DESTINATION: JOPLIN, MO
Leaving Branson
After experiencing the epicenter of concrete country entertainment, Carl and I took some photos as we left, not quite believing what we were actually seeing. Branson was bizarre, but certainly enjoyed by a multitude of families…a very family oriented town for all those vacationers in the Ozarks. Here are some of the street scenes we saw:
Red Oak 2
Wow! This. Was. Awesome.
Red Oak 2 is a tiny, true little village that is in a time warp of early 1920-1945. It came into existence because an artist, Lowell Davis, who was born and raised in Red Oak, MO had a successful career in Texas and when he came back home to live in Red Oak it was like a ghost town…so he bought and moved most of the original buildings from Red Oak down the road 23 miles to acreage he had purchased and reconstructed his little town on his own property. People actually live here in some of the repurposed buildings.
I could NOT stop taking photos of this place…it was like we were walking through this artist’s canvas of structures, sculptures and art. The whole place was so authentic but at the same time, dreamlike. Locally Lowell Davis was dubbed the “Norman Rockwell of the Midwest”. I think his art had a touch of Dr Seuss joviality to it as well. It was so delightful!
Buildings in Red Oak 2
Carthage, Jasper County
Upon leaving Red Oak 2, we drove to Carthage and when we entered their town square, my jaw dropped when I saw their courthouse. I’ve been in many courthouses but never have I seen such a unique, stunning county courthouse. This was a Saturday night and the doors were all opened with people walking in and out. There was a small festival going on with the local sheriff’s office having a fundraiser for Shopping with a Sheriff program. We went in and got a great tour by several locals.
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