Final day of travel, intentionally avoiding the interstate, just to see more of the state.
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Heading out of Branson we pass the ubiquitous dinosaur tourist stop. I half expected to see Jesus riding on one of these.
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If we ever come back to this town, this is a stop I'd probably make. But as it is, we are tired, and eager to get home.
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Ruth and Paul Henning Conservation Area Scenic Overlook. Yes, they were the creators of the Beverly Hillbillies.
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A boy at heart, construction equipment fascinates me.Q: Can you guess what this is? A: retnalpsnart eert a si sihT
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During the real estate bubble, too many foolish people invested in time shares. So after the crash, a booming industry grew in "helping" folks by buying them cheap from the desperate and holding them until the affluent are ready to buy. Branson and Lake of the Ozarks are apparently ripe areas for this.
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When I was young, our family went on annual vacations to Bull Shoals Lake. I was always amused by the name of this town, Cabool. I also enjoyed "Kaboom" cereal. They're just fun to say.
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Unusual traffic juxtapositions in rapid succession
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I don't know why. Welcome to the middle of the country, I guess.
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Road construction ahead.
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One might expect to see many more Fords than Volvos out here. But this slow Volvo driver is not shy about taking his lane.
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They bult this amusement park out in the middle of nowhere. Then Saint Louis County expanded to include this land. So this is now a landmark to let us know we've reached our neighboring county. The City of Saint Louis is not actually in Saint Louis County.
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The time is pi in the afternoon as our car hits 8888 miles in west county, moving just fast enough to avoid being rear-ended in the early Tuesday afternoon rush "hour." Karen is driving.
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First glimpse of the Arch. When we were little, our parents kept us boys moderately quiet about "are we there, yet?" by praising the first one to see the Arch.
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View as we wait to turn off our I-44 ramp on to Grand Boulevard, a few blocks from home.
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Home. Got the furnace pilot lit, starting to unpack. Still on "vacation" tomorrow, so we can organize and breathe before resuming everyday activity.
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It's late October, so the house has gotten a bit chilly with the heat off. So while Karen gets things organized in the car to start hauling things in, I lie on the floor for a while to light the pilot on our 1970's furnace.
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