(upbeat music) - In this episode, we are going to explore the
great state of Missouri. We're gonna stay at a casino
right on the Mississippi river. We'll also visit its
confluence with the Ohio in Cairo, Illinois. Then back to Missouri, where we'll explore the
Ozark Scenic Riverways. We'll see incredible springs, we'll visit an elk
conservation area, more beautiful waterfalls, more beautiful springs. Then Branson, Missouri,
Table Rock Lake. We'll do a section
of historic Route 66, and finally, beautiful
Wakonda State Park ♪ I'm riding ♪ Riding, riding ♪ Riding in my RV ♪ My RV ♪ Wherever I want to be ♪ Because I'm free, in my RV Greetings from
Caruthersville, Missouri. We were here once before during the Grand Solar
Eclipse of 2017 trip, in which we actually
made a navigational error and ended up here. Not a bad place to end up. They have a casino
with an RV park. Century Casino, Lady Luck, I believe it used to be called. Let's see our surroundings
from 400 feet above ground. Today in a sense, marks the beginning of a
new chapter in this trip. Shall we call it the Midwest? Even though parts of Missouri are also considered
part of the South, we're gonna go with Midwest because we're going to
set foot in Illinois. And from here we're going to
Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and beyond Well, this is my site I'm not even gonna unhitch or
connect to water or the sewer. Let's just get a
good night sleep here on the West bank
of the Mississippi. The casino looks like
an old river boat that hasn't sailed for years, but we're not going in. I wonder where this goes. (footsteps clanging)
(dog barks) It's a dead end. It goes nowhere. Beautiful trees though. Mmh, I thought that trail
would go to the river, but it doesn't
(dog barks) Well, good night. (birds chirping) Good morning. We're slowly waking up. Making some coffee.
(birds chirping) Check it out. Check out the moon. (soft music) I'm here making some coffee. On the road again. The plan today is to visit
the Ozark Scenic Riverways, just West of here. It comes highly recommended, but I don't really have
any plans set in stone or reservations or
anything like that. Ooh, a Geo dealership. Remember Geo? I haven't seen one
of those in a while. So yeah, as I was saying, all I have is just some
recommendations from viewers, and that's all, we're gonna play by ear. All right, a lot of businesses in this part of
Caruthersville here. I kind of like, there's a
supermarket here across from us that seems to be... Well, may have been a
Walmart at some point, I think. Which reminded me of another
place that I wanted to visit in the vicinity here. And let me see how
far it is because... (device beeps)
Cairo, Illinois. I mean, it's an extra hour. I wanted to see it because
that's the confluence of the Missouri and
the Mississippi. And it's supposed to be
kind of like a ghost town. Yeah, I might as well. I mean, we're not gonna come
around this area for a while. Yeah, it's an interstate. Let's do it. (upbeat music) And just like that, I
decided to make a detour, which will take us into the
land of Lincoln actually. Once again, crossing
the mighty Mississippi. Check it out. It's the Great River Road. We're going into Fort
Defiance Park here. It's a nice park. Here we are. That's the bridge to Kentucky, which ironically is closed. I say ironically, because as of this filming
in early August, 2020, Kentucky is one of the
few states that has issued a 14 day quarantine for
visitors from other states. And even though I hear
it's not really enforced, I'm gonna stay away from
Kentucky this time around. Sorry, cousin Juan
in Louisville, I'll visit next year. By the way, very cool to see how they move all these huge barges
here on the river. (barge roars) This is it. The Mississippi, the Ohio. Okay, so I couldn't resist. I had to try that
dolly zoom effect with the new Mavic 2 zoom. And now let me show you
where we really are. Right here at the very
Southern tip of Illinois, the confluence of the muddy
Mississippi to the left. Yeah, lots of sediment, and the relatively
cleaner Ohio to the right. And you can definitely
see it in the water. There's barge coming, and that's of course,
beautiful Kentucky on this absolutely
beautiful day. The only time we're
gonna see Kentucky on this whole trip, actually. Look at that pusher boat, moving the barge upstream. And the beautiful, I mean, beautiful Ohio river. This one is going
up the Mississippi. Are those clearance
markings on the bridge, is it possible for
the water level to really fluctuate
all that much? That's wild, and so is this view. Amazing. How much commerce actually
happens on these rivers? Okay, that's far enough, let's come back. Time to go. There's still so much to see. I want to drive through
Cairo, Illinois, also pronounced
Cairo by the way. And did is supposed to
be mostly abandoned? And I want to corroborate that. A little bit of a dystopian,
post-apocalyptic welcome here, don't you think? Well, at least the
church looks good. And actually this
whole part of town here seems to be a little
better maintained. Some of it looks like
it may just be run down, but some of it without
a shadow of a doubt has seen better days. I wonder what kind of economic meltdown happened here, but it seems pretty severe. Otherwise. But otherwise, it would be
a pretty cool town, I mean. It seems to be. (upbeat music) Let's continue. Missouri awaits. Going back over the
Mississippi one more time and back in Missouri we are, and we'll be for
the next few days. This part of Missouri,
flat and agricultural, that's expected, but I do see what looks
like some topography in the distance, so I'm hopeful. I love driving through
this part of the country. Where else could you find a
billboard advertising seeds? We've got rolling hills, and the brown sign I'd
been looking forward to. Those brown signs
by international
convention actually, are erected to direct
visitors to points of interest along the way. And our first point of
interest is coming up. We're going to stop
here at Van Buren. Population, 819. The gateway to the Ozark
National Scenic Riverways. Let's stop by the
visitor's center. Why do I always get myself
into this, no outlet situations with the trailer in tow? I'm telling you. So nice and so knowledgeable,
the lady in there. She gave me the map and
she told me what to do and where to go, and where to see elk and
about the campground. And I'm gonna try and see. The 200 loop is
supposed to be electric, otherwise, you
know, I'll boondock and I'll rough it for
a couple of nights. Let me look for United
States post office. - [GPS] I'm offline
so I can't do that. - What do you mean, you're offline?
- [GPS] In the mean time, you can get directions,
make calls and play music. - What do you mean
you're offline? We have five bars of LTE. I'm telling you, this Google lady sometimes
gets in my nerves. (country music) Rolling through downtown,
Van Buren, Missouri looking for a post office because CDs and
stickers must be mailed. We're going to Big
Spring Campground on this windy and hilly road. It is one of those,
first come first serve self-checking kind of deals. Okay, this is nice. Busy, but nice. Okay, I think this is gonna work because the last reservation
left today, on the 5th, so it should be available
in theory, right? Let's go. Let me go to their payment box. The pay station is
farther than I remember. This is such a beautiful place. I think I'm gonna
go back in the car. Okay, so it is $19 per
night for an electric site, and that's what we're gonna get. Well, this is very nice here. (people cheering) Only electric though, but I have plenty of water so it shouldn't be an issue. I'm gonna go for a little hike. This by the way is the
Big Spring Campground, here at the Ozarks. This here is the
non-electric campground. As you can see, it's
completely empty today. I think this is the trailhead. There are supposed to be
lots of elk around here. There's the Current River. Yes, this is the Current River, which we will be following as we explore the Scenic
Riverways, also Jacks Fork. In fact, there are 134 miles
of rivers in this area. It would be nice to
have a boat here, or at the very least,
a kayak or a canoe. It is absolutely beautiful. I'm just gonna drive
to the big spring area. Don't really feel
like hiking anymore. This is the largest
spring in Missouri, and one of the largest
in the whole world, with a daily average flow
of 286 million gallons. From far away, it almost
seems to be like a waterfall. This is apparently
one of those places where a lot of people come
to get their picture taken. (intense water flow)
Oh, look at that. Right behind me there, the
photo shoot going on back there, but this is really cool. There's a marker there. That's lot of water coming
from under the ground. It really is. It really is a spring. I mean the water is
coming out of nowhere, out of the earth, really. Let's see, I forgot to
bring the trail map, but this seems to
be a trail here, so let's go a little further, see where it leads. So far, pleasantly
surprised by Missouri. Hey, look at that. Look up there. Wow. I think this area has to be one of Missouri's
best kept secrets. I mean, at least I certainly
didn't know about it until very recently. This is truly amazing. And this is only our first
day here in this area. Yep, very impressive. I'm gonna start heading back, it is getting late. This is amazing. I had never seen
anything quite like it. I liked it. I liked it. Tomorrow we'll
continue exploring. (rubs palms)
Hmm, good morning. Cool morning here, it's 60 degrees Fahrenheit, 7:25 a.m. central time, and I'm gonna try to do
the early bird thing, although we're not
that early anymore, but the lady at the
visitor's center said you could go see some elk. Look at that morning fog. And we have deer. Yes, this is the best time
of the day to see wildlife wherever you go. US 60 here in Van Buren, and we're going towards
the town of Winona. And this is where
the pavement ends and the dirt road begins. Six more miles until we
get to our destination, which is Peck Ranch, which is a wildlife
conservation area where you can see elk
and many other animals, I have been reliably informed. Here we are. Well, I believe I'm the
only human here today. Hello there. We've got some elk. We've got some wild turkey too. Oh, yeah, sure by all
means, use the road Y'all know Thanksgiving
is coming, right? (upbeat music) Let's explore some
of the narrower roads that branch out
from the main loop. But I presume most
of the wildlife must
be hiding somewhere. Here we go, we got
some more deer. Bye guys. Our next stop,
Rocky Falls Shut-in. It is called Rocky
Falls Shut-in, and apparently Shut-in
is a type of river and that's how they call
them here in the Ozarks, which is confined
to a small space. Look at the butterfly. Hello, butterfly. Whoo. Here we are, and oh, wow. Beautiful waterfalls. And it is not very
crowded today. Apparently it is a
popular swimming hole, and let me tell you, I am tempted, but I did not come prepared. Besides, the water
is probably cold. (water flowing) All right, let's see how cold. Yeah. Yeah, that water
is pretty chilly. I was thinking of bringing
my bathing suit later on, but... It is really beautiful here. I had no idea. There, that gives
you a sense of scale. All right, let's go. I guess that's a trail
that goes to the falls, but I don't know
exactly where it is. It is certainly not marked, so we're gonna continue. Well, I know it's not the
most efficient thing to do because I'm kind of close
to the other springs, some points of
interest in the area, but I'm gonna go back
to the campground, take a break, have a light lunch because
I had a very light breakfast and my brain is still kind
of in the Eastern time zone. So by the time I get there, it's gonna be noon. I think there's a... I don't know where
that road goes. Should I, should I not? Nah, I'm not going. And as I said, I'm gonna
soak my red kidney beans. Yes, tonight I am making
Cuban style red kidney beans, Frijoles Colorados from scratch. (upbeat music) Well, it's a pretty hot day now, and this is what we're gonna do. And the lady at the
visitor's center, she highlighted, you
know, the highlights, and this is where we were
today at the Rocky Falls, but we're gonna go all the
way to Blue Spring here, and then go all the way
West to Alley Spring. That's the plan anyway, and we'll see what else
we find along the way. Let's go to the
Blues Spring area. And apparently, it gets
flooded around here. Crossing the Current River. This is supposed to be
another beautiful spring, but first let's stop here
by Powder Mill Campground. Yes, the campground is right
here next to the Current River, which I must say, today
has a pretty good current. I wonder if that's why
they named it that. This is very nice, but I think these places
are much more enjoyable with some kind of watercraft. Hmm, what is this? I guess it's not very deep and
that will be a river access on the other side. There's so many butterflies. Look at that. Wow. (suspenseful music) Blue Spring, 2 1/2
miles on this dirt road. It's a trail, I hope it's not too bad because I forgot to
bring my hiking shoes. It's not too bad. Well, it is getting worse, and pretty steep. What I'm gonna say is this
Blue Spring better be worth it. Well, here according
to the pamphlet, Blue Spring here is
Missouri's deepest. Missouri's deepest. If the Statue of Liberty
stood at the bottom, her torch would be under water. It's a half mile trail or so. It shouldn't be too bad, even though I didn't
bring my hiking shoes. So let's do it. Right here we are
at the trail head. There's the Colorado,
there's the bathroom, and there's the trail. Maybe there's some information
there at the trail head. And there's a picnic
area over there. They have an emergency
phone number, except that there's no
cell phone signal here. (laughs) (suspenseful music) That's a very faded sign with all the information about
how the spring came to be. There is the river right there, the Current River. I wonder if you would be
allowed to boondock over there. That would be cool. And as I said earlier, the way to do this is
with a small water craft. That's probably this
place called Well Hollow. Mmh, more research
shall go into this. Entering the Blue
Spring natural area. It's very beautiful. I definitely should have
brought my hiking shoes, which serves me well for not
reading the map before coming. (snickers) I hear water, rushing water. We must be close. There you go. Some information
about the spring. You can pause if you want. There we go.
(water flowing) Even the temperature is cooler
here right next to the water. (water flowing) And we made it to Blue Spring. It definitely has
a unique color. (gentle music) Well, yeah, I would say that was
worth the perilous drive and the short hike
over here for sure. And I've been taking
some pictures, and it's amazing what translates
well in still photography and what doesn't. Some things are better on video and some things you
just can't replicate. Your eyes sees it, but then the camera, it's
not 3D, I don't know. It's a mystery in a sense. Ah, let's head back. I gotta figure out
how to go there. I would love to figure out
how to boondock over there. There has to be a way. Uh, there's a trail
that goes right... Let's do it. Let's go. Let's come down here. Wow, cool view. Let me tell you something, I really like this place. This is called Alley
Spring and Mill. So let's explore. (map rattling) Alley Spring. We came through here, crossed that bridge. We're parked right here. So Alley Spring and Alley
Mill, that's where we're going, and it should be
right around there. I wonder what that building is. Oh, a schoolhouse. Let's check it out. And apparently they
have preserved it as it would have
looked in the past. It was actually moved here
from North of Eminence in 1971. Oh, that was a nice little
trip through time there going into the school. So I'll say, look
at the flagpole, it's like very rustic. All right, so let's go into
the main attraction over there. Please do not wade
or fish or swim. Uh, man, good thing I
forgot my bathing suit. Oh, my God, look at this. How pretty. This spring by the way, doesn't empty onto
the Current River, but to its largest
tributary, Jacks Fork. And here's the famous
Red Mill, Alley Mill. Very modern for its time. It was very large,
had steel rollers, and it harnessed the
energy from the spring by using some kind of turbine, which gave the miller the
ability to control the speed. Are these the milling
machines, perhaps? (water flowing) That must be the gate that regulated how much
water went into the turbine, and the view down stream
is just beautiful. A lot of water under the mill. 81 million gallons
a day to be exact. Let's do the spring
branch trail. I have only one
explanation for this. These people wanna
keep it a secret, and they don't want
anybody to come here. I mean, this place is
totally under the radar, this whole area. I'm so glad I came. Wow. I'm so glad I can
share it with you. Check out all these butterflies. I've seen them all
over the place. I just realized it
is like a loop trail so that the car is right there. So I think your brain
can only process so much beauty in one day, so let's quit while we're ahead, go back to the RV, make some beans, and tomorrow we go to Branson. Branson, Missouri Here we go, carrots, green pepper,
chorizo, smoked pork shank. Let's remove the casing on
that chorizo and slice it. Chopping an onion. Now, let's do some garlic too. And hello Instant Pot
next time, you guys, slightly longer
cable will be nice. I'm just saying,
I'm just saying. Funny thing, I have
like 10 of these cables back in Miami, you know, of different lengths and gauges, but not here. (objects clattering) Here we go. Let's remove this. Then I set it on saute or more. It doesn't matter how long because we're gonna change
it to pressure before that, but on saute all the way. Chorizo. Let's add the pork shank. Let's add the onions and
the peppers and the garlic. And they keep forgetting this
instant pot is a lot smaller than the one I have at home. I'm gonna have to remove
one of the pork shanks because I'm running out
of room here very quickly. I'm gonna add my cooking
wine, not too much, but just a little bit. Put a little bit of salt. Not too much because this
stuff is salty already. Just a little tad of cumin. Oops, maybe I over did it. This stuff doesn't really
require a lot of cumin, but it does require a
little bit of oregano. (food simmering) (beeps) And you know, paprika... Although, that Spanish Chorizo
already has a lot of paprika. I'm gonna add just
a little bit more, because it wouldn't be me
if it didn't have paprika. And I'm gonna add that saffron. Let's add our pre-soaked beans. What is that marking
on the thing that says, I think that's pretty much it. We shouldn't fill it
up any more than that. Maybe a little bit
more, but just. And now we're gonna fill it
up with water to that marking, and I'll put this in a bag
and put it on the fridge, and tomorrow when
we get to Branson, I can do another batch. We'll add the water, cook it for about an
hour at high pressure, and that's it. Oh, I forgot a major ingredient, just a little bit
of tomato sauce. (objects clattering)
Just a tad, not too much. (groans) (phone rings)
Who closes these things? Who's Face Timing? I don't know that number. Hmm, I think it looks good. Of course, this would normally
have potatoes and carrots, but they didn't fit. I'm gonna add a lot of that ham because that's gonna be my
protein for today, you know. All right, see
you guys tomorrow. Well, today, we have about a
three-hour drive to Branson. (soft country-pop music) It is a momentous occasion: The Colorado has
reached 50,000 miles in less than two years! Well, it's always
good to know, to see, get off the highway
for a little bit and see what the
towns look like. And this is not just any town. - [GPS] Continue for five miles. - Oh, look at that
tiny post office. That's like that one in the
Everglades almost. (laughing) The reason why we're here, this is the Laura Ingalls home; not where she lived as a child and the inspiration
for her books, but this is where
she actually wrote most of the "Little House
on the Prairie" books. This is actually the Laura
Ingalls Wilder Memorial Highway, going into the
town of Mansfield. Coming up here to the
left, Rocky Ridge Farm, where the prodigious
author lived from 1896 until
her death in 1957. It was here that she wrote the famous "Little House
on the Prairie" series. We're gonna continue,
and tell you why. Besides, I'm not in
a museum mood today. If I had plenty of time,
I would have done it, but I wanna get to Branson. I have a bunch of stuff to do. And today, we have
the livestream, so I wanna get
prepared for that. All right, I think I'm going
to stop here for a few minutes, take a break, and then we
continue towards Branson. We're parked in front of a mural
depicting Rocky Ridge Farm. And here we've got some of
the old downtown buildings. This was just a quick
stop here in Mansfield. There, the park
across the street has a bust of Laura
Ingalls Wilder, the town's most famous
former resident, for sure. Let me tell you something:
Busy little town here. Let's continue. We're a little over an hour
away from Branson, Missouri. (soft country-pop
music continuing) Check it out! We must be in Amish country. Here, we start seeing
all these billboards advertising the many
Branson attractions. And all of a sudden, I realize coming here
may have been a mistake. These are not the
kinds of things I want to be doing
during a pandemic. It looks like it would be a
lot of fun during normal times, just not in the summer of 2020. It is a beautiful drive
on this final stretch between Springfield and
Branson with all these hills, all these part of
the Ozark Mountains. Here we are, Branson. And we're gonna stay at
the Lakeside RV Park, which, I believe it
is owned by the city. Sites are a little tight, but
it is very centrally located, and they even have
a trolley stop. After all this, I
realized I'm backwards. It is actually a
pull-through site. (tree trimmer buzzing) Yeah, the city is
trimming some trees, so not the quietest
of afternoons. How about a quick flight? (soft electronic music) They have this marina here
and several floating docks where people can fish. Very nice for a city park. Beautiful area. I can't wait to
explore more tomorrow. Let's go for a walk
around the park. (soft ambient music) This is actually very nice. And there comes the trolley. (train rumbling) It wouldn't be a proper RV park if it didn't have a train
track right next to it, right? (soft jazzy keyboard music) Oh no, we've got rain coming. Breakfast of champions. Well, good morning! Just making sure
the door is locked. All right, yesterday,
when I arrived, this park actually didn't
give me the best impression because we are very tightly
packed together here, which is expected for a
city RV park, in a sense. But apparently, we
are like right there; you know, right in the
middle of things downtown, so that might make up for it. And... Also, it may have been
like... if I wanted this trip to be the "social
distance" trip, (laughing) it might have been a bad
idea to come to Branson because this is a
very touristy town. - [GPS] Boxcar Willie Drive,
Branson Landing Boulevard. - We're gonna try to stick to
nature as much as possible. But first, there's
the Branson mural. At some point before we leave, I would love to take a selfie
with it, but we'll see. You know, expectations
are a funny thing. I didn't know what to
expect when we came here, but somehow it wasn't this. Yeah, I'm thinking Branson was perhaps an
unnecessary detour here. Yeah, let's try and do
something that involves nature. And I was reading online
about things to do in Branson, and there is this
Waterfall Trail. It is supposed to be right here, next to the Westgate Resort. (pulsing electronic music) Well, yeah, the parking lot is in that industrial
area over there, and apparently it's right there. Yeah, and there's the Westgate. But, yeah, this is it. This is the Waterfall
Trail, so let's do it. (soft piano music) Our luck with waterfalls this
trip has been hit or miss, especially at the beginning,
but I have high hopes. Hmm, perhaps wishful thinking. It's pretty cool. I mean, it's an urban trail; this is like in the
middle of the city. A little slippery. I definitely should've
brought my hiking shoes. I wonder how this got here. I mean... (chuckling) You would really have
to go out of your way to have this old
washing machine here. I don't see a whole lot
of water rushing through, so I'm thinking this Waterfall
Trail might be a bust. But, hey, it is the journey
that matters, right? Ladies and gentlemen, I
introduce to you the waterfall. They've gotta be kidding me. I mean, it is beautiful, but there must be a
drought or something. It is technically
a waterfall, right? If that is the only waterfall,
I'm gonna be disappointed. But maybe there's
more coming this way. It's very wet and slippery,
that's the only thing. Hmm, I wonder if they are
as flabbergasted as I am. Don't be fooled by the
apparent wilderness. We're right next to the resort. Doesn't seem very remote
now, does it? (laughing) Hmm, that looks promising. Okay, this wasn't
so bad after all. (water trickling) It almost looks more like a
fountain than a waterfall. Actually, yeah, it is. This pond here, it's like a dam. It's somewhat artificial,
as you can see. But still... Not the most roaring
of cascades, but... Oh, check it out; these
people at the resort, they have a view. All right, let's continue. Let's continue going upstream. Maybe there's (pausing) another even more impressive
waterfall coming up. Let's walk a little more,
just for the exercise, but I think this is
as good as it gets. Oh, wow, check it out! This is not bad! (water trickling) (soft piano music continuing) Yeah, I remember
the washing machine. It's pretty cool. (energetic electronic music) All right, let's go
for a little ride. I was speaking to my neighbors,
and they recommended I do US Highway 165. We'll see. Supposed to be a pretty
drive around the lake. Let's check out
Hollister here real quick and historic Downing Street, also known as the
English Village. It is lovely, actually. Let's park, if only
for a few minutes. Very nice. Much quieter than Branson on
the other side of the river. Scenic view! Yeah, let's check it out! Definitely, they
were not kidding. We can see the White River,
Table Rock Dam in the distance, and the notably higher water
level of Table Rock Lake. It is, shall I say, a
most commanding view and the highlight
of Branson so far. The castle-like building
perched atop the hill is none other than Chateau
on the Lake Resort. (slow electronic music) Let's continue towards
Table Rock Lake State Park. This was actually on the
shortlist of places to camp, but it is the weekend. (energetic electronic music) How nice, even on this
somewhat cloudy day; everybody enjoying the lake. Let's go for a walk on
the Lakeshore Trail. Hmm, here's the boat ramp. This is almost as
entertaining to watch as someone backing
in their trailer at the campground
for the first time. Okay, I won't be rude. Let's continue. (light tropical music) Ah, nevermind. I just can't help myself. There's a trail here that
goes down to the water. (waves lapping) This is so nice. It is choppy, probably in part due to the
wake from all the boats. I betcha it makes for
a bumpy canoe ride. Actually, a pontoon boat is
probably the way to go here to spend the day on the water. Oh, that's gotta be that
Showboat Branson Belle. They do dinner cruises
with entertainment. Supposed to be really good. Yeah, when I grow up,
I want a pontoon boat; or even better, a
friend with one. Yeah, apparently this is the... The local escape from
the sweltering heat here. Look at that. Yes, I'll betcha that's the... The Table Rock. (light tropical
music continuing) And this here to the right
must be the campground. It doesn't even seem to be full. Yeah, next time, I
have to make sure I make reservations
here way ahead of time. This here to the left is
called Peninsula Lookout on Moonshine Beach. Let's stop for a few
minutes to enjoy the views. Table Rock Lake here was
created in the mid-to-late-1950s after the construction
of Table Rock Dam, so, yes, it is artificial. And its original purpose
was flood control on the White River and
hydroelectric power, but it is definitely
also a super popular lake for recreational activities. (soft upbeat music) Let's go up to
one of these hills to get a view from
the higher ground. Let's stop here. This seems to be like
a real estate office for some new development
down there called Nantucket. But actually, the views
from the parking lot are pretty spectacular. There's the dam. There's Moonshine
Beach, right there. There's the showboat and that little
island in the lake. And there's the
Chateau on the Lake. Hello there, excuse me. Oh, look at that. That colorful
development down there must be that Nantucket they
are trying to sell here. Let's go check it out. (soft upbeat music continuing) It is cute. Apparently, it's like a resort,
a timeshare kind of deal, something I've learned
to stay away from. But people buy into
them all the time, so I assume it might
work for some people. I'm just gonna drive around
the lake a little longer, but I don't think we're
gonna stop anywhere. Well, I think we've had
enough fun for one day, even though we haven't
really done much. But tomorrow? Tomorrow is another day, and we have a long
drive ahead of us. And we're back in Branson. I'm just starting to realize what a great campground
this really is, right here, right next
to the White River. And we've got all these folks
here hanging out all the time, lots of them. (soft ambient music) (boat engine humming) This would be a perfect
way to end our day, except that I still have to cook that second batch
of red kidney beans. Don't tell me you
forgot about those. (soft jazzy piano music) I'll chop an onion. Salt. Pepper. Our two leftover pork shanks. And this time, we're gonna do
some celery and some carrots. Before I slice the carrots, let's add some of that
vino seco cooking wine and the rest of the beans. Water. I'm out of real garlic,
so this will have to do. Cumin, just a tad. Oregano; you know,
the usual stuff. And lots of paprika, since I'm out of that
Spanish chorizo sausage. A little bit of tomato sauce,
and now we chop the carrots. High pressure for an hour
and we should be good. (steam hissing) Probably not as great as the one we did a
couple of days ago, but I'm sure it's
still pretty good. - Well, we'll watch
your Missouri video. Nice to meet you.
- All right. Nice to meet you too.
- Thank you very much. - On the road again. Oh, big fifth wheel
coming this way. Let me make sure that
everything's buttoned up. (whimsical piano music) I think we're good. Well, today-- By the way, it's
really hot here in-- - [GPS] Head west on
Boxcar Willie Drive. - Hot and humid in this part
of Missouri, here in Branson. I mean, totally different compared to the other
part of Missouri we were. I don't know if it is the area or just that the
climate changed, but, man, it's hot and humid, even at 9 a.m., 9:21. I'm 21 minutes behind schedule, which is not bad
for me, actually. - [GPS] Turn left onto
Boxcar Willie Drive, Branson Landing Boulevard. - Well, we're gonna--
- Turn left onto Boxcar Willie Drive,
Branson Landing Boulevard. - We're gonna do a
little bit of Route 66, because that's what you do. I've never done the Missouri
portion of Route 66. I'm gonna go... I'm going to Cuba. (upbeat keyboard music) Goodbye, Branson,
barely knew ya. We will return one of these days when the circumstances change and we're able to
enjoy you properly and find out everything
you have to offer. But now, the journey
must continue. We are going to do a
section of Route 66, which, around here, goes
almost parallel to I-44. And then, onto Iowa. I just love this drive
here on US-65 North coming out of Branson will
all these rolling hills. Very cool road, fun to drive, perhaps even better
if you're not towing. It is kinda hard to keep up
with all these ups and downs. We are now on the "Mother
Road," Historic Route 66. Yeah, this part of Route 66,
not all that interesting, and it runs parallel
to, (pausing) to I-44. So, I don't know, probably after
our next point of interest, I'm just gonna take
I-44, to be honest. Not a whole lot
going on this area. But here in Marshfield, there's
something we want to see. This is the birthplace of
astronomer Edwin Hubble, responsible a
long, long time ago for the discovery
of other galaxies far, far away from
our own Milky Way. They were originally
believed to be nebula. And if the name rings a bell, well, yeah, the Hubble Space
Telescope was named after him. And here in Marshfield,
they have a replica. Here we are. Route 66. And the reason we've stopped
here (pausing) is that. Here we have it, a
one-quarter scale model of the Hubble Telescope that has been orbiting
the Earth since 1990. It is very cool
to see, actually, even if it's not life-size, here, in front of the
Webster County Courthouse in sleepy downtown Marshfield, although, to be fair,
it is Sunday morning. I am sure it would
be a lot livelier at a different time
on a different day. Here's a memorial dedicated
to Webster County veterans. That's a cool-looking
gun, if you ask me. Well, we continue, although we are going to use
I-40 this time because... Otherwise, we'll never make it. And apparently, Route 66, except for these few
points of interest, like the Hubble Telescope,
which was super cool, it isn't really all that-- - [GPS] In 400 feet, turn
right onto West Jackson Street. - And I've totally lost
my train of thought. (soft banjo music) Check it out, it is the
World's Largest Gift Store! Isn't that awesome? $1.66 for gas. That's some kind of bargain. It's super crowded, though. We're gonna go
back onto Route 66. - [GPS] Turn right
onto State Highway F, then turn left onto
Historic US-66 East. - There you go. You're not gonna believe
where we're going: Cuba! Who'd have thought I
would go back to Cuba? As you probably know by now, I was born in the
island of Cuba, and I thought it
would be appropriate to visit its
Missourian namesake. Now, look to the left. If you blink, you're
gonna miss it. It is the world's
second-largest rocking chair. And we missed it. I could have parked too. Well, we missed it. It was supposed to be back
there and I didn't stop. I didn't see anywhere to... It was supposed to be the
world's largest rocking chair. Cuba here is actually
famous for its murals and a particular barbecue place. I don't know, but
I get a feeling we may have missed a couple
of the murals along the way because I didn't see that many. Well, at the very least, I'm gonna take a
selfie with the sign. But first, there's that famous
Missouri Hicks Bar-B-Que, and it looks like there
may be oversize parking here to the right. You know what, I don't
think this is gonna work. This place is packed and it's gonna be an
incredibly long wait. Yeah, this is not gonna work. Let's continue. Yeah. Yeah, we'll be back someday. You see, I'm gonna
leave St. Louis, I'm gonna leave Missouri
without eating barbecue, but it is what it is. As I said, at least let me
take a selfie with the sign. (photo shutter snapping) Well, from here on, it is
going to be nearly nonstop. We're basically out of time. (soft banjo music continuing) Four long hours later, we are arriving at
Wakonda State Park, near La Grange in Missouri. All right, Wakonda State Park. (metal rattling) Yeah, excuse the Berkey Filter. It's making noise
and falling apart. Basic site. Reservable site, oops. Let's see what this is. Full hookup, reservable, R. Register and pay
fee at the area. Registered campers
only, no day use, quiet hours 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. That's the plan. Let's see, Site 103
I'm supposed to be. 100... 114... 101... 102... Wow, this place
(pausing) is awesome! (soft upbeat piano music) Definitely one of the
better campgrounds we've ever stayed at. Definitely have to
write this one down. Look what I just discovered. We have our own little
private beach here. Just for us. (gasping) (water splashing) Actually, (pausing)
it's not cold at all. I was really tempted
to jump in the water, but it's kind of murky and
there's the warning sign that there may be,
you know, debris, unacceptable bacteria
levels, who knows. So, I'm not gonna jump in. But let me tell you... To launch a kayak or maybe if I was into fishing,
maybe fishing, I don't know. But... Definitely, this
campground is top 10 of all places I've been to, I'd say almost pretty
much in the whole country. So... I will definitely
be returning here, and I could spend
a whole week here. I mean, we have full hookups, so I could spend
a whole week here. And (pausing) Hannibal
is very close, so we could visit all the
historic Mark Twain stuff. And, yeah, what a... What a great way to say
goodbye to Missouri, because tomorrow
we're saying goodbye. But (pausing) I'm definitely
coming back to this place, maybe even on the way
back from this trip. Yeah. (laughing) What a great discovery. By the way, thank you, Benjamin
of "Geezer at the Wheel" for, (pausing) for
discovering this. Yes, it was from John Benjamin,
"Geezer at the Wheel," that I learned about this place. He posted something on Facebook and I said, "Let me add this
to my map," and I'm glad I did. I am pleasantly surprised. Remember, Site
103 for next time, although all these sites here next to the lake
are probably good. (soft upbeat electronic music) Oh, I'm hungry, so I'm just
gonna grill some pork chops. (grill sizzling) I think I may have
overcooked 'em. And with that, another
day comes to an end. Let's add some
stickers to our map. (soft ambient music) It is time to go. Well, I've been
almost a whole week here in the Show-Me State, and all I gotta say
is show me more. I really liked what I've seen and (pausing) can't
wait to come back. Today, we're going to Iowa. (smooth keyboard music) It is the Mark Twain
Casino. (chuckling) Well, yeah, they are
definitely taking advantage of Mark Twain's legacy around
here, with good reason. And I know, I know, we're
so close to Hannibal, Mark Twain's boyhood home, the
inspiration for Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn,
and so many others. We were there briefly last year as part of an unplanned detour and we'll be back
again, I promise. But now, Iowa awaits, and Minnesota, North
Dakota, Montana, Idaho. Let me tell you, the
summer of 2020 road trip is not even halfway there yet. Someone recommended this
RV park here in Canton and I'm just gonna
stop by real quick. Maybe we can stay
here on the way back. It is called Mississippi Park: $20 a night with
water and electric. They have a garbage dumpster
and a sewer dump station. Kind of honor system; you write 'em a check
and drop it in the box. And I believe you can also
call the police department to make a reservation. They have this picnic area
here and the playground. Yeah, we're definitely
staying here on the way back if the route brings us this way. Here's the sign
with all the info. Let me take a picture. As we cross the Des Moines
River, we are now in Iowa! But more about that
on the next episode. Until then, thank you
so much for watching, and see you on the road. (smooth keyboard music) ♪ I'm riding ♪ Riding in my RV
