The patriotic finales to the Branson music shows can raise a few goose bumps on our arms. But that's nothing compared with what we feel once we get free of Branson's traffic snarls: The vistas of forested hills and peaceful lakes in the Ozarks say more about the grandeur of the U.S. than any hymn to God and country. Beyond the mountains are more landscapes cut from an all-American picture book: the great brown Mississippi rolling along the state's eastern boundary; the western gateway of St. Louis; the hearty music and food of Kansas City. And with its sites related to several beloved and/or infamous figures from the nation's past -- Mark Twain, Harry S Truman, Jesse James -- Missouri has a knack for making a vacation into a heartland pilgrimage.