Saturday 4-23 New State & New Campground

 

Welcome to Missouri

After spending almost a month in Arkansas we decided to move north to Missouri.

Larry got up earlier than normal, he couldn't sleep. He was up around 5:00 am. He got me up around 7:30. There was a donut shop nearby so we decided to buy a couple of donuts for breakfast. Then we went to Walmart. It was a small Walmart but it had what we needed. After shopping I put everything away. Then we had our donuts and were on the road.

Our next destination was Table Rock State Park, 110 miles from Mountain View. The route was two lane highways. At places the roads were very curvy and up and down a mountain pass. It was a little scary for Larry because not only was it really windy the lanes were narrow and without shoulders. On some of the roads we were backtracking, we had driven them when we went to Tyler Bend on the Buffalo National River. We got to Table Rock around 11:30 am. We knew it was somewhere near Branson but we did not know it was right next door.

When we arrived Larry stopped by the office to ask about checking in. The lady said she could check us in. While he was in the office he picked up the campground map and the hiking trail map. We had no problem finding our site. 

Table Rock is a huge campground with more than 150 sites. Yesterday when Larry was looking at the website he was surprised that any sites were available on a Saturday, there were five. Our site is right by the restroom and it has a great view of the marina and the lake.

We don't know how long we will be here but our current reservation is for three days. Once again rain is forecast for all day tomorrow. After setting up we relaxed, it was in the lower 80's, too hot for us to walk around. Larry turned on the air conditioner and got the fan out and running. We relaxed around the Minnie. Larry read. I started doing my Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges, I hadn't done them for about a week so I have a bit to do to catch up. I did the Event: Free Cell Mini of 5 games. It took me 11 minutes and 17 seconds, which put me in 17th place in my group. I'm excited about having internet.

For dinner we had burritos made with pork sausage. We barbecued the meat on the grill. It was very windy and we weren't sure if we could keep the grill lit. Never fear, we have a cookie sheet to use as a wind break. Larry held the shield while I flipped the meat in the pan. The wind didn't blow the flame out. 

There is a paved walking/hiking trail that goes from the marina to the dam, it's 2.2 miles one way. The trail is right behind our site and after dinner we walked it to the marina. The marina is big and is very nice. It has a restaurant and store. After walking around the marina we walked back to our site. Larry decided to go inside and I continued on. As I was walking I saw a lot of people, some were on the trail, others were picnicking, kayaking, jet skiing and boating. There was a beautiful riverboat called Showboat Branson Belle. I was surprised that it actually cruises on Table Rock Lake. It's located in a park where there are shops and games for tourists. It was busy because there were a few tour buses. I walked around the area and then went back to Larry. I didn't get all the way to the dam. It was another. .6 miles from the Showboat Branson Belle. I was tried and sweaty. By the time I got back I had been walking about an hour and a half. 

Showboat Branson Belle

 

Table Rock marina

 

Boating on Table Rock Lake

I rested and then went outside to do some of my steps. I only did 19,000 steps because it started to sprinkle. I haven't done that well this week. By the end of today I only did 136,276 steps and should have been at 150,000 steps. But that's ok.