I started the year with high hopes that we’d get to take a couple nice long trips in the camper. Wrong! But I did get to take a couple short trips. The last was to attend the Midwest Truck Campers and Friends Christmas party on November 30 through December 4 at Branson, MO. The wagonmasters for this event have provided a writeup on their website. So I’m not going to cover the goings on at the campground but will only report on traveling to and from the event and excursions we made while at the event. Lots of photos but they’ve been resized.
The event was to start off with a Wednesday supper so we started our trip as the skies started to lighten that morning. Several hours later we drove over the Mississippi River on I-55 in the northwest corner of Tennessee and entered the Land of Cotton. Wait … since when is Arkansas the Land of Cotton? Amongst the fallow fields the DH saw a cute little farmhouse we can buy and fix up if we win the lottery 🙂
After eight hours of driving we were getting close to our destination but the DH needed one last potty break. Never pass up a clean outhouse! But we made it to Branson with enough time to stop off at an overlook with a view of the town before settling into the campground where, for once, truck campers outnumbered the other types of rigs.
The next day the DH and I explored Branson. We cruised the main strip along Hwy 76 but didn’t see anything we wanted to stop at. After grabbing some lunch, we headed downtown to check out Dick’s 5 and 10 store. It was unbelievable how much stuff was crammed in there, some of it items I hadn’t seen in years! So I got a start on my Christmas shopping.
On the way back to the campground we stopped again at the overlook where I took a few more photos that I could stitch into a panorama.
?
To be continued …
The event was to start off with a Wednesday supper so we started our trip as the skies started to lighten that morning. Several hours later we drove over the Mississippi River on I-55 in the northwest corner of Tennessee and entered the Land of Cotton. Wait … since when is Arkansas the Land of Cotton? Amongst the fallow fields the DH saw a cute little farmhouse we can buy and fix up if we win the lottery 🙂
After eight hours of driving we were getting close to our destination but the DH needed one last potty break. Never pass up a clean outhouse! But we made it to Branson with enough time to stop off at an overlook with a view of the town before settling into the campground where, for once, truck campers outnumbered the other types of rigs.
The next day the DH and I explored Branson. We cruised the main strip along Hwy 76 but didn’t see anything we wanted to stop at. After grabbing some lunch, we headed downtown to check out Dick’s 5 and 10 store. It was unbelievable how much stuff was crammed in there, some of it items I hadn’t seen in years! So I got a start on my Christmas shopping.
On the way back to the campground we stopped again at the overlook where I took a few more photos that I could stitch into a panorama.
?
To be continued …
We emerged from the museum to find that the sun was starting to set, brushing the sky with reds and golds. The scenery at Top of the Rock ranges from a recently discovered and excavated sinkhole, a surreal golf driving range, a beautiful stone chapel, and an eye-catching view of distant Table Rock Lake. The lodge and restaurant is a rambling stone and wood building with plenty of outdoor spaces where one can enjoy the views. We’ll have to come back sometime to dine on their patio although we might have to mortgage the house first to pay for it!
The next day was the rig open house and the potluck supper. So we did a little shopping in the morning then stopped in at the College of the Ozarks whose nickname, proudly proclaimed on a nearby water tower, is Hard Work U. I’d read that the school sold ice cream made by the college’s milk cows and agricultural students. The shop was housed in the Keeter Center conference facility just outside the college gates. We had to wait a moment while the student manning the counter made up a waffle cone. Then she dipped me a scoop of the raspberry which was excellent! Afterward we took a few moments to visit a display commemorating World War II set up nearby before returning to the campground for the MWTCF festivities.
We had a great time meeting and visiting with the Midwest Truck Campers and Family. But being that I had a job to get back to, we departed Sunday for home traveling this time via U.S. 60 through Cairo IL. After crossing back over the Mississippi River we stopped at Fort Defiance Park for lunch. While we ate we could see the Mississippi River out one side of the camper and the Ohio River out the other side.
Looking upriver from the tip of the land between the two rivers one can just see the east end of the bridge over the Mississippi River on the left and the west end of the bridge over the Ohio River on the right. The DH noted that it’s rare to see a navigation sign that is both red and green. Here one would keep red to the right to travel up the Mississippi or green to the left to travel up the Ohio. The fisherman standing at this southernmost tip of Illinois doesn’t care which way the vessels go as long as they don’t scare off his fish.
Barges were tied off along the Ohio side of the peninsula. A small local tow boat was busy picking up a couple barges at a time and delivering them to packets of barges a short distance upstream. It was obvious that the area floods looking at the large beached log and the concrete restroom/viewing platform perched on stilts.
We stopped at some informational signs on higher ground as we exited the park. The area has a lot of history. It was interesting to read that the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition spent nearly a week here in 1803 on their way west. Lewis taught Clark how to use their navigation equipment here and the point which marks the beginning point of their transect west is located just north in Cairo.
There was also a display on the Great River Road that follows the Mississippi River. Sadly, the sign was faded and difficult to read. But we didn’t have time to follow the road today anyway. We had to take a different road across the Ohio River. A word of warning to those who might want to try this route … you’ll cross the two rivers on narrow truss bridges, sharing the limited space with tractor trailer trucks. But I was able to get one last look at the confluence of these mighty rivers from the bridge. Roll on!
The end.
The next day was the rig open house and the potluck supper. So we did a little shopping in the morning then stopped in at the College of the Ozarks whose nickname, proudly proclaimed on a nearby water tower, is Hard Work U. I’d read that the school sold ice cream made by the college’s milk cows and agricultural students. The shop was housed in the Keeter Center conference facility just outside the college gates. We had to wait a moment while the student manning the counter made up a waffle cone. Then she dipped me a scoop of the raspberry which was excellent! Afterward we took a few moments to visit a display commemorating World War II set up nearby before returning to the campground for the MWTCF festivities.
We had a great time meeting and visiting with the Midwest Truck Campers and Family. But being that I had a job to get back to, we departed Sunday for home traveling this time via U.S. 60 through Cairo IL. After crossing back over the Mississippi River we stopped at Fort Defiance Park for lunch. While we ate we could see the Mississippi River out one side of the camper and the Ohio River out the other side.
Looking upriver from the tip of the land between the two rivers one can just see the east end of the bridge over the Mississippi River on the left and the west end of the bridge over the Ohio River on the right. The DH noted that it’s rare to see a navigation sign that is both red and green. Here one would keep red to the right to travel up the Mississippi or green to the left to travel up the Ohio. The fisherman standing at this southernmost tip of Illinois doesn’t care which way the vessels go as long as they don’t scare off his fish.
Barges were tied off along the Ohio side of the peninsula. A small local tow boat was busy picking up a couple barges at a time and delivering them to packets of barges a short distance upstream. It was obvious that the area floods looking at the large beached log and the concrete restroom/viewing platform perched on stilts.
We stopped at some informational signs on higher ground as we exited the park. The area has a lot of history. It was interesting to read that the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition spent nearly a week here in 1803 on their way west. Lewis taught Clark how to use their navigation equipment here and the point which marks the beginning point of their transect west is located just north in Cairo.
There was also a display on the Great River Road that follows the Mississippi River. Sadly, the sign was faded and difficult to read. But we didn’t have time to follow the road today anyway. We had to take a different road across the Ohio River. A word of warning to those who might want to try this route … you’ll cross the two rivers on narrow truss bridges, sharing the limited space with tractor trailer trucks. But I was able to get one last look at the confluence of these mighty rivers from the bridge. Roll on!
The end.
On Friday we joined some of the group on the short drive to Top of the Rock near Ridgedale. This facility was developed by the owner of Bass Pro shops, Johnny Morris. We bought tickets for the Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail golf cart tour and the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum.
?
The group loaded into four golf carts and drove 2.5 miles along a path with some interesting scenery including stream crossings, waterfalls, covered bridges, and a drive-thru cave. The sound of a pump running at the bottom of the valley confirmed my suspicion that the waterfalls weren’t entirely natural. Not surprising since it had been a dry fall. But they were pretty nonetheless.
After the golf cart tour we caught a shuttle up to the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum. It is housed in the basement of the lodge at the, ahem, top of the rock.
?
I was expecting a small collection of artifacts but found instead 35,000 square feet with thousands of tastefully displayed items. The first rooms contained exhibits on a few of the more spectacular prehistoric animals that once populated the area. How about a pig that stands taller than a man and a bird that ran down and ate horses!
Next were many rooms with displays of Native American items. Stone weapons, painted pottery, bone tools, shell ornaments, beaded clothing, and more. One display described how archeologists scrambled to locate, record, and remove some of the items before they were covered by the waters of a man-made lake.
The DH wonders if the painting on the right was the inspiration for Tonto in the Lone Ranger movie remake.
I marveled at the hours of work that adept hands put into knapping arrowheads, beading cradleboards, and adorning buffalo skins with porcupine quills.
The next room featured items related to the history of the American West including Buffalo Bill Cody and Roy Rogers. They were interesting but I didn’t see how they fit in with Ozark history. Maybe if I’d had time to read more of the placards I’d have learned the connection but by this time it was getting late and I was skimming through the displays.
To be continued …
?
The group loaded into four golf carts and drove 2.5 miles along a path with some interesting scenery including stream crossings, waterfalls, covered bridges, and a drive-thru cave. The sound of a pump running at the bottom of the valley confirmed my suspicion that the waterfalls weren’t entirely natural. Not surprising since it had been a dry fall. But they were pretty nonetheless.
After the golf cart tour we caught a shuttle up to the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum. It is housed in the basement of the lodge at the, ahem, top of the rock.
?
I was expecting a small collection of artifacts but found instead 35,000 square feet with thousands of tastefully displayed items. The first rooms contained exhibits on a few of the more spectacular prehistoric animals that once populated the area. How about a pig that stands taller than a man and a bird that ran down and ate horses!
Next were many rooms with displays of Native American items. Stone weapons, painted pottery, bone tools, shell ornaments, beaded clothing, and more. One display described how archeologists scrambled to locate, record, and remove some of the items before they were covered by the waters of a man-made lake.
The DH wonders if the painting on the right was the inspiration for Tonto in the Lone Ranger movie remake.
I marveled at the hours of work that adept hands put into knapping arrowheads, beading cradleboards, and adorning buffalo skins with porcupine quills.
The next room featured items related to the history of the American West including Buffalo Bill Cody and Roy Rogers. They were interesting but I didn’t see how they fit in with Ozark history. Maybe if I’d had time to read more of the placards I’d have learned the connection but by this time it was getting late and I was skimming through the displays.
To be continued …
