I will be making several trips related to the project in the upcoming weeks and will continue to post my weekly columns. Stay tuned.
Down The Road with the Original Buffalo Dale
Welcome back As you read this, Loretta and I have completed a quick trip three hours east to Branson, MO which will be the kick-off of several travel adventures during the upcoming holidays which I hope you will find interesting.
Today I’m at the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation family park or as we all know it, Silver Dollar City. I’m sure you have seen the TV ads showing the millions of Christmas lights decorating the park. You may also have seen excerpts from their Christmas shows and highlights from the numerous special events and giveaways they are featuring for the season. You may also be thinking that it might be too cold for a fall trip to the park so here’s a tip I learned on a trip there a few years back.
The Ozark Mountains trap heat in the valleys and Silver Dollar City also provides hundreds of outdoor heaters throughout the park so it is actually much warmer than you would expect, adding something even more magical to this place that has been making memories for families since the first show opened down in the holler.
Next week I’ll be bringing you the full story about sharing Thanksgiving in Branson with thousands of fellow Americans. Following that we will be returning to Austin and Dora Padilla’s place in San Luis, CO to do a follow-up on the story about mutilated cattle I wrote three years ago. While we’re in that area of Colorado and New Mexico along the Continental divide we’ll be stopping a night at the Hotel St. James in Cimmaron, New Mexico which paranormal experts all agree is haunted by ghosts from the past. We are also planning stays in Angel Fire, Eagle Nest and Red River, NM which is Prairie Song owner Marilyn Tate’s favorite place in the world.
If you missed the story I wrote awhile back about Angel Fire here are a few quick facts:
Ø The base elevation of the slopes is 8600 ft. with a climb to 10,677 ft.
Ø They can cover up to 52% of the mountain with manmade snow and have 5 high speed lifts and two sun kid wonder carpets
Ø 85% of the trails are groomed for beginner and what I call family skiing that everyone can handle
Ø Angel Fire has the only nighttime skiing in New Mexico and has a shuttle service proving easy pick-up and drop off at different locations throughout the resort
Ø The resort also features a ski in/ski-out lodge, top of the line food joints and short life lines, all within a short ten hour drive.
This New Year I am looking forward to bringing you more interesting and historical stories from places near and far. Till next week I’ll see ya down the road….
Dale,
I first visited Table Rock Lake And Silver Dollar City in 1963 not too many years after the lake was created. We used to walk into the park free of charge and if you wanted to go up into say, Huck Finns Hideaway, You payed a quarter to the man there at the door and walked up the spiral staircase.!!!
Jim