Missouri Roadtrip Favorites

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Last week we traveled to Missouri for a baseball tournament but ended up having some fun along the way.  Sharing our top adventures today!

Bass Pro Shop

The best free fun can always be found at Bass Pro.  The Springfield location was the original Bass Pro and it is so big!  There was so much fun inside from looking at trophy game mounts to seeing live animals to viewing a gun museum.  Bonus fun when they have a turtle named Shelly!  

Silver Dollar City

We headed to Silver Dollar City for $50 Thursday and were a little worried about getting our monies worth since we didn’t have a full day.  It was so nice!  No lines, lots of shade and some of the best roller coasters I’ve ever ridden.  The Outlaw and Powder Keg were my favorites!  I’m sure there are times when it is way more crowded but we felt like it was such a great time!  Oh…and there were funnel cakes and all things fried!

Grand Falls at Shoal Creek

The baseball tourney Dillon played in was in Springfield but due to rain we ended up playing in Joplin on Friday and Saturday which was 75 miles away.  Of course as luck would have it the games were at 9:30 and 5:30 so I was definitely looking for something to do.  We found the Grand Falls at Shoal Creek and were so excited to have a serene little getaway for some swimming and fishing.   

Hurts Donuts

A later game on Saturday gave me the perfect chance to head downtown to Hurt’s Donuts and grab some goodness.  The Longjohn with maple icing topped with bacon was definitely the favorite along with the Bavarian Creme.  I was impressed with the prices being reasonable for fancy donuts. 

Springfield Brewing Company

Beth recommended the Springfield Brewing Company and I would highly recommend it if you are ever in the area.  We were super impressed with the customer service and their willingness to accommodate a party of 40 on short notice.  The food was good, the atmosphere was amazing with live music and the in house brewed beer was fun to try.   There was a pool table in the area where we were seated which was perfect for the boys.   

 Roaring River State Park

We woke up Sunday morning to bad weather but as any adventurous dad who is determined to catch a fish will do we took off driving hoping to outrun the rain.   Boy did we every!  We first got a little lost on some backroads but eventually made our way to Roaring River State Park.  After spending some time catching a few rainbow trout, Carly and I did a little exploring and were so excited to find the waterfall and spring providing all the water.  This spring produces and average of 20.4 gallons of water into this river every day..yes day.  I thought that was a lot until seeing that Big Spring produces 283 million daily.  The water was super cold and so pretty and blue!  It did finally rain on us and the warm rain against the cold water created just the right amount of fog and beautiful scenery.  

As are all vacations it was not long enough!  We did love Missouri and are really excited with the prospect of returning with the whole family for more adventures.  The trip to the Branson area is just a little over 9 hours which is totally doable for a road trip.  
Dillon ended his season on a super high note by pitching six innings with only one unearned run scored and we had so much fun hanging out with all the families.  His team finished 9th out of 37 teams in the tourney which obviously wasn’t where they wanted to be but not too shabby.  

And this might be one of my favorite pictures from the trip!  These two got along so well the entire trip and may have even snuggled.  It’s so nice getting away from the every day and having some fun together!  
Wishing you all a sweet weekend!  Be sure to see all the bloggers I’m linking with throughout the week by clicking this graphic.  
Be sure to stop back by on Tuesday and link up your favorite Go to Summer Look as Katy and I host Spiel the Beans!  

37 Comments

  1. Looks like a great getaway. You squeezed a lot of fun in along with the baseball games. That water is so clear…love the pic with the fish underwater. I would love to take a family vacation up to Missouri. We know several families in the area. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. If my husband would have known about the Springfield Brewing Co & Hurts Donuts, we probably would have spent a little more time there instead of just passing through! 😉

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  14. Road trips are always so fun ! Looked like a really fun filled packed one – just how it should be. Great moments and memories. 🙂 Thanks for sharing them.
    xx

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  15. Girl! I live in Joplin! I couldn't have shown you anything fancier than what you saw, but I could have met you for coffee 😉 😉 next baseball tournament maybe!

    Powder keg is my favorite too 🙂

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  16. What a fun trip! I really enjoyed your pictures. I've never been to Missouri – but Silver Dollar City is calling my name! Hope you had a great weekend!

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  17. Still can't believe you were just minutes away. Glad you loved Brew Co and random Beth fact when I was about 14 I may or may not have jumped off those falls a few times :P.

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  18. Your call on SBC was right on..it was amazing food and they seriously were so accomodating! Reminds me I need to give them some travel advisor kudos! And girl…I was seriously a basket case watching a few kids jump off those falls. It just didn't seem deep enough to me. Yikes! We will more than likely be back to Joplin in the next two summers for baseball and THIS time I will make sure we hook up.

    Reply

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