Shepherd of the Hills car show

We passed The Shepherd of the Hills Homestead, outdoor theatre, & Inspiration Point (a 230 feet tall, precast concrete tower & viewing platform on top of the hills) whenever we went to Downtown Branson or back to our condo. On Thursday we noticed that the Branson Strip was covered with tyre marks & that there were literally hundreds of chairs placed on either side of the road combined with a dramatic increase in the number of 'cool' cars cruising around Branson. It turns out that there was an annual car show (held at Inspiration point) & cruise in Branson (which I new absolutely nothing about, no really I didn't). On our last day everyone let me have a quick look around (we would have all looked around the show but it was $13 per ticket) so that I could get my car 'fix'.

As well as some very cool cars, there seemed to be an abundance of Dukes of Hazzard related vehicles including four (!) General Lee Dodge Chargers, Daisy Duke's Jeep & one of the Hazzard County Sheriff's patrol cars. Rick Hurst (who played Deputy Cletus Hogg in the show) was also there & I had my photo taken with him in front of the Sheriff's car - definitely the highlight of the show!

The Shepherd of the Hills area was made famous by the book of the same name (first published in 1907) by Harold Bell Wright’. This became an immediate best-seller & one of the first million-selling books by an American author. It was translated into seven different languages & made into four movies (one starring John Wayne in his first colour film). The book helped to start tourism in Branson & the Ozark Mountain region of Missouri. The book was based upon actual people & events during the end of the 1800’s telling the tale of the complicated lives led by the Ozark pioneers, including the Baldknobber gang's on their quest to control the region.