SILVER DOLLAR CITY

I arrived in Branson on Monday.  The last time I was here was in 2004.  I recognize some things but a lot has changed.  Some of the change is from adding shows, restaurants, water parks, go-cart parks, shops, and anything else that draws tourists.  Some of the change is from the tornado that hit here 2 years ago.  So, for the last couple of days, I have been trying to get my bearings.

Today, I went to Silver Dollar City(SDC).  SDC is a combination amusement park and vendor exhibitions.  I am always amazed at the imagination and talent of some of the vendors.  I always manage to see some things and think, "Why didn't I think of that?".  As in most places like this, those vendors are very proud of their products. But, if they can sell their stuff for those prices, good for them.  I watched a lady paint/sketch a picture using her finger and some paint. It was a sketch of Willie Nelson.  She held her cell phone with a picture of Willie Nelson in the same hand that she held the paint.  She was adding strokes thick and thin and making an exact likeness.  It was amazing to me.  I can't draw stick people that look right so I am always in awe of anyone that can sketch/draw/paint. A blacksmith does a demonstration and a wood carver does a demonstration and a glass blower and a jewelry maker and a .......you get the idea.

They have a new roller coaster this year.  It is called the Outlaw Run.  It won some award for the best roller coaster this year.  It is wooden and it is high.  I don't do roller coasters, but Mr. W does.  So, Mr. W rode the Outlaw Run.  According to him, it did 2 complete circles and a half sideways circle, a 90 degree drop that felt like it was dropping at more than 90 degrees and several other "fun" things.  Whatever.

Tonight, at 6:00 when the park closes, you can stay for the singing/dancing show put on by GAC Country in their big amphitheater.  They have 12 singers/dancers who did a set of country music, a set of gospel music, and a set of patriotic music.  The band consisted of a drummer, a fiddle player, a guitar, a bass guitar, a steel guitar, and a pianist that I thought looked a little spooky.  There was a comedian and an emcee.

I thought the show was entertaining and I was glad that I stayed to watch.  Here are some pics.

WENDY

Today, I saw my friend Wendy.  Wendy lives in Harrison, Arkansas which happens to be right on the way to Branson, MO.  I arrived at Wendy's around 1:30 this afternoon and met her son, Jason, his wife, Tracie, and their 3 children.  Great family.  Wendy's ex-husband, Steve, and his brother, Joe also came over, as well as Wendy's pastor, Paul.  We had a fabulous feast and an even better time visiting.

Wendy and I met in kindergarten.  We were friends at first sight.  We were very good friend and did a lot of things during elementary.  But, we became best friends, inseparable friends, some time during "Junior High" and it carried over to Senior High.  I was the maid of honor in her wedding and she was my matron of honor in my wedding.  Life happens and paths change, but we have always kept up with each other and it is really great when we get to actually see each other and visit.  Today, we even talked about some of the things we did as teenagers that we shouldn't have been doing! Oops!

Steve, (her ex) wanted to go to Boxley Valley to see the elk.  This is the time of year when the elk come to this valley to graze.  It is really pretty amazing.  You can drive down the road and all of a sudden you see a line of cars pulled over on both sides of the road and people with cameras everywhere.  Well, I was one of those people.

On my way back to Wendy's, I saw the "motorcycle tree".  The only thing I can say is that I am in Arkansas. :)

OZARK, ARKANSAS

I was suppose to stay 2 days at Queen Wilhelmina State Park, go to Petit Jean State Park for 2 days, and be in Harrison, Arkansas tomorrow. Well, Mother Nature made me make a change in my plans.

The weather was bad enough yesterday at Queen Wilhelmina that I decided to stay put.  So, today, instead of taking off for Petit Jean, I decided to go to Ozark, Arkansas instead.  A couple that I met at the lake, Ken and Barbara, told me about a Corps of Engineers park on the Arkansas River right over the bridge from Ozark.  They told me that you can sit and watch barges go down the river and look at the beautiful lighted bridge at night.  All of the sites are on the water.  Well, that sold me! Not to mention that a little town by the name of Altus is only about 5 miles from Ozark and it touts itself as the Arkansas wine capital. The weather today was beautiful! The high was around 82 and the low is suppose to be around 55. Perfect.

The name of the park is Aux Arc Park.  The origin of the name Ozark dates back to the 15th century when French explorers navigated the Arkansas River and called this area Aux Arc. So, there's your history lesson for the day. 

This is a pic of the Arkansas River right behind my RV.

A shot down the road.  All of these trailers back up to the river.

Out my back window

Home

After I got settled in, it was time to go do something.  Being this close to the wine capital of Arkansas, what better thing to do than go visit some Arkansas wineries.  If you have never had any Arkansas wine, you are missing something.  The vineyards here grow a lot of their own grapes for their own special wines.  They have muscadine grapes, Niagara grapes, concord grapes, Cynthiana grapes, and several more.  Most of the wineries do not age their wine in oak barrels.  They use steel barrels.  So, if you like oaky, bold wines, you probably won't like these wines.  Most of the grapes used here tend to make their wines more on the sweet side.  So, if you normally don't like wine because you think it is a little strong and dry, you probably will like these.  Alot of the wines here are very mild, smooth, and semi-sweet.  Here is my journey this afternoon.

 

 

When I got back from the wineries, I went down to the lock and dam located just down the road from the park.  As I was walking down a bridge to get closer to the water, 4 guys passed me with 3 loaded down stringers of channel catfish.  When I say loaded down, I mean loaded down.  I kept hoping someone was going to tell me where the fish fry was going to be, but sadly they didn't. :(

 



Right after dinner and around sunset, a tugboat pushing a barge came floating down the river.  The bridge that goes over the river from the park to the town of Ozark is also lit up at dark.  Here are a couple of pics of those 2 things.  It is really very pretty here.  I wish I had more time to spend here. Some of my future trips will take me through this area again and I think this will be a place that I will stay again.

HER MAJESTY - QUEEN WILHELMINA

I have spent the past 2 days at Queen Wilhelmina State Park right outside Mena, Arkansas.  The state park is on top of a mountain. There are about 35 campsites and a lodge.  The lodge is under major renovations right now and is suppose to be open spring of 2014.  You will see that the lodge will be really nice once complete. There are 2 different routes into the park. Mr. W called the office and asked what route would be best for a 38 ft. fifth wheel.  So, we set out on that route.  Well, maybe the office didn't understand 38 FOOT FIFTH WHEEL!  The road went up at what seemed like a 90 degree incline and I think they paved the road along the trail left by a snake.  I met a UPS truck on the road and thank goodness we didn't meet on one of the many blind curves. Yikes!  The drive is really pretty if you can get over the fact that the road is narrow, winding, and steep.

I finally arrive, set up and scope out a spot to watch a sunset.

Looking at our neighbors

 

 

I thought the best place to watch a sunset would be in front of the lodge.  They have trimmed back a lot of the trees so that views from the lodge will be unobstructed.  Meaning, my view would be unobstructed. They have it fenced off the lodge because of the construction.  But look at the pic.  Don't you think it will be great when finished?

 





Unfortunately, it was so hazy that looking out to the vista below proved to be NOT a good place to see anything much less a sunset.

Mr. W and I set there awhile hoping that the haze would go away, which it didn't, and then started back to our vehicle to call it a night.  On the way, we encountered some deer and while watching them, we saw a much better view of the sunset.  Still, not spectacular, but I'll take any sunset on top of the mountain anytime over a sunset anywhere after WORKING!  By the way, Mr. W and I always try to find a good view of a sunset, bring our chairs to sit and watch, and drink a little vino to top it off.  Alcohol is not allowed in state parks so mums the word! Thank goodness I brought my own because after making a little shopping trip at the local grocery store, I discovered Polk County Arkansas is a dry county.  I think the young "20 something" cashier was more bummed about that than I was. If you have never had any Arkansas wine, you are truly missing something. But, if you see me sitting at sunset with a thermos and a solo cup, it's not coffee I'm drinking.  It will have to be our little secret.  You can keep a secret, right? :)

There is an "official" national scenic highway, the Talimena National Scenic Byway.  I decided that since it had 20 different vista pull-offs, surely I would be able to get some good pics of the mountains and the valley below.  The morning proved to be hazy but it did eventually clear off enough to get some half-way decent pictures. 

Mr. W

Mimi (yours truly)

I ended up in a little town, Talihina, OK., where I ate lunch at a great little, old-fashion, soda counter diner. They had great sandwiches and many, many fountain treats.  It was called Treats and Treasures.  Stop by if you are ever in the neighborhood.

Did I mention that this week is the week for motorcycle club rallies in Arkansas? I had the pleasure of sharing the state park with the "Two-wheelers of Texas" BMW motorcycle club.  But every road was filled with Hondas, Harleys, and BMW motorcycles.  I'm sure this is a boost to all the small towns' economy during this time and there were signs all around welcoming the bikers.

A storm came in last night and it is suppose to rain all day today.  This has changed my travel plans.  I had planned to leave today to go to Petit Jean State Park but the thought of going DOWN the snaking, steep road during all this wind and rain did not seem like my idea of a good time.  So, tomorrow, I'm heading to Ozark, Arkansas instead and will have to visit Petit Jean some other time.

If you are in the area, be sure to stop by Queen Wilhelminia State Park.  You will be glad you did.

FINALLY!

I am finally hitting the road! Yay!

I spent last night at Wright Patman Lake in a Corps of Engineers park (Malden Lake Campground).  Wright Patman is such a big lake that it has about 15 different parks surrounding it.  Some are Corps of Engineers parks, there is a state park, and several parks run by private individuals/companies.  This was my first visit to Wright Patman Lake which is right out of Maud, TX.  I was born and raised in Texas and thought I knew just about everything there is to know about Texas. But, I had no idea there was a Maud, TX. They even use Texarkana as their mailing address instead of Maud.  That should give you a hint about the town.

During the registration process, Mr. W asked the lady what there was to do around here.  Her reply was, "Absolutely nothing."  Well, that will definitely make you want to come back and stay for long periods of time.  Right?

Anyway, the park was nice, clean and the sites are very pretty.  If you like getting outdoors, hiking, and fishing, this is the place for you.  However, it was about 90 degrees with about 90% humidity so I opted to stay inside and catch up on some things that I had been putting off doing. Giving myself a pedicure, reading, taking a nap.......you get the idea.

One of the highlights of travelling is meeting new people.  Or at least that is what Mr. W tells me and on this trip he met Willie Byrd.

Willie Byrd is a disabled vet who was in the 101st Airborne in the Viet Nam war. I want to sincerely thank you Willie Byrd for your service to our country. 

Willie is from Hughes Springs, TX.  Willie says he spends 6 months out of the year at Wright Patman Lake.  As you enter the park, there is a sign that says you can spend 2 weeks max. and then you must leave for a specified amount of time before returning.  However, according to Willie, after October 1, you can stay 42 days without having to leave.  You pay nightly for your site but you do not have to pay for your electricity.  Willie must have the coming and going rules down to a science.

Mr. W is always interested in the fishing wherever there is a lake, so of course, the topic turned to fishing.  Willie lives on Lone Star Lakes in Hughes Springs.  He says there are a lot of fish in that lake.  However, the lake is owned by U.S. Steel so you really aren't suppose to eat any of the fish because the levels of mercury are so high.  Probably explains why Willie has 3 eyes and 1 ear.  JUST KIDDING!  Geez! So, Willie says every spring, he brings a cane pole, sits down on the bank of Wright Patman Lake and catches channel catfish all day long.  He even keeps a separate freezer outside his trailer to store them.  So, if you like to catfish, Wright Patman might be the place for you during the spring.

My next stop will be Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas.  But for now, here are a few pics of Malden Lake Corps of Engineers Park on Wright Patman Lake.

You can see the lake through the trees.

One of the campsites

Home

One of the hiking trails

A nice playground for kids.

 

 

THE ROAD IS CALLING ME

I haven't posted anything lately because we have been at "the lake" and did I mention that the Wi-Fi there is really, really s-l-o-w.  Ugh!  If I tried to download any pictures, it took what seemed like hours. And, who wants to read a blog and not look at any pictures? Right?

So, yesterday, we finally packed up and came into H-town because I have a show this weekend.  For those of you that don't know, I started a ladies' accessories business about 2 1/2 years ago.  I was still working at my "real" job at the time but it was always something that I thought I would like to do.  I don't have a store front.  I do festivals, markets, trade days, etc.  I enjoy meeting all the people and have figured out which ones I like to do and which ones I don't do.  This Saturday is a show put on by Cypresswood Women's Civic Association and it is called Shop Til You Drop.  Literally, I think you could. 

Of course, I'm sure getting the opportunity to see my grandkids had absolutely nothing to do with coming into town......:)  I also had the privilege of helping a dear friend celebrate her 80th birthday today.  She is part of my lunch bunch from my previous office that you have heard me speak of before. Believe me, if you met her, you would have no idea that she just turned 80.  She can put me to shame with her activity and sharpness. 

Anyway, the show is all day Saturday and then Tuesday morning, I will start out on my first real road trip.  I can't wait!  I am antsy to get on the road.  The plus to this too is that where we are going is having much cooler weather than H-town and vicinity.  This old girl gets hot easily and stays hot.  Women over 50 know exactly what I'm talking about but enough said about that.

Oh, I also bought a humming bird feeder.  I love humming birds and they are plentiful right now.  I was told by someone who seemed to be knowledgeable about humming birds that they will be gone by mid-October.  I really didn't know there was a season for humming birds. I guess you learn something new everyday.  There was a time when I semi collected humming bird stuff.  I gave that up.  But, I still love watching them.

So, now you are semi caught up on my August.  Starting next Tuesday, I'm hoping that you will have regular blog posts to read with some really great pictures.  Because, if you're reading about it and looking at pictures, it must mean that I'm having a great time experiencing something.  Sorry, to all my working friends!

Here are a couple of a sunset at the lake.