Six Days In Branson, Missouri: Silver Dollar City, Day One

This is the first post of a new travel series to Branson Missouri.

During the week of Labor Day my husband and I took a week's vacation to Branson, Missouri.  I have been to Branson twice before;   but they were just day trips, mostly to see their Sight & Sound Theatre plays.  This is the first time I ever spent an entire week in Branson and boy, did we have fun!  In fact, we had so much fun we decided to come back in a couple of years with the grandchildren.

We began our vacation by spending two full days at Silver Dollar City.  Yes, you heard me right, TWO FULL DAYS.  The theme park had a Southern Gospel Music Festival going on and we needed two full days if were ever going to be able to go on a few rides plus see the concerts.  There were so many Southern Gospel music groups, that even with two full days, we still couldn't possibly see them all.  

Silver Dollar City was voted "America's Number 1 Theme Park" three years in a row by USA Today.  I find that shocking since Disney World and Universal Studios has so many more visitors.  But after being there, I can see why.  First of all, it's extremely affordable, which Disney Parks are not.  Parking is free, and admission is $92 for an adult and you can get the second day FREE!  I've also seen ticket prices as low as $69 depending on the time of year.  Secondly, it is such a charming, unique park.  Everything is decorated in a country, hillbilly theme.  There is so much to do there even if you aren't into rides.  They have a lot more shopping than Disney does.  Disney seems to only have shops that sell Disney merchandise, whereas Silver Dollar City sells just about everything from soaps, jewelry, preserves, hand-blown glass, etc. And did I mention shows?  Yes, I know Disney has amazing shows, but it seemed there was a concert going around every corner at Silver Dollar City.

But perhaps the most amazing thing of all about this park is that it is built above a cave and they offer a FREE hour long cave tour!  That is incredible since cave tours on their own can be a bit pricey.  And this is no ordinary cave.  I have been on a lot of cave tours in my life, and I will say this was hands-down one of my favorites!  It had it all:  stalagmites and stalactites, cathedral openings, and even a waterfall!

To even get into the cave, first you had descend down 700 steps to get 500 feet below the ground.

The theme park actually evolved around the cave when in 1894 the cave was open for tours.  By 1960 an 1880's Ozark Mountain Village theme was created around the cave and the theme park has grown a lot since then.

Every cave tour I've been on is different.  Some have a lot of details such as Stalagmites and others are just large open areas, but this cave has both!  You will walk through narrow areas and see fascinating formations, but you will also experience the grandeur of a cave cathedral ceiling.

This is the narrow opening pictured in the second photo in this post.  You have to walk through the cut out  of this opening in real life, just to get into line for the cave tour.  They want to be sure you can bend over and crawl through before getting on the tour.

Looking down into a large pit of water.

Here's a short video of the waterfall inside the cave;  my favorite part!

Another fun thing about this tour is you don't have to climb 700 stairs back up!  You get to take a train!  That is a fun ride!

Silver Dollar City is known for its southern-style food so we planned on trying a lot of their dishes.  We always got one of everything and just shared it.  After we took the cave tour, we stopped at Eva & Delilah's Bakery for a Cinnamon Roll.  Oh, my gosh, it was so delicious!  We loved it so much, we went back the next day for a Caramel Pecan roll.  I loved the decor too!

This is the outside of the bakery.  I was just tickled pink with all the rustic charm of Silver Dollar City.

Molly's Mill Restaurant is decorated like an old mine.  It is a sit-down restaurant specializing in southern food.

Since we had never been to Silver Dollar City before our plan for day one was just to walk the entire park and check everything out.  We knew we were coming back the next day for sure, so we could catch whatever we missed on day two.  It was a really good decision to get the two day pass because on the day we were there it was the Sunday before Labor Day and the park was super crowded and there were long lines everywhere.  The next day was Labor Day, and there were a lot less people so we were able to get on the more popular rides easily.

A blacksmith shop which did demonstrations and also sold the items they made.

Of course we had to stop in and check out the candy shop.  Everything looked reasonably priced but we didn't buy anything.

The glass blowing shop had demonstrations and glassware for purchase.  We spent some  time watching the process and then looking at all the beautiful pieces for sale.

They had a year round Christmas shop which we went inside of but again, didn't buy anything.  It was decorated beautifully but I've never been one to be interested in Christmas out of season.

We had a fun time walking on this suspension bridge.

The bridge led to a beautiful old mill.

They must not have a lot of crime in Silver Dollar City for their jail was very small. 😀

This boys and girls clothing store was incredible! So much cuteness!

There are so many buildings which hold performances.  This one I never got inside of to see a show.  There were so many shows I couldn't possibly see them all.

Sorry for the blurriness of this photo.  This is the main stage arena.  Every night at 6:00 pm there was a concert here.  We did not stay that long on either day.  We always got to the park when they opened and left when they closed.  The concerts began when the park closed, if you paid for the day, you could attend the concert, but we also saw people arriving when we were leaving just to see the concert.

The Fire District had Silver Dollar City's newest ride:  "Fire in the Hole".  We waited a long time in line to get on that ride.  The ride tells the story of the fictional mining town of Marmaros and the Baldknobbers who burnt the town down.

On our first day at Silver Dollar City, we were only able to see two shows:  Sound Street, pictured below and Spoken 4.  I really enjoyed both groups and they really ministered to me.  What other theme park in the world can you go to and enjoy rides, plus hear the gospel?

"Flooded Mine" is an interactive dark ride where riders shoot targets from a boat.

The park has a large pond that you can walk around and also feed koi.

This park is fun for all ages.  They have the wild roller coaster rides for the thrill seekers, but they also have lots of little rides and activities for the little ones to enjoy like this climbing tree house.

A cute little bear making shop.

The Giant Barn Swing is one of the park's most popular rides;  it takes riders seven stories into the air! 

My favorite ride of all was "Tom and Huck's River Blast".  Oh my gosh, I had so much fun on this ride.  You ride on a boat and shoot water guns at targets and other people, while also engaging in water battles with riders on other boats.

Well, after this ride we were soaked to the skin and the park was about to close, so we called it a day.  I'll be back with day two at Silver Dollar City next week!

For more posts on Branson, Missouri, check out these posts:

Day Four of Our Vacation in Missouri - A Visit to Branson

A Return to Branson, Missouri, Part One

A Return to Branson, Missouri, Part Two

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
 

August Blooms in My Garden

I know it is the end of September and I am very late with my "August Blooms" garden post, but I thought you'd like to see its one last hurrah anyway.  All these pictures were taken mid-August, then my husband and I went to Door County for a four day anniversary trip, and when we returned it did not look this way anymore;  as you will see at the end of the post.  A horrific storm moved in while we were away and knocked trees over, threw tree limbs all over the yard, and pretty much destroyed my flower garden.  What wasn't crushed by tree limbs was knocked over by fierce straight line winds.  But I fared better than a lot of people in the area who had trees come down on their house and/or cars.  

It was so ironic because I took these photos right before I left and thought the garden never looked more beautiful.  But I guess Mother Nature had something different in mind for my garden.  Well let's walk through the "Before" pictures, and then I'll show you the "After".

The Shed Garden

Black Eyed Susans, Hydrangeas, and Phlox are the stars of the August garden.  The sedum is looking good, but won't be in bloom for at least another month.

In the Shed Garden I have a very tall Rudebekia Laciniata growing in this garden.  This flower can grow nine feet tall and makes the perfect back of the border plant.  In front I have the common rudebekia with some purple coneflower.

This plant grows like a weed in my yard, but I don't care, I love it! It has such a long bloom time;  over a month!  Not many perennials can claim that. 

I love to sit on this bench during my garden breaks and look at this garden.

The butterflies love the Rudebekia too.  Here is a short video showing the plant covered in little butterflies.

The Front Yard Garden

I grabbed a lot of different coleus this year and mixed it in with my hosta.  I love the contrast of the colorful coleus leaves with the green hosta.  I will take cutting of the coleus before the first frost so I can try to overwinter some of the plants as these large coleus plants can be pricey.

I have to show you this photo because it drove my daughter nuts that I didn't pull the sunflower out.  I don't know why, but I just can't pick stray sunflower plants.  I feel if Mother Nature put it there, she has her reasons.

These tall red Salvias did excellent this year.  In fact, they did so well, I'm planning on buying a lot more next year!

The Septic Mound Garden

The Septic Mound Garden stole the show in August.  It was absolutely jaw dropping this year.  

I love this color of Phlox.  I wish I had more this color.

I have a lot of wild orange dallies on this garden and I just let them go crazy.  I don't care, it's my septic mound.  I just move whatever gets in their way, if the entire septic mound becomes day lilies, so be it. 

The day lilies are so beautiful when they are in bloom and I love the lush green foliage when they are not.

The contrast of the bright purple/pink phlox with the orange/yellow rudebekias is so striking.

Street view of the Septic Mound Garden.

Here is a very short video of me walking through the garden.  Sound up so you can hear the sounds of nature. 

The Western Hill Garden

In the spring this hillside is covered with daffodils, but then in summer the hosta takes over.  It was a lot more shaded when I planted all this hosta, but then hubby chopped a lot of limbs off this tree so now it gets more sun.  Surprisingly, the hosta still did well.  There was only one plant that seemed to dry up.

Looking down at the Septic Mound Garden from the top of the West Hill Garden.

Hanging Baskets

I need so many hanging baskets that I can't spend $50 on one basket so I have to make my own.  I save and reuse my own pots then I just add a few annuals.  I normally don't fertilize my baskets until after the 4th of July because the soil has fertilizer in it and it is usually enough until mid summer.  But this year, they really fizzled out early and I thought I lost them.  I decided to cut them way back and fertilize them, and wa-la they sprung back to life!  They were pretty embarrassingly hideous for a few weeks though.

After The Storm

And as promised, here is what that same beautiful Septic Garden looked like after the storm.   Oh, it was so depressing to come home from a fabulous weekend in Door County to this mess.  I said "That's it.  I'm done for the year",  and I haven't been out there much since.  But frankly, it is the harvest season so I am busy canning and freezing.  I have gotten out there for a few hours here and there just to cut things down, but it still isn't what it was when I left and won't be again this year.  Here is to a better 2026 flower garden!

I will be back with a Vegetable Garden post soon and hopefully if I ever get the garden tidy again, I'll do a fall garden post to end the year.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!