A trip to Branson is not complete without a day, or two, spent at

Silver Dollar City.

It is a trip into the past.

The park is clean, and well kept.

This season's theme was

A Star-Spangled Summer

celebrating an all-American summer.

The newly weds, Gail & Yatzi

Doug & I

Silver Dollar City

is an 1880s mining city, the Home of American Craftsmanship and one of the best theme parks in the world! At Silver Dollar City there are endless attractions for kids and adults alike, from thrilling rides to demonstrating craftsmen to world-class live entertainment - the City has it all!

Opened in 1960, Silver Dollar City has been bringing families closer together for more than 50 years...

but it all began with a hole in the ground.

For more than 50 years, Marvel Cave operated as a tourist show cave but was leased by Hugo Herschend, a Danish immigrant from Chicago and his family in 1950. By 1960 the Herschend family had introduced Silver Dollar City, a quaint 1880s Ozark Mountain Village, at the cave entrance and on the very foundations of a genuine 1880s mining town!
What they had in mind was a summer cave tour business. What they developed was a theme park attracting over two million people each year and winning the theme park industry's top award of excellence worldwide.
Originally, the town square had a blacksmith shop, a general store, an ice cream parlor, a doll shop, and two 1800s authentic log structures which had been relocated and restored, the McHaffie homestead and

The Wilderness Church.

Wilderness Church

For entertainment, a small troupe of Silver Dollar City "citizens" dressed in 1880s costumes performed street theater, presenting humorous feuds between the Hatfields and the McCoys. The staff, including Herschends, was about 17 people.

http://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/attractions

Silver Dollar City now presents six world-class festivals from April through December. The 100-acre park has 12 stage venues, 30 rides and attractions, 12 restaurants, 60 shops and 1500 employees, including 100 resident craftsmen.

The smells of the foods frying in the large skillets enticed us to walk over

and check out what was cooking.

Cooking with Cast Iron Fortifies Your Food with Iron

While cast iron doesn’t leach chemicals, it can leach some iron into your food...and that’s a good thing. Iron deficiency is fairly common worldwide, especially among women. In fact, 10% of American women are iron-deficient. Cooking food, especially something acidic like tomato sauce in a cast-iron skillet can increase iron content, by as much as 20 times.

Health Reasons to Cook with Cast Iron

(Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey)

Sunny Skillet Breakfast

I was inspired by the Lumbercamp Skillets to find a recipe

that is easy and a great way to use your cast iron skillet

that has been tucked away in the back of your cupboard.

Ingredients:

3 (8-oz.) baking potatoes, peeled and shredded (about 3 cups firmly packed)*

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, pressed

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

6 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place shredded potatoes in a large bowl; add cold water to cover. Let stand 5 minutes; drain and pat dry.

2. Melt butter with oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and onion, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in shredded potatoes and 1/2 tsp. salt; cook, stirring often, 10 minutes or until potatoes are golden and tender.

3. Remove from heat. Make 6 indentations in potato mixture, using back of a spoon. Break 1 egg into each indentation. Sprinkle eggs with pepper and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt.

4. Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes or until eggs are set. Serve immediately.

*3 cups firmly packed frozen shredded potatoes may be substituted, omitting Step 1.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sunny-skillet-breakfast

Christmas in June!