The trip to from Miami, Oklahoma to Branson, Missouri was uneventful. We drove a far amount on old Route 66. The highway from Springfield, Missouri to Branson, Missouri turned out to be one of the most difficult areas to pull a trailer that we encountered, because it was so hilly. The elevation was all below 1,500' but it was up one hill then down. There were no significant level sections at the bottom of most of the hills. My truck shifted out of overdrive more in that 40 miles than it did in any 250 mile drive, at elevations above 5,000 ', out west.
A guy at the campground in Branson guided us to our campsite and positioned us on the campsite. The truck stuck out in the road and I was hurrying to get unhooked so that we didn't block the road more than necessary. The site was the most unlevel, side to side, site we encountered the entire trip, we needed to run the tires on one side up on 1.5" of leveling blocks. Got that done, the truck unhooked and out of the way, the corner jacks down, and told Kathy to put the slide out. It couldn't go all the way out because it would have hit the electrical box. Screwed the corner jacks back up, hooked the truck back up, moved ahead 3" and then repeated the unhooking and set up process. It tested my patience.
All we did that evening was walk over to Montana Mike's for a mediocre, but expensive steak. The next day we walked up and down a fair portion of the Branson main drag. We had an overpriced lunch at a spaghetti place and walked around a little more. I looked over a list of entertainers and the only one whose name I knew was Mickey Gilly. Tickets to see him and another guy were $40 each. Kathy is not a country music fan, and I didn't his act was probably worth $40, so we stayed at the trailer Sunday night. Monday morning we drove further out along the main drag before returning to the campground, hooking back up and heading for Centertown.
I know many people like going to Branson. Kathy & I are not among them. I can honestly say that if someone offered me a limo ride to Branson & provided me with a free nights stay at a hotel, I would not accept. After 5 years in Missouri it was our first trip to Branson. No we can say, been there, done that, and cross it off or list.
During our 26 days on the road we traveled 3,765 miles. Over 3,000 of those miles were pulling the trailer. We were at elevations as high as 9,100'. We had no significant problems. We had excellent weather almost the entire trip. I could easily go back to Canyon Country in Utah again and spend more time there. The 2 nights in Branson were a waste (other than that we won't need to wonder about it). I could have easily spent another week in southern Utah. To bad that it is a minimum 1,300 mile trip to get there.
We averaged 10.3 mpg during the trip. It would have been a little higher but for the biodiesel we had to purchase. My truck does not like biodiesel. We filled up once with fuel that contained "up to 20% biodiesel" and twice with fuel that contained (up to 5% biodiesel). Fuel mileage was less than 8.5 mpg on those tankfuls. We weren't climbing hills more than normal and we were at elevations less than 5,000' when we got the poor fuel economy.
The least we paid for fuel was $2.399/gal, the most was $2.999/gal. A lot of the big name truck stops had fuel priced at over $3/gal but we managed to find small truck stops or stations where we could get the trailer in and out without a problem. The only oil lost was what I wiped off the stick when I checked it every day. We did get a low coolant light when we left Branson. I poured a cup of distilled water into the overflow reservoir and that seemed to solve the problem. Parked on level here at home there appears to be plenty of fluid in the overflow reservoir. I will have to keep an eye on it to see if maybe the low coolant sensor is bad.
It was a great trip. I was ready to be home for a while. Kathy was REALLY ready to be home by the end of the trip.
God is good, may He bless you and yours.
