Open
Year Round 9AM to 5PM (may be subject to change) - Inspiration Tower
is Branson’s “landmark on the horizon”- a
massive 230-foot tall structure constructed in 1989. The Tower’s
opening celebrated the 100th anniversary of Harold Bell Wright’s
first visit to the area. It weighs 3 million pounds, cost approximately
$1.5 million to build, contains over 92,000 pounds of structural steel,
and can withstand a constant wind of 172 mph or gusts of up to 224 mph!
A convoy of 43 concrete trucks filled the Tower foundation, which contains
five miles’ worth of rebar weighing 34.5 tons. The Tower also
contains over 4,400 square feet of glass enough to cover a third of
a football field!
Shepherd Inspiration Tower (a.k.a. The Shepherd
of the Hills Inspiration Tower) is an astounding vision to admire and
the two RV Gypsies actually traveled up to the top via a glass elevator
leading up to a spacious, enclosed observation deck. There is also an
open-air deck from which the two RV Gypsies experienced panoramic views
of the area. On clear days the view is over 90 miles away! There is
a charge, but the two RV Gypsies had received free tickets for this
when they booked their seats for the "Acrobats of Shanghai"
show.
There is also a specialty gift shop, snack bar and restrooms
on the ground level. During November and December, Inspiration Tower
is transformed into the Ozarks’ largest Christmas tree for the
Trail of Lights! The Tower is open year-round. |
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 The
two RV Gypsies at Inspiration Tower
in Branson, Missouri
March 12, 2006
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Before Lee and Karen Duquette became "The
Two RV Gypsies", they visited Inspiration Tower in Branson,
Missouri.
They also visited in 2016 and both sets of photos are shown here, beginning
with the 2006 photos. |
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Below: Lee and Karen Duquette
enjoyed views from the tower in March 2006 |
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Below: In 2016, Lee and Karen
Duquette, who are now also known as the two RV Gypsies, returned to
Branson, Missouri, and of course re-visited Inspiration Tower. They
got much prettier views this time and better photographs. |
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Below: The ZipRider sign which was not here in 2006.
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The Tower became
the launch for the Vigilante Extreme ZipRider. Below are a few photos
the two RV Gypsies took of the empty seats in 2016. Four people ride
side by side. It is a Sit-Down zipline that only goes 1/2 mile
at speeds up to 50 mph and has an automatic braking system. Riders are
launched from the open-air deck of this Tower. A jeep-drawn tram returns
riders back to the tower to purchase their photos.
The two RV Gypsies did NOT ride this because it is a very short length
ride, and Lee Duquette was not interested. The two RV Gypsies are used
to riding zip lines with several lines this long and even much longer.
(To see photos of the two RV Gypsies on other zip lines, you use TOC
button at the top of this page and choose the letter Z, or
click here and scroll down to "ziplines") - But if you
do so, be sure to return to this page or you will miss a lot. |
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Below: Later, as the two RV
Gypies wandered just down the street from Inspiration Tower, they stopped
at a scenic Overlook, but all they saw were trees, so they did not take
a photo. There was a hiking trail, but the two RV Gypsies did not hike
on this date. |
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