42
travel
words and images courtesy ExploreBranson.com
If this is the summer of the great American road trip, we’re going to suggest that the very best road to travel – one that offers the most intriguing views before you even step out of your vehicle – is Missouri Highway 76, also known as “Country Boulevard” in Branson, Missouri. Branson truly puts the “family” into the concept of “family fun,” boasting a tourism industry that’s fueled by local families who take great delight in entertaining their multiple generations of guests. Tourism here is a cooperative effort, with neighboring attractions working together to promote the concept of non-stop fun to the millions of families who come to town each year in search of new adventures. Though there’s a
it painted a vivid picture of these mountains and their people.
very strong cooperative spirit, there’s also just a smidge of
The Rosses became the inspiration for two beloved characters
competition as each venue tries to outdo its neighbors and
in that book, Old Matt and Aunt Mollie Matthews.
get the attention of all those visitors traveling along Highway 76, through Branson’s famed Entertainment District. As part
The book met with popular success, ultimately becoming the first
of that attention-grabbing effort, several tourism-related
novel to sell one million copies in the United States. Its countless
businesses have discovered that BIG does a great job of
fans began coming to Branson to try to find that same beauty
getting visitors to take notice.
– in both nature and humans – that Wright had captured in his novel. A pivotal stop on their journey was “Old Matt’s Cabin,”
Before you read about and see some of the massive roadside
which became so popular with visitors that eventually the Ross
attractions in Branson, we invite you to start at a site that went
family moved out of it. Today it serves as the ticket booth for
“big” in a completely different way. “Old Matt’s Cabin” at
a site that plays host to an outdoor drama that retells the tale
Shepherd of the Hills isn’t huge, but this is the place where
of the Shepherd of the Hills, the preserved historic farm that
Branson’s tourism industry all began… so it seems like the fitting
figured in the novel, and an adventure park – complete with zip
start to your journey. And it’s on the west end of Highway
lines, canopy tour and mountain coaster – that gives modern-day
76, so it works not only from a historical standpoint but also a
visitors a chance to have your breath taken away by both the
geographical one. Here’s the scoop:
incredible views and the stimulating adventures.
In the early 1900s, a preacher named Harold Bell Wright came
And that’s how Branson’s tourism boom began. Visitors won’t
to Branson and fell in love with both the natural beauty of this
quickly run out of fun things to do – or see – on a visit to this
part of the Ozark Mountains and the friendly people who made
Ozark Mountain town, which offers something exciting for every
their homes here. He was especially close to a couple named
member of the family, from tallest to smallest. Here’s a roundup
John and Anna Ross, who allowed him to camp outside their
of our favorite mega-messengers, large reminders of the huge
homestead. It was there that he dreamed up a story called
amounts of fun to be had throughout Branson. Heading from
Shepherd of the Hills, a novel that mingled fact and fiction as
west to east along Highway 76, you’ll encounter the following:
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
