Thursday, April 5, 2018

Branson, Missouri

We’ve made our way to Branson.  It’s known as a family vacation destination.  There used to be mostly country music performers but now there are a lot of other things to see and do.  Mark and I have never been particularly interested in coming here but since it’s on our way to our next stop we decided to go ahead and stay a few days.

We started seeing the billboards before we left Arkansas!



Branson is just a few miles from the state line.  We only drove about 200 miles today so we got parked and settled at our RV site around noon.  I needed to do laundry so Mark found an RV park with laundry facilities.  We’re staying at America’s Best Campground (ABC).  It’s not too pricey and is really nice ($40 per night with Good Sam discount).


The weather is not very nice (cold, cloudy) so we looked for something indoors to do.  We ate a quick lunch then headed to the Butterfly Palace.


Entry fee was $18 (senior rate plus a $2 off coupon).  We have found that there are discount coupons for everything, including restaurants.  You get a wristband that is good for 3 days.  There are a lot of things to do in the Butterfly Palace. 

We headed straight for the Butterfly Aviary.  The brochure said to wear bright clothing so the butterflies will land on you.

Brightest shirt I could find - it worked!

When you first walk into the aviary you can pick up a complementary nectar flower.

I think the tube is filled with Gatorade.


There were lots of butterflies flying around


I was holding 2 nectar flowers and had
several butterflies landing.




Next we went to the Rainforest Theater to watch the Hidden World of Butterflies.  It tells the story of how the butterflies come from Costa Rica to the Butterfly Palace.  After watching the movie we went through the Emerald Forest Mirror Maze.

Left? Right? Straight ahead? Backtrack a bit. 
Did I mention it was dark in the maze?

We went back to the Rainforest Theater to watch 3D Flight of the Butterflies.


The 3D movie was pretty good although I don’t think the 3D glasses were the best.

After the 3D movie we went back into the Butterfly Aviary.


Chrysalis room.


There is more here than just butterflies.

 Beautiful water feature with orchids and ferns.

 Closed.

Open.


We found the Living Rainforest Science Center very interesting.  I love looking at the critters!

After seeing the Poison Dart Frogs 
we’re ready to get back to Costa Rica!

Red Bellied Piranha
They looked like they had gold speckles.

Panther Chameleon (12-24 inches long).

Can you tell why this is called an Eyelash Gecko?

Meet Betty (Formerly known as Buddy - until she laid an egg!).  She was in the Live Critter Encounter show:

We got to pet Betty.


Betty’s favorite foods are peaches and cockroaches - Yum!

After playing with Betty we went back through the Mirrow Maze.  This time we went in the exit.  It was a little easier the second time through.  We were quicker at finding the openings.

Last stop - the gift shop.  It’s also the first stop since you have to walk through the gift shop in order to buy your tickets.

Gift shop.

Of course I bought a magnet!


If you enjoy butterflies this is a great place to visit.

The next day we went to the Acrobats of Shanghai show.  It was quite good.  Although we were on the 10th row, my little camera just couldn't focus.  I only had a couple of pictures worth showing.





These are the types of shows we like.
Teri

3 comments:

  1. We'll add the Butterfly Palace to our list. Looks cool.
    Peaches and cockroaches, with fresh frog main course sound delicious.

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  2. Our list just keeps growing too!

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  3. Last time though there We visited with Joe and Barb Sutherland who have a lovely house there. They have a a tour of the town. We alsostayed at Tablerock State Park. Lovely.

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