Brad and I often laugh at how much time we spend on the road going to some place or another. We have a very different idea from a lot of people about how many hours or how many miles we are willing to be on the road to get somewhere. And this last weekend was no exception as we made a super quick trip to Missouri for one day at Silver Dollar City. We left Friday after work and drove the 8 hours to Branson, Missouri to meet up with Brad’s mom and brother. His brother wanted to introduce us to his new girlfriend and for all of us to spend a day together at the park that is their family favorite. Since it was so important to him, we made the long drive over to spend one day at the park before turning around and driving home on Sunday.

Silver Dollar City is celebrating 60 years of family fun this year. This park is themed after early 1800’s American frontier and features many craftsman who showcase their skills, delicious home cooking of favorite comfort foods, folk music played by local bands, and an array of thrill rides for any age to enjoy. I love that the people who work here do so because they love it here. Most of them are retired who either have a craft skill they love to share or they are people who just love being part of the old time atmosphere and can think of no greater job then playing a sheriff outside the ice cream parlor or the hillbilly laying on the ground giving directions to passersby.

We started the day riding the train around the park where we were stopped by a hillbilly train robber and his witty back and forth with the conductor. We enjoyed some of the thrill rides and played in the the kids area where Tessa got to meet Lucky, the firehouse dalmatian that serves as the park’s character to meet. And then made our way to Mystic River Falls which is probably my new favorite raft ride as it takes the raft up an elevator, then down a winding slide, and then dropping into the rapids. We also rode the boats through the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn area.

And no visit to Silver Dollar City is complete without a stop by the taffy store where you can watch someone pull the taffy, filling the store to bursting with different flavors of sticky delight. We grabbed our pail to fill up with different flavors of taffy and stopped by to watch the process at work.

Every time I come to Silver Dollar City, I understand more and more why this has become such a Branson favorite. It really offers something for everyone to enjoy. For more on this great park, check out: silverdollarcity