craig7h wrote:
The other route is hwy 64 out of Memphis to Bad Knob then hwy 167 to hwy 36 at Searcy then onto hwy 124 to hwy 65. This is a true ozark mountain driving experience. The road is great the scenery is great its a sit back enjoy whats around you. Very doable with many curves.
Good Luck
This is a way. OTOH, if the OP is worried about US63, which he has used, I would be very surprised to learn he was looking for "true ozark mountain driving experience"
And traffic around Branson can be as bad as around some much larger cities. I sure would not go out of my way to drive past. (Now this is not to say I would avoid the area if I was wanting to do tourist stuff)