Spring Ozarks 2006

So, last week was my family's spring trip to Table Rock Lake. We left Monday, May 22, and came back on Saturday, May 28. As a whole, it was a great trip, with good weather other than one evening.

The most notable activity was probably the Spirit of America catamaran, which we had sailed on previously, a number of years back. This time, we were the only ones to set off on the 90 minute cruise, so we had the boat (and the crew of Captain Jack and his nephew) pretty much to ourselves. The ride circles around the large, open part of Table Rock that is next to the dam and is one of only a few opportunities to get a tour of the water; Big Cedar's very nice, private Go'in Jesse private boat ride is another option. As opposed to Go'in Jesse's $99 flat rate for up to four passengers (which includes drinks, soft or not — I went with bottled water), the Spirit lets you set sail for $20/person sans beverage. It's a fun experience to ride on the largest sail boat in the midwest, and Captain Jack is a pleasant captain who goes easy narrating the trip, but is happy to answer any questions you might have.

During this part of the trip, we stayed at Rock Lane Resort, a hotel on Indian Point, not far from Silver Dollar City. My grandparents and mother started going there in the early sixties, and its still chugging along. I'm the designer of their web site. It offers surely one of the best lake views of any motel or hotel on the lake, looking straight at the dam (albeit from several miles away). For dinner, we dined at the Branson Cafe (home of very good fried chicken and many, many delicious homemade deserts), a place we had not visited in quite awhile, and the Wooden Nickel, which also offers delicious fried chicken, along with some great barbecue. The latter has a unique salad bar built around an old tree (hence it is called “the salad tree”). The former has many very nice meals for $7 or less (desserts figure in at $2.50 to $3.50 and are well worth it); at the latter one should expect to pay $12-$15, unless you want a steak. For breakfast, we went to one of our favorite spots, Billy Gail's (named after the owners). Gail runs an amazingly clean, efficient restaurant and flea market, and always takes time to talk to us while we are there. The food is reasonably priced, very good and served very fast. Plus, the owners and workers are wonderful people.

We also went to Dogwood Canyon, which we had not been to in several years. Dogwood Canyon is one of the most beautiful places in the Ozarks, an enchanting canyon tucked between two Ozark mountains. The canyon features several streams, including Dogwood Creek, that are crystal clear and stocked with rainbow trout and other fish. There are really nice tram tours that run for 90 or 120 minutes, and the 120 minute one is well worth the extra time; it goes farther into the canyon as well as on top of the hills to the park's ranch stocked with longhorn, bison, elk and other fauna. Though it is called a nature park, it is a private park (owned by Bass Pro Shops and Tracker boats' genius owner Johnny Morris) and costs a very worthwhile $25 for a tram ride. Admission is less if you want to walk or bike the canyon.

Unfortunately, my trip there this time was a little less pleasant as the beginnings of food poisoning were getting to me at the park (I'm not sure where I got it for sure, but I suspect it was a fluke because everywhere we ate has been fine many, many times in the past). I was hoping it was something else, but by the time we left, I had a pretty good suspicion what was coming. A tram ride in the heat did nothing to mitigate the onset, either. I'll save the gory details, but let's say I didn't do anything too pleasant the rest of Wednesday and am just starting to get my normal appetite back. Minus the appetite, I felt better Thursday, although we stayed in our cabin at Big Cedar Lodge and read books, which is a nice way to spend a day. Over the trip, I read the Wager by Bill Myers, as well as returning to the Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancy and starting the Lord of the Rings from J.R.R. Tolkien.

Big Cedar, which we stayed at for a little over half our trip, is more of a “vacation experience” than just a hotel. The rooms have a “rustic elegance,” as the brochure says, offering a cabin like feel with pleasant decor (including more taxidermy than I'd normally be comfortable with, but done very tastefully). Big Cedar, set in Big Cedar Hollow, which goes down to Devil's Pool and Table Rock Lake, includes several hundred cabins and lodge rooms, two full service restaurants and a nice quick service restaurant. Devil's Pool Restaurant is a four or five star restaurant, yet it takes a gourmet twist on homestyle favorites, not entirely exotic fare. The menu prices are higher than average, at $16-$20 on average. The quick service Truman Smokehouse offers some really good barbecue ($5-$8), and this time I tried a cinnamon roll that was probably 6” in diameter ($4.00).

The weather was a bit hot for walking around Big Cedar, but like I said, it is so pleasant to sit in the cabin, that wasn't a big loss. Plus, we happened to get a lakeview cabin this time, which made staying “home” even nicer. We ordered in a Big Cedar Pizza Express pizza one night ($12.95), which had a delightful hand tossed crust.

The night I was sick, Big Cedar was nice enough to send me a (complementary) bowl of chick broth, saltine crackers, Sprite, ginger ale and a get well card via room service.

Big Cedar is another wonderland created by the vision of Johnny Morris, filled with impressive waterfalls and streams (including ones that purposely go over the entry roads you drive through), huge gardens filled with flowers and a mix of old and old-looking buildings filled with history. For those looking for activities, it has free mini golf, croquet, many walking trails, horseback riding, a full service marina, and a number of very nice pools with great vistas.

On the way home, we stopped at the Hen House in Bourbon, MO as always, and I got their Broasted Chicken I always talk about on here ($6.99, I believe). We also brought home some pie, of which they have some of the best. It was a toss up, I'd say, between them and the Branson Cafe for the best pie — both were great.

In all, you can judge a trip I go on — probably — by the number of pictures I take. Walking around the lake the first few days, and taking other jaunts, I managed to nab over 1,500 photos during the six day trek. It was just the kind of vacation I needed, minus the food poisoning in the middle.