Branson In The Rain

We rolled into Branson for a needed rest and change of pace from Route 66.  We found a delightful RV Park right off the main stretch of downtown Branson called Musicland Kampground.  Check-in was like a breath of fresh air to find the staff professional, efficient and very helpful.  The RV park is built into the side of a mountain and it’s nicely terraced.  Musicland Kampground is a Passport America member park and the rate was awesome at $19.98 per night for a site with 50 amp electrical service.

The plan was to catch up on some work, take a break from the sometimes “bone jarring” Route 66 and enjoy some nightlife in the form of nice entertainment and a great dinner or two.  We paid for a week when we checked in, but knew we could lengthen that if desired.  When we checked in at the RV Park they gave us a nice listing of the current entertainment with pricing, times and location.  They told us to buy our tickets through them because they had the best rates in town, which we found to be true.

So as we reviewed the listing for the various shows and entertainment, we were a bit surprised to find that it was mostly “B” grade entertainment.  When we were there, there were no really famous performers in town.  Well, Loretta Lynn was coming to town in a few days, but she’s now 83 years old, so I don’t know what to make of that.

We did find some shows we wanted to see and bought our tickets through the park.  We chose:

The Eagles Tribute Concert

SIX

Irish Rovers and Celtic Woman

Of the 3 shows, SIX was our favorite.  This was an acappella group of six brothers that were very talented and very entertaining!

True showman including the “pre-show” where they each arrived in customized new Camaro’s which I have to admit were pretty cool.  SIX  are six real brothers. They actually come from a family of ten brothers, no sisters and are the six oldest in the family. Apparently their mom and dad (Arnold and Joyce Knudsen) wanted a girl.  They have been the top act in Branson for the last 3 years running.  “SIX” certainly brings it big-time with loads of music from some of the best, including Elvis, Kansas, Frankie Valli, MC Hammer, Coldplay, and Tom Jones; now that’s variety! And they’re not just gifted singers; they’re naturally hilarious; sharing family stories with a keen wit and superb timing, along with wacky antics that include silly props and sound effects that, of course, come 100% from their mouths! Curtis, Lynn, Kevin, Jak, Barry, and Owen dazzled us with their colorful costumes and many costume changes, each wearing a signature color – colors that carry over from the stage to the street; locals and visitors enjoy seeing each of them cruise around town in their customized Camaro’s painted to reflect their stage color, including color specific neon glow underneath at night!

Branson is a great town for families with children, too!  Between all of the waterparks, go-kart tracks, ice cream shops and inexpensive buffet’s a family can have an affordably awesome vacation.

It rained most of the time we were in Branson, which worked out fine because that allowed us to get caught up on work without the temptation to be out exploring all of the time.  At some point, while sitting under our patio awning I started to look at our motorhome tires and noticed that even though the tread seemed to be only about 25% used, that our tires were starting to show the weather cracking that is usually the end for motorhome tires.  I found the DOT Date stamp on the tires to be reminded that they were 6 years old and keeping in mind that we are from Florida, time to retire them.  We spent a few hours doing our homework and found our source for new tires up in Springfield, Missouri where we would be passing through to get back on Route 66 after our Branson recharge.  When it comes to safety, I usually don’t cut corners and with regard to tires on the motorhome I think I’ve seen too many YouTube videos of motorhome roll-overs on Facebook.

This is NOT US, but this is why we made the appointment to replace our weather cracking tires on the motorhome!