Mountain People

my handsome hubs

Wow.  What a fun stop in Branson!  We managed to see many of our Dewey Short friends and our friend who owns the consignment shop we like.  We are missing Kansas terribly, but being here in the Ozarks helps a lot.  The mountain nature and lifelong friends are good for the soul!

we enjoyed lunch at Vasken's with friend, Terri Clark

10-1-14:  One of our first stops in Branson was to the Clothing Exchange to drop some items off.  Our friend Terri wasn't in, but she met us shortly after for lunch.  What a sweet lady!

stopped by the hatchery to see our little Morgan Wyatt

Then we went to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery where Morgan is now working.  Great seeing our little Morgan!

Morgan introduced us to this pretty garden spider

she said it's bigger each day

stopped by the Dewey to say hey to Ranger Leah Deeds and to look around

After the hatchery we stopped by the Dewey Short Visitor Center where we workamped in 2012 and 13.  The foundation we volunteered for no longer exists, but the Corps of Engineers is still running it, minus the gift shop and dam tours.  We visited a bit with Ranger Leah, saw Howard and Jeane (workampers) and met 3 other workampers who weren't here when we were. Sure miss those dam tours and being at Table Rock Lake!

 Ranger Jeremy Rasnick photobombed my selfie

After visiting the Dewey, we gave Ranger Jeremy a text and visited with him a few minutes.  He's a great guy!  And so funny.

Rocky was so excited to get back in the clear water of Table Rock

Later this afternoon we brought Rocky back to the lake so he could swim.  It's still warm today so we knew it'd feel great to him.  He swam every day when we workamped here -- sometimes twice a day.  He hasn't been swimming in Kansas. The waters in Kansas just aren't as inviting.

Table Rocky

went after a few sticks and then was ready to move on to the next adventure

we headed down the Lakeshore Trail

After his swim he was frisky and ready for a stroll.  He seemed to remember all the familiar spots that he liked to mark.  We headed down the Lakeshore Trail and walked to the Branson Belle and back.

that young Sassafras grove at the beginning of the trail is still growing

Morgan taught me about Sassafras trees the first year we were here.  So interesting and now it's one of my fave things to look for while hiking in the Ozarks.  This is a little grove that was really tiny a couple of years ago.  Looks like they are growing and doing well.

We are staying at Turkey Creek RV Park in Hollister

David and I are staying in Hollister at an Escapees rv park since the part of the state park we wanted is closed for the season.  Not a bad little rv park at all.  I wouldn't want a back-in because they have them butt to butt.  But the pull-thru's are just fine.

Yellow Ironweed at Turkey Creek

pretty blooms

yellow asters

great mix down by Turkey Creek -- love the Cardinal Flowers

a water plane flew over our campground toward Taneycomo

Sara Karnes, me, Tammy Pascoe

10-2-14:  Met some friends at Little Hacienda in Hollister tonite.  This is our fave Mexican cafe here
. What a blast catching up with so many of our peeps!  Lots of laughs. Just like we'd never left.

Sara takes that "make a face" thing pretty seriously!

my feller and me

Workamper peeps from KY, Patrick and Joan Sheehey

And co-worker Sherryl Walker joined us

Newlyweds Gala and Allan Keller were there, too

us

Wonderful get-together!

my St. Louis friend Jackie Benedick

10-3-14:  Went over to the "quiet side" of Table Rock Lake today to visit friends, Jackie and Dave.  Love this couple! We had a wonderful day of walking, bbq, and catching up!

love this couple: Jackie & David Benedick

Jackie still has the hooter I made last year: Owlie

Dave just climbed on down and walked along this bluff at Baxter campground

pretty bluff on one of the trails at Baxter campground

I'm just trying to blaze the trail for Jackie

David, me, Jackie

me, Jackie, Dave

windy, chilly day -- loved it!

Then we looked up. Eagle!

he hovered near us for quite some time and allowed David to get some pix

huge wingspan

probably 1-2 yr old Bald Eagle

Friendship rocks have holes that go all the way through

I gave the friendship rock that I found on the shore to my friend

the persimmons have spoons in them this year

The Farmers Almanac says that the Persimmon Seed Forecast this year indicates heavy snow due to the spoon inside.  Yep, it's plain as day that it's a spoon.  We shall see.  A knife means you can cut the icy temps and winds, and a fork means it'll be a powdery snow and mild winter.

David checking out the sky and the lake from J and D's deck

Dave doing the grilling

sweet Bria stays by Jackie's side while she's in the kitchen

Thank you Dave, Jackie, and Bria for a wonderful day!

cardinal flowers on Turkey Creek

close up of a Cardinal Flower

one of our fave breakfast spots in Branson

10-4-14:  After a yummy breakfast at the Outpost, David and I did a little exploring on the nature trail at Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery.  Gorgeous, crisp morning for a walk in the woods.

trout ladder at the hatchery

no action yet, but still a pretty spot

Lake Taneycomo

the flyfishermen were enjoying the cool temps on Taneycomo

Blue Cardinal Flower -- Great Lobelia

clear water near the lake

Rainbow Trout

wonderful morning for a little hike

White Asters

they are abundant in the Ozarks

this bunch of asters reminded me of fireworks

the top acorn is from a Bur Oak

Sumac is turning all through the hills

this Sassafras is turning yellow

Sassafras is cool because each tree has leaves of 3 shapes

football, mitten, and ghost

Taneycomo looks so pretty from the trail

Small River Cane

some of the river cane was still green

the stem on a river cane plant

Fallen Color -- maybe Virginia Creeper leaves

we stopped a minute to watch the flyfishermen

we watched one of them fighting his catch

David trying to spot some trout

enjoyed another evening with Gala and Allan

Another wonderful day in the hills and wonderful night with friends. Another couple we love!  We met Allan and Gala in Ozark at Peggy Jo's.  Great home cooking!  Go, Peggy Jo!

Dogwood in the fall

w/beautiful red berries

10-5-14:  David, Rocky, and I spent part of our last day in Branson on the Lakeshore Trail.  We walked around 2 miles -- which was a long one for Rocky.  Luckily, it is still cool here. He did great with an occassional stop for a drink.  We totally loved the fall growth along the trail!  Had to do some googling and get a little help from my naturalist peeps to id some of these.

white asters

possum haw

purple asters

this stopped me dead in my tracks!

a freak of nature -- Redbud blooming

in October!  It was among other Redbuds loaded with pods

Today the Sassafras is turning red!  

can you spot a football, a mitten, and ghost?

Last month at the nature center presentation in Kansas, we learned why Sassafras has been banned from being in Root Beer.  It's ingredient, safrole, proved to be very unhealthy.  But when you pinch off a leaf you can still smell the fragrance that will remind ya of root beer.

the monarchs will be happy to see this milkweed

 There is a big push to plant more milkweed for the migrating Monarchs.

Buckthorn

thx for the ID, Morgan

haven't ever noticed the Sumac plumes this red

seems they are usually dark brown with a red tint

Rocky reminiscing about being Table Rocky

enjoying the view from Scott's bench (no, Rocky didn't take this)

this stretch of the trail is finally coming together after being under construction for about 3 yrs

Lizzie -- come get some persimmons!

These were huge!  Teasel -- thx, Gala and Sherryl for the help with the id

Intersting uses in textile processing history

this Sumac is pretty -- but what caught my eye is the lake!

This visit, tho too short, did our hearts good.  THANK-YOU to all our Ozarks friends for the quality time!

Much love to all!

Aster, Sassy-fras, and Table Rocky