Ghosts and Goblins and...

Golfers! On this Halloween Day, we decided to masquerade as golfers. In old Branson, downtown, there is a Par 3 course that us locals can play for just $6 for 9 holes. You actually replay 4 holes to make it a 9-hole. It is complete with 2 water hazards so we feel like we are back at Bob's Country Club.

Mike has the stance and the clothes and really does pretty good most of the time.

I can still turn a Par 3 into a 6 with regularity, but is a good way to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Another great way to enjoy fall in the Ozarks is to go fishing. Mike was driving around a couple of days ago and found a "devastated area" that he thought I would enjoy so that is where we went yesterday. Doesn't look too bad, does it...

This is part of the marina that the Corps of Engineers towed up to land, you see the whole area has been under water for the better part of the year, beginning with early spring flooding. Notice the water tap that was part of a campsite along the Beaver Creek.

In the foreground, you are seeing former campsites ruined by the water and towards the back, wreckage from straight line winds that struck the area this summer - talk about bad luck.

This is what the ground looks like after all the rain and gunk and now finally it is drying out and looking like a moonscape.

This is a called a "long ear" sunfish and the coloring was much more beautiful than the picture shows, but they were too small to keep.
The "green eye" sunfish was bigger in size and we brought home enough of those for a couple of meals. In Missouri, Sunfish are not considered game fish; you can catch as many as 50 at one time and there is no season.

I spent the day soaking up sunshine (it was 76 degrees), doing some organizing of pictures by this slightly slanted cement table, and reading.
The marina you see beyond the shoreline is free floating right now; there are still boats attached to it but you would need a boat to get to your boat...

Thanks again, Terry and Janet, this fillet knife has been used all over the states!

While we were at this "closed" recreation area, the wind changed and this piece of marina broke away from some trees and floated closer to shore - a very eerie site and sound; lots of metal rubbing together.

I couldn't resist taking more pictures of the ground.

And it gets a little closer...

Since this seems to be a Halloween special, take a look at this picture I took from our front door a couple of nights ago.

What a "Treat" to see these deer grazing just across from our campsite. This is not a photographic "Trick" - it is the way the picture turned out.

Happy Halloween from two wandering ghouls (or should that be "fools").

Weekend Report

Fishing, a trip to the theater, and more fishing... what a way to spend a weekend.

When the weather is beautiful we head out of town to the park on Lake Taneycomo. While I take a walk or just sit and read, Mike fishes... he even caught a couple of small trout. In Missouri, you can fish with two lines so while one is in the water, he is changing bait on another. This very large bed and breakfast sits across the bay from the park and it is for sale; I think it would be a great investment Pam and Bill...

On Saturday, we went to the Andy Williams show at Moon River Theater. It was exceptional; he is still singing this old favorites and even doing some dancing. One of the benefits of working at Treasure Lake is being able to get into shows for free (assuming there is room). These tickets would have cost us $39 each. This is the marquee.

He did a monologue with The Bear (evidently the bear was a part of his TV variety show). He uses the teleprompters a bit, but hey, who wouldn't forget the lyrics once in a while; most of his songs are from the 60's!

This is the closing song with all the members of the cast. He has a full orchestra onstage at all times but you can't really see them in the background. Overall, very impressive!As you can see from the pics, Andy has aged a bit, but is still going strong; I am looking forward to seeing his Christmas Show. The Christmas Shows start on November 1 and go through mid December at most of the theaters.

Today, after church, we fished a bit and then drove out by a lakeside campground that has always impressed us. Yes, this is the campground you are looking at. This area has had a lot of rain this spring and summer and the entire area is still flooded. If you look carefully, you can see the roofs of shelters.

Normally, the falls are barely running at this time of the year. This was today.

Now we have two days of labor before we get another 5 day weekend... what a life!

An Arkansas Side Trip

So this morning neither of us could decide what we wanted to do. About noon, we decided to head south and see what Harrison, AR had to offer. Our first stop was a mall JC Penny store and after finding a new vest for me, we headed south to check out the "Jasper Disaster" route. It claims to be only 56 miles long but has over 200 curves; it was fun! We took hiway 7 out of Harrison towards Jasper and eventually wound around the curves, hit hiway 43 and ended up back in Harrison.

The roads were varied, but all picturesque.

I couldn't resist some of the buildings "along the side roads".

Hey, Janet, this was a post office once upon a time.

The streams and creeks were plentiful and deep and clean. We saw trout swimming around in this one.

The trees are turning everywhere you look; must be near peak in this area.

Much of the trail on which we drove was in the Buffalo National River Park; neither of us knew this park even existed before today.

Pictures just don't capture the beauty of the hilltops.

This store tells the tale of times gone by...

In Boxley Valley, we saw elk... but this one was "shot" in a museum.

David, this looks like a rocker that might go nicely in your yard.

And then it was time to be heading home... back to Treasure Lake RV Resort in Branson.

We Are Working Again...

Many of you know that when we left Minnesota we were thinking of trying to get jobs in Branson, MO. Well, when we were checking into the Treasure Lake Campground, I found myself asking if they had any need for workampers and whatdaya know...


Beginning Monday, Mike will be working in Security and I will be a Librarian. We each will work 12 hours a week, 6 hours a day on Monday and Tuesday, and for that we will receive free camping. What a deal! So, we will be here in Branson until around December 20th. This is a beautiful campground complete with mini golf, two swimming pools (inside and out), clubhouse activities, walking paths throughout the park, several laundromats, and a lodge. The park can accommodate around 500 units.



This was our first campsite; soon we will need to move to the phase that will be open all year.

I'm loving the walking trails; this one is in the adjacent state forest. That really is the MORNING sun that is shining through the trees; I am trying to break the old summer habits of sleeping late.

This is the clubhouse, indoor pool complex.

Mini Golf
This is one of the in park walking paths; lots of hills throughout the park.

Let's see, in addition to making a decision about work, we have also seen a couple of shows, gone fishing (Mike caught 6 trout today) and just enjoyed the 65-70 degree sunny days. The one time I really needed my camera, I didn't have it with me. At a magic variety show yesterday, Mike was called on stage, dressed in a wig and boobs and became a puppet with directions to move his mouth, but not say anything... trust me It Was Funny!

More details on our work and our life here in Branson in the days and weeks to come.

St. Joseph, Missouri

Although I29 is really not a side road (like we enjoy traveling), it has proved to be an interesting road. We left Sioux Falls on Saturday morning and took this highway south to St. Joseph, MO. We actually tried to stop earlier - yikes we went almost 300 miles! Seems the campgrounds along the interstate are either $35+ a night or so substandard that we wouldn't feel safe staying in them. After starting just after 8, we finally stopped around 3. Before we retired that would have been a short day but now it is longer than we really like to travel - life changes!

We ended up at an expensive dump in St. Joseph. By stopping here, we got to discover a bit about the city - what an old historic town. And they were having a Pumpkin Festival so of course we had to venture into the old town to check it out. I need to tell you here that we got new phones this summer and Mike's has GPS on it so we named her "Hot Lips" and tonight we followed her directions - wow we got there but we went through some unique neighborhoods and unusual streets to do it - maybe we have something set wrong... Anyway, we got there!



This scaffolding was filled with carved pumpkins - all with a different face. Some were advertising a business and others held messages and some were just faces.

Like this one. I don't know about you, but it sure looks like the face of Jesus to me... but then I see dead presidents in campfires...
Since we were in the historic district, we decided to walk around a bit. This is the "barn" that housed the horses used for the Pony Express.
Up the hill a ways is a house in which Jesse James lived in 1881 - He came into town and was known as Tom Howard. By this time in history, most of his gang was killed and he was looking for a place to settle where the $10.000 reward on his head wouldn't be the end of him. While planning a bank robbery with Bob and Charley Ford in this very home, they shot him in the back. The story goes that he had turned to straighen a piece of framed needlework on the wall. The hole is still in the wall of this home. The Ford boys came to trial and were put to death - they never collected the 10,000 dollar reward.

This old hotel was the site of the trial. The hotel was also the headquarters for the Pony Express. It is now a very comprehensive museum of the west. I guess I never realized that the Pony Express only lasted a short time, less than 2 years. Anyway, St. Joseph is where it started in 1860. Plaque indicates they had a good record; maybe even better than today... sorry Janet!

We located a church tonight so after services we set off for Branson... and who knows what! I love this life!