St. Louis, MO to Russelville, AR

Mom joined us for the rest of the trip. We left Bob and Nan's at 9. It took almost an hour to get out of town. I-44 was closed. So was I-55 and I-270 and a bunch of the usual alternate routes. The flooded Merramac crested last night, but it will take a while for water to go down and roads and bridges be fixed. Steve and Bob studied routes on the internet last night and concluded that Route 100  was the only west-bound route open. At the gas station this morning they met a woman who had had to stay in town last night because she couldn't find an open route home. She hadn't considered Route 100, which seems to have been the only one left. Needless to say, it was heavy traffic despite the holiday. It merged into westbound I-44 where a long string of cars east-bound cars waited to exit and find their way into town on city streets.

Another hour or so down the road gaps began to appear in the clouds and eventually sunlight fell on the fields--the first we had seen in days. Lots of billboards around Branson. They even have their own visitor TV station. Although I would love to see the Shepherd of the Hills outdoor theatre, based on a favorite book of my mother's youth that I embraced in mine, I'm basically not a show person. Branson interested me far less than the surrounding hills.

Once we got into Arkansas, we turned south on Route 7, one of the scenic byways of our National Geographic book. It was "crooked and steep" according to the warning signs. Mostly it followed a ridge top with wonderful views. We kept thinking how spectacular it would be with leaves on the trees. Sigh. We'll have to come back.

Buffalo River from bridge

There was a lot of poverty, uncared for cabins with piles of junk on the porch and in the yard. Some were obviously not lived in (roof fallen in). Others, we weren't so sure. We wondered what people out here did for a living, if anything.

We will see in the new year in Russelville, AR, half way along our mountain route. I guess "See it in" is an exageration since we will see it in with our eyes closed in our beds. But the new year WILL come, and this travel adventure will continue in 2016.