Lake of the Ozarks and Ha HA Tonka State Park in Misouri

It was a tough day of towing the trailer due to the cement roads that were so rippled that our heads were bouncing off the seat and a windy day with 35 mph wind gusts that made us look like bobble heads and it was only 200 miles. We made it to Madison, had a tornado warning and without improving weather in the near future, we decided to head onward to our next destination.

We did try some cheeses and liked the portabella and chives in white cheddar quite well.

 

Osage Beach at Lake of the Ozarks State Park is great with huge spaces. Now that the kids are all back in school and not many people around, our campground had the host and us this morning.

Hiking in the evening along Lake Ozark

Almost got hit in the head with all of the falling acorns. I wonder if the squirrels wager on how many people they can hit.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Beautiful natural springs

Castle on the hill overlooking the lake after it burned down.

View from the castle

Limestone formations throughout the area

Natural bridge.

Turtles all around catching some rays.

One of many caves in the limestone inhabited by bats.

 

It is a long drive to Arizona and any suggestions about places to see on the way are appreciated. We will be driving thru Oklahoma on the turnpike and then the panhandle of TX. I am trying to psych myself up for that.

 

 

 

Naniboujou Lodge and Temperance Stte Park

The rain in the night was windy and very heavy.  Waking to the rumbling waterfalls thru the forest, we had to take a short hike, less than a mile from our site, to check it out. the water level had doubled. Standing on the swinging bridge, we spent some time reflecting on our journey. The sound of the water just makes my mind wander.

 

We had driven to Naniboujou Lodge after Hans from Metamorphosis blog had suggested it. Driving north the rain stopped and sun almost came out.

The lodge was built in the 1920s and painted by a French artist with Cree Indian designs. Shortly after opening, Black Friday hit and it closed shortly after when members could no longer pay their fees. Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey were original members.

Breakfast was served on china. Wild rice is grown and harvested in Minnesota and served in many dishes.

 

On our drive, there are many waterfalls and beautiful views. We stopped and took a hike at Temperance State Park and Devil's Falls before returning home.

 

 

Happy birthday Mike in the Black Hills

Today was much cooler for our hike after  having temps in the high 80s. We had spent time in the Black Hills 6 years ago and were glad to return for some hiking.

 

The sun was shining as we drove into the Cathedral Spires area with amazing views of the rocks.

 

 

 



The tunnels are quite narrow and with this one being 8 feet and 4 inches wide, we had to pull in our mirrors to fit through.

 

 

What a nice lush hike. The raspberries were rather tasty and flowers everywhere. Not a bad way to spend a birthday.

 

 

As we got higher the clouds kept getting lower which made for a cooler hike. The sun gets pretty intense this time of year.

 

We made it up Devil's Overlook which included some scrambling. But about half way to Harney Lookout, there was thunder to the west and then to the north. We turned around and made it back and just beat the downpour.

We got here for the end of the Sturgis Rally and never saw so many motorcycles in one place. There were so many beautiful bikes everywhere. The tow trucks were busy with lots of break downs along the road. The rigs that many of the bikes arrived in were pretty impressive.