Springfield, Branson, and the Top of the Rock

theramblers88
Jul 5, 2019
2 min read

Updated: Oct 26, 2019

6/24/19

Our day started with a few more things to see and do in Springfield, Missouri. We drove to the World’s Largest Fork and met it’s owner by coincidence. We arrived at the Food Channel offices where we were admiring the 30 foot creation stuck in the ground, and Mr. Noble, the fork’s owner came up and offered to take our photo. I got one with him, as well.

Next, we had to go see the Muffler Car. It sits in front of an auto shop. As a gimmick, they turned an old car into a giant muffler, you “auto” see it!

Up next, a drive by a tribute to the Navy at the American Legion Hall. It’s the conning tower of the USS Lapon submarine. We wondered if the rest of the sub was buried underneath - haha!

Then we were off to the Route 66 Car Museum. Wowee! Over 70 stunning autos displayed in an old garage. What a beautiful and interesting collection. Some highlights: Winston Churchill’s Packard for game hunting, Grapes of Wrath’s famous truck, General Norman Schwarzkopf’s 1963 Morgan, one out of the 50 1936 Horch cars sold to Hitler and his officers.

But my favorite, was they allowed me to sit in the driver’s seat of one of the Batmobiles! The one from the Batman 1960’s series. Zow! Pow! I bet your humming the theme song now.

Then we added a side trip. We left Route 66 and headed south 40 minutes to Branson. We’ve never been, so since it was so close, we went to check it out. We stayed in a quiet, wooded campground right off the strip. The strip is very touristy (Ripley’s, zip-lines, go carts, wax museums and plenty of show theatres) - you get the picture. However further up the road, nestled in the Ozarks, is the Top of the Rock Resort. It’s owned by the Bass Pro Shop guy, Johnny Morris. I never heard of him until yesterday. He’s a gagillionaire. Anyway, this resorts winds and curves through hills and streams, with a breathtaking view of Table Rock Lake. Here, we went on a golf cart tour. I got to drive on a path that leads through caves, waterfalls, and spectacular views. We had lunch at Arnold’s Barn (as in Arnold Palmer) overlooking the Jack Nicklaus golf course. This place is not to be missed.

Riding back, we drove through downtown Branson along the White River. We walked along the boardwalk and then watched a water and fire fountain display.