On My Way to the Escapade

The Escapees Escapade in Sedalia, MO started yesterday, but I made several stops on the way there. The first, in Harrison, AR, I stayed at a real nice Moose Lodge. The have dances with live bands every Friday and Saturday night. But the main attraction this weekend was the annual Crawdad Days. The weather wasn't great, but it stopped long enough to enjoy the festivities.


There were lots of crawdads available.


And of course that means lots of carcasses everywhere. Apparently only the tail gets eaten.


I was most interested in the Cardboard Regatta, a race for boats made entirely of cardboard. Unfortunately, only 2 boats showed up.


This professional-looking cardboard kayak --


And this sad, but more realistic square box-of-a-boat.


There was really no contest --


And the winner was soon named.



I stopped in Branson to join up with the Escapee Solos at their Pre-Escapade Rally. Unlike last year, I only went to see one show. I was hoping they just told the story and didn't do any preaching, but no such luck. However, it was worth seeing just for the sheer magnitude of the set.



In the first act, the huge ark gets built.



Finally after 120 years, the animals are loaded up. They had real camels, llamas, horses, cows, sheep, peacocks, and some other smaller animals.



The second act opens with a 270-degree view of the inside of the ark. Hundreds of animals are shown, each pair in their own compartment. Some are real, but most are animated. I'm sorry these illegal videos are not any better, but I had to take them on the sly.


One last overnight stop was spent at the huge Bass Pro store in Springfield. Bear? What bear?