. Can you believe that "Urban Cowboy" hit the big screen
21-years ago? It seems like yesterday.

Wednesday October 3, 2001
ABC AMERICA'S BEST CAMPGROUND: Branson, Missouri

Last week I described a fruit we were seeing from the highway when
traveling through southern Kansas. Phil Penner, a friend, living in
Wichita, Kansas has provided the answer to what we were seeing. Here
is what he has told me: "Mike, that green fruit you saw in Kansas was
not fruit! They are called "hedge apples" and are poisonous to eat.
The squirrels eat em but they are not for humans. They grow on the
hedge trees that were planted during the dust bowl days to try to keep
the dirt from blowing from county to county. The trees are hard wood
and pretty good firewood but they do really throw off the sparks, so
you'd better have the screen or doors closed if you burn it."

Thanks to Phil we all know about "hedge apples". We also know not to
eat them.

We ate lunch with friends Stan & Carol Riley. They are the friends we
have been crossing paths with for several months. We are looking
forward to seeing them again in March when they pass through
Pensacola.

For the evenings entertainment we did the Pierce Arrow show. Pierce
Arrow is a group of professional singers and musicians that have all
performed with big name groups. The base singer in the group has the
distinction of having the "lowest" voice according to Ripley's Believe
it or Not. He has held that honor for several years. He can hit
notes 8-notes lower than the lowest note on a piano. He vocalized
with the piano as the piano player kept going down one key at a time.
When the piano stopped this guy kept going. Incredible! In addition
to the musicians they had an outstanding comedian. This guy is as
good as a comedian gets. The comedian working with Mickey Gilley was
good also but I might have to give this character the nod.

Thursday October 4, 2001
ABC AMERICA'S BEST CAMPGROUND: Branson, Missouri

Vern and Elaine called this morning and we arranged for them to stop
by our place. We talked for hours then went to the afternoon Mel
Tillis show. This was another good show although not at the top of
our list.

After the show all of us went to B.T. Bones for dinner.

Friday October 5, 2001
ABC AMERICA'S BEST CAMPGROUND: Branson, Missouri

Our plan was to leave Branson this morning but the weather changed
overnight. A cold front came through the area around daylight this
morning. The front brought rain and thunderstorms with temperatures
dropping drastically. Joyce decided she did not want to travel with
the front all day. Our plan was to head south on Arkansas highway 7
one of the most scenic drives in the USA. She just did not think we
would enjoy the drive through windshield wipers.

With that said we are staying in Branson another day. Joyce did
laundry while I performed housecleaning chores.

We decided to return to the 50s at the Hop Theatre for the evening
show. They were the best show in town, in our opinion, and the same
cast puts on two completely different shows, one performance in the
afternoon the other in the evening. For this performance the crowd
was much younger and loved the music. They were LOUD! And the
musicians played to them. These young people were unbelievable.

Saturday October 6, 2001
Wal-Mart Super Center, Hot Springs, Arkansas--- Boyhood home of Bill
Clinton

We left Branson on highway 65 headed south. In a few minutes we were
in Arkansas. A little farther south on highway 65, in Harrison, is an
Arkansas tourist information center and picnic area. For those of you
interested they allow boondocking in their parking area for one night.
This would be a good CHEAP place to stay overnight on the way to and
from Branson if you are approaching from the south. The GPS location
is 36° 16.78056 and -93° 09.78291. If you do not have GPS the tourist
information center is located on the outskirts of Harrison, Arkansas
on highway 65.

We drove south through the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas on scenic state
highway 7. The hardwoods are changing color but will be better in a
few weeks. This drive reminds us of Smoky Mountains of western North
Carolina except the road cuts exposed 300-million year old sandstone
and shale instead of granite. The vegetation is similar and the
gently sloping mountains are similar.

By late afternoon we are in Hot Springs, Arkansas the boyhood home of
Bill Clinton. After giving a cursory "look see" at two local RV-Parks
we pulled into Wal-Mart for the night.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix