Branson, Mo., accommodates two kinds of visitors: those who want to be entertained in air-conditioned theaters for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and those who come to fish or to explore the ancient mountains shading misty streams and caves in their green, piney folds.

Interest in local music traditions burgeoned in the next couple of decades, and at last count Branson has become home to more than three dozen theaters featuring live entertainment along a concrete and neon strip of Highway 76, the extension of old Branson's Main Street. The traffic on Highway 76 can be tedious and time-consuming, but maps available throughout the area offer alternative routes.

The Theaters Most of Branson's theaters, with a total of some 55,000 seats, are lavish in the Las Vegas style, with state-of-the-art sound and light shows to accompany the entertainers. Box Car Willie, famed "hobo" performer and member of the Grand Ole Opry, led the wave of celebrity entertainers to this long-peaceful country, followed by such country music stars as Roy Clark, Glen Campbell and Charley Pride, but it has also drawn an array of talent from all over the world.