Cottonwoods RV Park, Columbia, Missouri

Wednesday 7/10/2013

We left Branson and took Hwy. 65 north toward Springfield, MO. The roller
coaster ride continued.

In Springfield we turn east on I-44 and found a rest stop shortly thereafter.

It was a very big & nice rest stop.

Each picnic pavilion had a theme.  These are just a few of the pavilions- Doug's Diner,

Floyd's Barber Shop,

Larry's Motel 66,

There were about 13 theme picnic pavilions in the rest stop. Kids would have a great time here.

After about 40 miles on I-44, we turned onto a Hwy. 5 toward Osage Beach.

Wish we had had time to stop at Osage Beach, but we didn't so we drove straight threw it!

Joe and I spent a week here once about 21 years ago, before we got married.

 Hwy. 5, took us though Jefferson City, the state capitol of Missouri.

We cross the Missouri River, and on north to Columbia, Mo.

Just north of Columbia, we made our night stop at the Cottonwoods RV Park, which is about 1/4 of a miles off the Hwy. 5.

A Nice Place For Nice People.

As we pulled in around 4 PM, there was already a line at the check in.

The registration building also hold an Antique Shop,Gift Shop, and General Store.

After getting settled, we walked around the park. There is a small clean outdoor pool. It was in the 90's, so lots of people were enjoying it.

Next to the pool was a very nice playground.

On the other side of the pool is a large pavilion.

This park is kept very well manicured.

We came in through Good Sam's which gave us a 10% discount for a rate of  $34 a night. ( Higher than we like to pay, but it was for just one night and it was conveniently located).

By 6 PM the front row of pull through sites were completely filled up. Note the cute little fire pots at each site.

Table Rock Lake, Missouri

Tuesday 7/9/2013

Every time we drove from Branson West to Branson, we went past this Resort Community.

We decided to stop at it on the last day we were in the area, because it had nice views of Table Rock Lake,

and the homes in the community looked strange from the road.

All these homes after a closer look, looked abandon. We decided this community probably started in 2008 and then the crash hit, causing the company to go bankrupt.

Next we drove to the Indian Point Marina.

Joe and I would like to be Blessed with a pontoon boat like this someday, when we find our lake view home.

We were so impressed with the clarity of Table Rock Lake's water.

A view from a Indian Point condominium complex.

A view from Hwy. 265 of Table Rock Lake.

We found a peninsula park area on the north side of the Table Rock Dam to get out and get more views.

From the peninsula was a small dam. (This is not the main Table Rock Dam). Note the very blue water color.

View of  Chateau On The Lake Resort Hotel.

We crossed the Table Rock Dam and found the Dewey Short Visitor Center.

We had Mallery with us, so we took turns going inside. After I got back from inside, I met Joe in the back and took pictures while he went inside. The Table Rock Dam is  6,423 feet, and controls the White River.

Table Rock Lake has a surface area of 43,100 acres.

Inside the visitor center, I took some pictures of the lake and the dam location.

This picture show the location of the town of  Branson  to Table Rock Lake.

Lake Taneycomo flows from Table Rock Dam to the east.

Table Rock Lake is in southwest Missouri, as well as in the northwest of Arkansas. East of Table Rock Lake is Bull Shoals Lake that lies on the border of Missouri and Arkansas.

Further south of Bull Shoals Lake is Greers Ferry Lake, where we looked at some lake view properties.

We left the visitor center and followed Hwy 165 to the Scenic Overlook.

View of Taneycomo Lake toward the dam.

View looking east up Taneycomo Lake.

Close up of the previous picture, with Branson neighborhoods along the Taneycomo Lake.

On our way home we stopped at the Branson View Campground.

This campground had just reopened under new management and sits along Hwy. 265.

The campground had three viewing pavilions along a bluff,

with great views of Branson to the east.

I am sure the night light views of the city were spectacular.

I never showed a picture of Joe's meteorite that he purchase for $10 in Eureka Springs, AR.. I forgot to take  picture of it until later after we left Arkansas.

Not too many people can say they have a meteorite!

On another note, our little Mallery will sit in front of her bowls and bark if I forget to feed her. Joe thought this was a cute picture, so he took this picture.
We are still in Cedar Rapids, IA for another week.