7th Week of Road Trip, April 28 - May 4

Osage Beach, Missouri

Lake of the Ozarks
(April 28 - April 30)

We decided to take a 3 hour detour to visit Big Springs, MO before heading to Osage Beach.  Was a very beautiful drive through narrow, twisty rolling hills roads. Average speed was 40 Miles an hour. Lots of cows in the green, lush fields and so many ponds and little streams.  The leafs were just beginning to bud on some of the trees and other trees had white or pink flowers.  It looked so awesome against the pine trees.  The roads were literally like riding a roller coaster, ups and downs and sharp turns.  Some parts of the road was a straight up and down as far as you could see.  Other parts was a steep hill that you couldn't see what was on the other side until we were at the top and starting down.  Even our stomachs felt like we were riding a roller coaster.

At the junction of one of these roads was a restaurant that made us stop and think about if we wanted to stop and eat there.  "Stray Dog BBQ"   Our decision was made when we saw that it was closed and was up for sale.  (Is that why we didn't see any dogs along the way?  lol)   

Arriving at Big Springs we didn't realize we had arrived and continued on a very narrow mountain road.  When the GPS said we had arrived, we were at the top of the hill with no place to turn around.  Driving a few more miles we did find a place to turn around and found the right place at the bottom of the road.  It was worth the frustration of the wrong road when we saw the spectacular beauty.

Big Springs, Missouri

(April 28)

The top picture is looking up the river to the head of the springs.  The bottom picture is looking down the river on the opposite side of the road.  This shows how big the springs are to create such a large river.  Was such a beautiful setting.  It is believed by many that these are the Waters of Mormon, the pure fountain where Alma, in the Book of Mormon, baptized.

The above pictures show the mouth of the Springs.  Hiding in the vegetation and rock formations are small little walk in caves.  You could walk in the cave to cool off and watch the water bubble up.  Howard is showing how cool it is here.  

It was possible to get close enough to cup up water and get a good pure drink of spring water.

This was yet another spring that was bubbling up down stream a ways.

Osage Beach, M0

We were upgraded to a 3 bedroom and had plenty of room.  Too bad family wasn't close enough to come spend time here with us.

The view from our balcony, just one little nook of the huge dragon shaped lake.

One full day was all we had to explore this part of the world.   The afternoon we arrived we lounged around the pool and played ping pong and went to the fitness center.  Sunday we found a meetinghouse just 10 minutes away.  The best way to start the day.  The Lake Ozark ward was honestly the friendliest ward we have ever been to.  The second we stepped into the chapel we had people coming up and introducing themselves.  By the time we left we had people wanting to help us move there.  Many suggestions as to where to go and what to see lead us to a State Park Sunday afternoon.  No disappointment.   Enjoyed what we saw. 

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

(April 29)

Imposing architecture and breathtaking scenery combine to make Ha Ha Tonka State Park one of Missouri’s most treasured spots. Located on the Lake of the Ozarks, the park features the stone ruins of a turn-of-the-20th-century castle built by a prominent Kansas City businessman high atop a bluff. More than 15 miles of trails traverse the park, leading visitors to sinkholes, natural bridges, caves and down to the lake.

Monkey Island, Oklahoma

Grand Lake 

(April 28 - May 2)

                                                

 

Trying out the Murphy bed.....deciding which one is the best.

 Our unit was a one bedroom with a Murphy bed.  A cozy little place.  The first morning we get a knock on the door.  Who would be knocking?  We don't know anyone here and we are on vacation and don't need to get up early.  The knocks continued so we had to answer.  It was three guys doing a fire check.  Really?????  Never know what you get at a Worldmark resort.

     At check in, we were told the number one thing to go see while here was Har-Ber Village Museum in Grove.  So we went there Monday afternoon.  It closed at 2:00 that day, 15 minutes after we got there.  AND it was closed on Tuesdays.  Cross that off, we leave Wednesday.

     Tuesday we decided to go the the museum on Monkey Island with antique cars.  Drove there. Closed on Tuesdays.  Ok, so lets go to Route 66 in Afton.  We arrived and the road was still open.  They didn't shut it down on Tuesdays.  We found a little Route 66 Museum and, surprise, it was open.  We told the lady there about our experience of everything being closed on Tuesdays and was glad that she was open.  She said they usually were closed on Tuesdays but decided to change to closing on Mondays, and this was the first Tuesday to open since closing for the winter.  Lucked out!

We enjoyed looking at all the Packard vehicles and the other classic cars, boats, trailer and route 66 memorabilia.   

      Our Route 66 travels is now complete.  Oklahoma was the last state to visit that route 66 went through.

Mmmmmmm.......Would this look good on Lake Powell????

 

Always have to be alert. Never know what is going to be on the road or on the side of the road.  Glad this big guy was fenced in.  Don't think our car would have come out too well if it had been crossing in front of us.

Taos, New Mexico

Wyndham Taos

(May 2 - May 4)

                                

On the road again......Driving one of our longest drives, over 11 hours.  We saw lots of wildlife along the way.  A turtle in the middle of the road.  I think it was crossing as fast as it could and we managed to straddle it and give it a chance to continue on its journey. (impossible to snap a photo)  Lots of black bears, or maybe they were cows???   A little flash back of traveling with our children and Howard would always say, "Look at the black bears as we passed a field of cows.................................

Throughout our travels through the south we saw "Braum's" restaurant chain and decided while driving through Oklahoma to stop for our lunch and check it out.  Every hamburger came with a shake made with ice cream from the Braum farm.  Was well worth the stop.

The mountain pass getting to Taos was a beautiful drive.  Slow.  Sharp turns and no passing the whole way.  Thank goodness we were the lead car and set the pace for a safe, scenic drive.

We missed the snow storm that came through early the day we arrived.  It was still cold and cloudy when we arrived in the early evening but was so good to get out of the car and walk around the resort before getting a good nights sleep.

                                                  The snow in the mountains and blossoms on the trees reminded us that it was still Spring.

It was fun to walk around the streets of Taos in the early morning before the rain started again. 

Most of the shops were not open yet (10:00) but we did find a little chocolate shop down an alley that was open.  Chocolate was made from the beans right there.  We bought a dark chocolate hot coco that was so rich and so good.  Lasted us all day because we kept adding milk to it to stretch it out.

All buildings in Taos were stucco and the southwest style.  Even McDonalds!

Taos Pueblo 

Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States.