Monday 4-25 Too Much Rain

 

Camping at Table Rock 

It rained heavily through much of the night and into the early morning. I don't know how much rain we got but I am sure it measured in inches. The rain went away before I got up. It ended up being a beautiful day with sunshine. It got up to 59 degrees and a lite breeze.

The rain was gone and the sun was shining so after breakfast we decided to go for a hike. We got to the trail across the road from our site and our bubble was burst because the trail was too wet, there were huge pools on the trail. We decided to walk the lake trail to the visitor center. It is a paved trail and at a couple of places there were puddles. When we got to the visitor center we walked around the area to the entrance of the parking lot. They have two double gates, the center has the Corps of Engineers symbol of the castle. When the gates are open the castle is cut in half. It's a very nice gate. The volunteers campground is located by the entrance gates. We walked around for an hour and half.

When we got back we relaxed with a book. I played my computer games I did the Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges and Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 5 games. It took me 8 minutes and 5 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group.

In the afternoon I walked the lake trail. I ended up doing the whole trail, which was 2.2 miles from the marina to the dam. By the end I had walked 4.5 miles for an hour and a half. After dinner we went for another walk on the lake trail. We walked to the marina. Larry walked with me for 45 minutes and I continued walking I went to the Showboat Branson Belle. Then I turned around. I ended up walking for almost an hour and a half.

Showboat Branson Belle

 

Table Rock Lake Dam

 

Dewey Short Visitor Center

It's amazing, no matter when you walk the lake trail there are people walking, jogging, bicycling and walking their dogs. As we walk by people we say our hellos and everyone is very friendly.

By the end of the night I ended up doing 31,000 steps, which put me in 6th place in my group. 

 

Sunday 4-24 Walking, Laundry & Rainy Day

 

We had another rainy day. It rained on and off all day. We woke up to rain. Then around 10:00 am it went away for a bit. Then it started to sprinkle around 3:00. By the evening we had steady rain. At times the rain came down hard.

After lunch we went for a walk. We walked the paved trail to the dam and the Corps of Engineers Visitor Center. We took an umbrella with us just in case the rain came back. The visitor center is very nice, it has a couple of floors and a beautiful observation deck that looks over the lake and dam. Unfortunately the visitor center is closed on Sundays and Mondays, who would have thought a visitor center on a lake would be closed on a weekend day, the good news was we could walk around the grounds. It had picnic tables, restrooms and good views of the lake. On the way back we walked the paved trail to a point where Larry thought we might be able to find a hiking trail, we found the trail on the other side of the road and we walked it back to the campground. If is doesn't rain we're planning on hiking this trail tomorrow. We ended up walking about 3.5 miles.

Our campground has a laundry right across the street from our site so after our walk I did a couple of loads of laundry. It is not often you find a campground with a laundry. The washer cost $2.00 and the dryer cost $1.25, which is very reasonable. The laundry room had a couple of signs that said it took 30 minutes for the washer and 45 minutes for the dryer. The dryers worked excellent, all the clothes were completely dry at the end of the cycle. While I was taking the laundry out of the dryers Larry came over with the umbrella, it had started to sprinkle. He helped me carry the clothes and held the umbrella so we wouldn't get wet. Thank you, Larry.

It's time to do laundry

If it wasn't for taking a walk I wouldn't have gotten any steps. I ended up only doing 10,000 steps. It was a bad week for doing steps. I ended up doing 146,290 steps for the week. I came in 9th place in my group.

We spent most of the day reading. Larry started and finished a book. I ended up finishing the 16th book and starting the 17th book of Guido Brunetti series. I got all caught up in my Solitaire and Mahjong Daily Challenges. I did the Event: Klondike Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 20 minutes and 37 seconds to complete, which put me in 23rd place in my group.

 

    

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.              

Friday 4-22 Ozark Folk Center & Mountain View

Welcome Sign

We had a beautiful sunny day. It got up to 81 degrees. 

The rain is gone and the roads are dry, it was time to move on. We spent eight days at Buffalo National River at two different campgrounds. We had a great time hiking their trails. Our next destination is Mountain View to go to the Ozark Fork Center. 

We left Buffalo Point around 8:30. On the way out Larry dumped the tanks. He had already filled the water tank so now we're good for awhile. The Ozark Folk Center was about 50 miles away. The road was through a few small towns and up and down the mountainside. As we drove we saw some ranches with cattle. We also saw a few turkeys. Larry pointed one out as it was running across the road. We saw three more in a field, two of them were beautiful toms with big tail feather that they were showing off, unfortunately I could not get a picture. 

The Ozark Folk Center is part of Arkansas state parks. We were here back in 2013 when they were rebuilding the center. It's a beautiful facility with around 20 buildings. There is an old school house, old cabin (Shannon Cabin), theater (seats 1,000 people), gift shop, restaurant and a Picnic Swing (merry-go-round). The craft buildings are: Woodsmith, Jewelry, Paper crafting, Herbs, Dolls, Brooms, Art cabin, Blacksmith, Leather, Pottery, Glass, Quilting, Old Time Print Shop, Woodcarving, Fiber Art, Knives, Copper and Apothecary. Each buildings is staffed with an artist who demonstrates their craft, the items they make are also for sale. When we walked through the copper building the gentleman demonstrated how he put color into the copper. The potter demonstrated and explain the process of making a pie dish. The gentleman making brooms demonstrated how he makes the pot broom, which is used to scrub out a pan. The gentleman in the print shop demonstrated making a ticket and talked about the history of his machines. The other people explained their skill and a project that they're working on. A lady from the quilting building was working outside and explained the plants they grow to make natural dyes of different colors. Through out the day Dave Smith sang folk songs on the Blacksmith stage, which was the old blacksmith shop. He was very good. The artist were very friendly. We had a super time.

Corn husk dolls

Demonstrating how to make brooms

The finished project

Dave Smith

Making a pie dish

Demonstrating how to change the color on copper with heat

Finished project

Old school house

After walking the Ozark Folk Center we needed a place to stay for the night. We had stayed at Whitewater RV Park in 2013 so we decided to go back there. It was not far away and within walking distance of the town square. Larry went into the office and got us a spot. Whitewater is now owned by someone new but they decided to keep the name. Last week there was a big Folk Festival going on, the local rv parks were full and you had stay for three or four nights. This week you can stay for one night. It's not a bad rv park. The spots are in the grass and there are a lot of full time people.

Every Friday and Saturday night Mountain View has live music at the courthouse at 7:00 to 9:00. Tonight it was the Mayor's band, True Country. It was only .5 mile away so about 6:30 we got our chairs and I put on my pouch with a couple of waters we walked to the courthouse. There was a nice crowd. When we left the Minnie we didn't think about wearing a lite jacket because it was hot. But once the sun started going down a breeze came up it got a little chilly. The group had four members and they sang Country songs. They were very good. While they sang people got up and danced. We had a very nice evening.

True Country Band

Having fun line dancing to True Country

The County Courthouse

When we got home I had to force myself to do more steps. I ended up doing 20,000 steps which put me in 6th place. For the week I did 117,263 steps. 

   

              

Thursday 4-21 Overcast Humid Day

 

Overcast Day

The rain came back around 2:00 am and was gone by 7:00 am. The clouds stayed around all day, which made it humid. By mid-afternoon the streets were drying. 

We spent the day reading. Yesterday, I started to read Lord Edward's Archer by Griff Hosker. I finished it today. It was a historic fiction novel about knights, kings and archers. There was a lot of blood and gore but it was very well written. I like reading novels like this. Then I started to read the 16th book of the Guido Brunetti series.

It's really hard to be motivated to do any exercise when you've been sitting around and reading. After dinner I forced myself to go for a walk. I walked around the park for a couple of hours to get some of my steps done. During my walk I saw a deer and met a lady from Houston. By the time I finished my walk I was sweaty and my clothes were sticking to me because of the humidity. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group. 

Wednesday 4-20 Another Rainy Day

 

Rainy Day

We had another rainy day. On our spring trips we usually get some rain but this year we have gotten way more than normal. The nice thing is today was not that cold. We had a morning temperature in the 40s and highs in the 60s.

The rain came in around 3:00 am and stopped around 2:00 pm. When it stopped we still had cloud covering with a little misting and at times we could still hear thunder. The rain is suppose to come back in the early morning. 

When it stopped raining I went down and paid for another two nights.

We stayed in the Minnie and read. I did go outside to do some of my steps. I ended up doing 17.000 steps which put me in 6th place with 70,000 steps. I'm 5,000 behind for the week but that's ok. 

We're still having fun. 

Tuesday 4-19 Camping, Hiking & Having Fun

 

Springtime

We had another gorgeous spring day with sunshine and no wind. We woke up to 40 degrees and it got to the low 60s. 

I woke up to fresh cinnamon rolls. After breakfast we got ready to go on a hike. Today's hike wasn't as long as yesterday's but we did go 4 miles. We revisited the three hikes from the campground but we did them in the opposite direction as yesterday. We started on the forest trail and from there we hiked the overlook trail. The sun was shining on the scenery, which made the colors come out prettier. After relaxing at the overlook we went to the trail head by the cabins. Next we hiked the campground trail, which took us back to the B Loop area. We hiked to the amphitheater, which is very nice with a beautiful rock wall behind the benches. We walked by the walk-in tent sites, which is C loop. We took a small trail that runs along side of the main road. It was a little wet at places so we had to be careful not to slip on the rocks. As we hiked we saw a lot of small butterflies, they really like the sun. We didn't see any wildlife. On the trail right before we got to the parking lot we met a park ranger, she was moving a fallen tree off the trail. We stopped occasionally to watch the butterflies and enjoy the scenery. We also saw a beautiful cardinal in a tree. We had a great hike and was back for lunch.

Buffalo River

 

One of the park cabins

 

A couple butterflies

Because it was such a beautiful day after lunch we went outside and read. 

While we were relaxing outside we were admiring what a magnificent job they did on making the park. They put a lot of work in laying stone walls through out the park and the sites. Each site had a step down to its picnic tables, fire ring and tent pad. Because the site steps down they put a retaining wall to protect from erosion. It makes the sites gorgeous. 

   

Campsite Stone Work

When it was time for dinner I barbecued some seasoned pork. After dinner I walked around for a half hour. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.