Tuesday, May 24, 2016

May 25, 2016

Our last Camping Trip took us to Bennett Spring State Park.  Bennett Spring has the Ozarks 4th largest spring.  It also has a fish hatchery and a Natural bridge.

One hundred and three millions of gallons of cold water flow from the spring everyday.  Bennett Spring is one of the four designated Trout Parks in Missouri along with Maramec Spring Park, Montauk State Park, and Roaring River State Park.  All are spring fed.  The hatchery is the parks largest attraction.  The water from the spring eventually ends up about 2 miles to the Niangua River.  Trout season is from March 1 to October 31st.  The park has five camping areas.  It has a dining lodge built in the 1930's.  They have a pool, 5 playgrounds and a couple of pavillions.  If you like to hike they have 12 miles of hiking trails.  If you want to see the natural bridge be prepared to hike 7.5 miles to see it.The natural tunnel is 296feet long and 16feet wide and water does run through it.Check in at the general store in the park for more information.  Bennett Spring is located near Lebanon, Missouri. I really like Bennett Spring State Park and watching the fishermen.I like taking pictures of the fishermen in their waders and working the line back and forth.

 While we were at Bennett Spring we took a short trip to Ha Ha Tonka State Park.  Ha Ha Tonka State Park has Missouri's 12th largest spring.  Fifteen miles of trails and the Famous Castle built by a wealthy businessman over looking the Lake of the Ozarks high upon a 250ft bluff that also overlooks the spring.  The castle burned down and left the shell of the castle.  The walk up to the castle is less than a mile on pavement.I recommend visiting Ha Ha Tonka and making the trip up to the castle and the overlook.  There are benches along the way.  Ha Ha Tonka is located near Camdenton, MO.

We had a great trip and hope you get to make a trip to see these two State Parks.
I hope you enjoy the pictures that follow,

I don't know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me Dream.  Vincent Van Gough








 This is a moth that landed near our pic-nick table the morning we were packing up to leave.  It was bigger than my hand, very beautiful.


Castle
Castle


Dave near the Castle






















 I thought this was so cute.  Daddy and daughter fishing.

Church near our travel route.
 Barn along our travel route.
Here is another barn.


Park Store

Castle at Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Cart used to haul rock up hill to build castle.

Castle


Overlook of Lake of Ozark from bluff.
A nice ending to the day.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Wallace State Park First Campout 2016

 Hi to all,
Our first camp out was in April.  We went to Wallace State Park.  The park opened on April 15th and our first night there was April 20th.  Even though the weather forecast was calling for cool weather and the possibility of rain, we decided to go anyway.  We arrived on Wednesday shortly after lunch.  Our biggest problem was the wind.   After getting set up we settled in with lunch and relaxing around camp for the rest of the day.  Dave and Don took a walk down one of the trails to the lake.It was about a mile and a half round trip.  Down hill to the lake up hill coming back.  Here is Sharon and Buster trying to stay warm around the campfire. On Friday we took a trip to Jamesport,  Missouri.  If you have never been there before it is about 45 minutes north of Cameron, Missouri.  Jamesport is an Amish community.  There are lots of antique stores along with a couple of bakeries and restaurants and a general store run by Amish families.  If you are interested in antiques, Jamesport would be a nice drive. Dave picked up some wine from the Jamesport wine company and Sharon bought a candle which smelled very good and is made right there in Jamesport.  After sightseeing in Jamesport we went about 35 miles north to Crowder State Park.  We were told by the camp host at Wallace State Park that it was like being in the Ozarks.  He was somewhat right.  It was very secluded and there were no campers there the day we visited.  If you don't want to have a lot of people around you I would suspect this would be a good place to go.  Very hilly, has a small fishing lake although you cannot fish from the bank because of the green algae, but they do rent paddle boats to get out on the lake and you can fish from a bridge.We might give it a try someday. We headed back to camp and went our separate ways for  awhile and then met up again for dinner.  Don grilled pork chops and Sharon made great tasting baked potatoes and a salad.  Dinner was great.
 




Dave and Don are having a conversation, probably about airplanes, cars, motorcycles, politics, the weather, gardens, well you get the picture.  It could be about anything. Skipper on Don's lap is happy as long as he is being petted. 




Dave usually tends the fire.  So here he is making sure a big piece of wood stays in the fire circle.  Balancing it just right is a hard job.




This tree was at Crowder State Park.  You can see a glimpse of the lake in the back ground.  It is not very big.



This house is on the road to Wallace State Park.  I like it because it has a barn quilt.




We saw this guy and his wagon and horses in Jamesport.



The next four pictures were in Cameron or in the vicinity. 



 Our campsite at Wallace.






            Sunset
Over all I think Wallace Stat Park is a good place for camping.  They have several trails, a playground for the kiddos, a small lake clean showers and restrooms.  The camp host was very helpful and pleasant to talk to.  If you are a camper I think you would like Wallace State Park. Close to Kansas City.  Takes about an hour to hour and half to drive from KC.
National and State Parks are celebrating 100 years in service this year. This would be a great year to go out and visit a park.  Missouri has 88 State Parks and Historical Sites.
 Adopt the pace of Nature: Her secret is patience.