May 30, 2015

We headed off in doubtful weather which deteriorated to rain on and off so the waterproofs were on all day in spite of the humidity. It was nice to see sun this afternoon but by then I felt very cold. The ride was long but some delicious bike roads with lovely corners and camber. Shame it was so wet.  We found a quirky little town called Eureka Springs which was a bit like an upmarket / substantial version of Walhalla with a through road. We assume with the title it has to have been some sort of mining area and given the buildings (in the middle of nowhere supports that ... as well as the rail line into it) It was quirky and delightful but was wet and we had heaps of ground to cover so while I took a shot at the railway on the outskirts while we checked the GPS we didn't stop in the town. After that we saw prolific forest growth and farms with incredible growth as well as a lot of land which had been and continues to be inundated with flood waters. A Turnpike attendant told us the farmers wanted dry weather to get their hay cut but there was water everywhere after all the dumping of rain with the surrounding tornado and would be tornado weather there has been through Oklahoma over the last couple of weeks. We had seen many fields with very long grass which had been laid down with the rain. Doubt it will stand again but I hope it does.



A shot of the Branson Scenic Railway Dining Train in the station due to depart tonight.



The Eureka Springs Railway Historic Park. Looked pretty overgrown but we had to move to let a trolley car of people into the spot we had parked so who knows?



We stopped in Muskogee to find a historic home and in theory found it ... or the ticket office / house which was closed even though in theory it was supposed to be open. Looked pretty ordinary so didn't waste a photo on it but instead took a couple of shots of some of the nice homes in the area and this is one of them.

When we booked into our hotel after negotiating a detour just before our hotel we discovered there is a National College Softball championship happening across the street. This is the stadium when we booked in but has filled up since and they are playing. Apparently last night they had a fireworks display around 10.30 - 11pm but we plan to be sound asleep by then!

Last Two Night's Accommodation:



Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing, 3 Branson Landing, Branson, MO 65616
Another lovely comfortable hotel. Spacious room and bathroom with separate bath and shower. Plenty of room to chill in lobby if you want to and a bar and grille on site. Breakfast provided ... at the Hilton hotel across the railway line?? A bit weird. No mention of that when we booked just that breakfast was available. In the centre of Branson Landing shopping and entertainment precinct. Undercover parking. As we discovered on our exit the old Branson is a mixed bag of fruit and we liked the Branson Landing side of things better.