Djurdjevic - Personal Photos - Missouri, May 2007

23 Jan 2011

Updated May 2, 2007

"Greater Branson"...

"World capital of live country music" (per "60 Minutes")

May 2...

BRANSON, May 2, 2007 - When I looked out my hotel window this morning, there appeared to a break in the rain that had been forecast to last all day. So I hurried out to take a drive around "Greater Branson," the area that I was told was quite beautiful before the rain resumed. Here's some of what I saw...

Just down the street from my hotel, I found this idyllic scene, a back yard of one of the Branson homes.

I also thought this property, set against the tall pines, looked pretty... and almost out of place. You'd expect something like this in the Alps, not in the Ozark country.

And this is the view this wood-frame house has... a huge dam that helped create the Table Rock Lake, one of the tourist attractions in the area.

Once on the other side of the dam, I stopped at this lovely State Park, and then walked back toward the lake...

The lone(ly) duck swam back toward me, either expecting company, or more likely bread crumbs. Alas, I did not have any.

... as well as all of the above ones, just looking in the opposite direction. The one in the middle was taking looking directly down to the abyss from the top of the dam. The other two illustrate not just high high the dam is, but also provide a panoramic view of the Ozark country. The "French chateau" visible in the distance is actually a modern hotel.

Back at the lake, I enjoyed some more "beach scenes," such as this tree that seems to be growing out of the lake. If you take a good look between its Y-shaped limbs, you may notice something interesting that I highlighted with a dark ellipse. The following frames will show you what that was...

It was an old paddleboat crossing the lake. I found out later her name is "Branson Belle." On my way out of Branson, I caught a few more panoramic views of the town from the surrounding hills...

The leftmost photo is the view of the lake from the hill back of that "French chateu." The tower on the right is called "Shepherd of the Hills Inspiration Tower." It seems to serve no other purpose except for prayer and meditation with expansive views of the Ozarks.

As I bid my goodbye to Branson, I could not help but notice that the town's crest has a musical note in it (see the top of the water tower)... as befits the "live country music capital of the world."