Eureka! (Springs, AR) 10-14-11

     I was going to say that it will probably take a while for us to get back into the swing of being on the road, but the truth is, we slipped back into our lifestyle very quickly and effortlessly.  Already our plans are changing daily- just the way we like it.  If we really wanted to stick to the plans we made, of course, we would, but we usually enjoy the fact that we can change them at will.   Our original idea was to go to Branson, MO and meet up with some friends, but they didn’t go to Branson.  They went to Eureka Springs, AR instead.  And so, here we are in  Eureka Springs, relaxing and having a great time with our Escapee friends.
   The other night we all made a dish and congregated at our trailer to enjoy an awesome Mexican dinner, complete with Margaritas ( of course) and something different that we all tried.  Paul and I love to cook with Hatch Chilis, and we found, along our travels, a wine made with them, so we bought it.  We finally opened it the other day and all 6 of us tried it and decided that it wasn’t terrible!     

    Eureka Springs looks like a very interesting little town, but Paul and I have only done a drive by type of exploring.  Maybe some other time we’ll spend a day walking around investigating what the town has to offer.  The terrain here is very hilly and the roads are very “twisty” which makes for an interesting, if not challenging, drive (especially at night).  I love this little suspension bridge, but I am glad Paul does the driving. There wasn’t much room for the dually on this one!

   Yesterday we ventured up to Branson for the day, which was about a 60 mile ride, but with these lovely roads, it was almost an hour and a half drive. We had tickets to see “The Six”. the #1 show in Branson for 2011.  The Six are six brothers who perform together, using only their voices for not only the singing, but all  the instrumental sounds. The show was pretty good, since I think we are all easily entertained!


      Once the show was over we had to check out the Tool store whose reviews said it was “SO MUCH BETTER than Harbor Freight Tools”.  I am not sure any of us would agree with that, but each of the guys did leave the store with a bag of stuff, so I think they enjoyed the hour they spent in it!
    We topped of the day with a trip to Branson Landing and dinner at the White River Fish House.
Today the weather has changed drastically, from 80 degrees two days ago, to 37 degrees last night.  It’s still in the 40s out there today, and the wind is whipping!

Missouri to Tennessee

July 4th the weather started out lousy in the morning, so we just hung around until late afternoon. Once the rain stopped and it seemed like there would actually be fireworks, we threw the grill and some food in the back of the truck and headed out to find a spot to watch them. The ones we wanted to see were being set off on Table Rock lake, so we found a grassy area near the lake and cooked some burgers once we got settled. The fireworks were not of the caliber that we are used to but we had a great time hanging out. The weather was perfect- no jacket needed. Getting back to the trailer was a long process, since we had to get in line with thousands of other cars.  

              Our last day in Branson was spent on the other large lake in the area-Taneycomo. Two lakes- separated only by a dam, and yet they are so different. Table Rock Lake had warm, beautiful blue water, and was wide, and roundish, like you would think a lake would look. Lake Taneycomo is on the other side of the dam. This lake is long, narrow and shallow, and seems more like a river, with trees growing all along the banks- and the water temperature is about 20-30 degrees colder. It is fed water from 140 ft below the surface of Table Rock Lake, which makes the water about 55 degrees and perfect for trout. The lake is stocked with up to 80,000 trout per month from a nearby hatchery (which we toured). We took the inflatable a few miles down the river, and watched fish swim and jump all around us. There were so many fish, we could see trout swimming around the people who were trying to catch them! We went as far as Branson Landing, the river walk where we had gone shopping the other day. On the way there we went slowly, because the lake is pretty shallow in most spots- only 3-5 feet deep. On the way back though, we zipped along wherever we knew it was deep enough.

          Back at the trailer we headed to the pool to cool off before cooking dinner, then once the boat was dry we put it away. We were invited to our “neighbors” for dessert. We had become friendly with some of the people in the trailers near ours, and they had made homemade ice cream and cobbler, so we weren’t about to turn that down. We sat around until we couldn’t stay awake anymore, then said goodnight.
          This morning we drove very carefully to Springfield, where we had all new tires put on the Everest. The old tires will be sent to Goodyear for evaluation, and we’ll see what they will do for us. Once that was done we drove all day long and ended up in Dover, Tennessee, in a National Recreation area that is called “Land Between the Lakes” because its basically an island, with Kentucky Lake on one side, and Barklay Lake on the other. The site we have is on the water, and the sunset was awesome tonight.
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