It’s been a great couple of days in Branson and we can see now why people like coming here. My original assessment of this town was a little off. Rather than a redneck Vegas meets Six Flags, I would more accurately describe it as redneck Broadway meets Six Flags as this is not a gambling town. We enjoyed all three shows that we saw. Here is a short synopsis of each. Cody Cooper was an amusing variety show with a mix of classical country and rock, some witty comedy and quite a bit of dancing. The Haywoods was entertaining singing and dancing with not much comedy but had a real great tap dance number and a harp number that was very good as well. Queen Esther was a musical based on the Bible book of Esther and made Broadway stages look like high school drama sets. The stage was 300′ long and in a U shape around the audience. We both thought it an outstanding production.

We also took some time to visit the Top of the Rock Resort which is owned and developed by Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops. We took the two mile golf cart ride through the waterfalls and cave with a tended bar like a lot of the tourist do. It was pretty but a bit Disney. What we were both impressed with was the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum. It had the most Indian artifacts that we have seen anywhere as well as Civil War, some prehistoric, and other Missouri artifacts. Worth the price of admission.

If we were in this neck of the woods again, it would be worth another visit as there were a few more shows that caught our interest which we did not get a chance to attend in the four days we were here. Did I mention all the shows were about 2 to 3 hours long.