We Passed!

Driving school is over--and we passed! The second day we did mountainous freeway driving and two lane country roads. We also did more turns in the city. The freeway was fun, but the narrow country roads were very nerve wracking. Rick said we both did great, though! Of course, we hadn't paid him yet, so it might have been the political answer.

On our driving route we went up into the mountains surrounding Branson. There are four connecting lakes--Beaver, Table Rock, Taneycomo, Bull Shoals--that comprise the White River Valley. Branson's electricity is generated from the dams between the lakes. Right now the lakes are too high and they are releasing water constantly over the dams. This picture is of one of these dams.

And the surrounding area:

In both pictures, you can see the amount of flooding.

Altogether, it is a very beautiful area. And if you like country/western music (which is not our favorite) it can hold lots of appeal.

After we returned from driving and were practicing backing up, we had an equipment problem. It seems the manufacturer improperly installed the "break away" switch. This switch is between the hitch on the truck and the king-pin on the trailer. If the hitch were to release while driving, the switch breaks apart, which causes the trailer brakes to go full on and stop the trailer from careering away out of control. It is supposed to be mounted on the hitch. Unfortunately, it was not. It was just hanging underneath the hitch. In the process of backing up, it got caught and crushed. So at the moment, we have no break away switch. Fortunately, though, David bought a new one today and is able to install it himself. So, by the time we leave, we will be legal to drive.

We will be here until Friday morning, when we leave for Amana, Iowa for a rally of Suites owners.