Day 3: Cuba, MO to Joplin, MO by way of Branson, MO and Northern AR

Miles Traveled: 361
Travel Time: 10 hours, 30 minutes
Pictures Taken: 58

Today we headed back out on Route 66 and through a lot of sleepy towns and farmland.  The first thing we saw was the world's largest rocking chair!  Unfortunately, it was bolted to the ground and they didn't allow climbing on it.  Boo.

A little further on, we came to Rolla, MO, home to Missouri University of Science and Technology.  Put a bunch of engineers in the middle of nowhere, and well....you get some interesting things! Including Missouri's first nuclear reactor (which we did not see) and a scale model replica of Stonehenge carved not by hand, but by water jets! 

 I'm not sure I've ever seen a sign before that said to not stand on the analemma!

There were not as many quirky things to stop for on this leg of the journey, but there were some amazing views as the landscape got hillier.

Also some really interesting mushrooms!

However, Marshfield, MO is the home of Edwin Hubble! Who knew?  There is a 1/4 scale model of the Hubble Telescope on the town square.

There is also a pretty cool mural nearby.

When we got to Springfield, MO, we decided to take a bit of a detour and see a bit of famous Branson.  We can now say we've seen it.  Really not my cup of tea.  At all.  The only thing we found remotely worth seeing was the self-proclaimed World's Largest Toy Store.

Which was closed, of course (it was a Sunday).

As soon as the perpetual traffic jam allowed, we got out of Branson and dipped down into Arkansas just to say we'd been in that state.  We decided to drive west for a while along the northern edge of the state before heading back up into MO.

When I saw the signs for Onyx Cave, I knew we had to stop!  After a winding three mile drive through woods, we found it -  a mere 30 minutes before closing time!  Woo!  The cave was pretty cool and the price of admission included a narrated tour - the proprietor handed out large radio-operator-type headphones that picked up radio signals from eight stations along the way in the cave - to start each narration, there was a green button to push which also turned on lights to illuminate strategic spots within the cave.

The drive back to MO was along some steep and windy roads, but the views were incomparable!  It was pretty hazy (95F and what felt like at least 90% humidity), and it did rain for a short while, but it was beautiful and breathtaking when the road afforded a view of the valleys below us, carpeted in trees.

Tomorrow it's off westward to see a teensy bit of Kansas and a great deal of Oklahoma!