A while ago Wes and I decided that we were going to take a little mini-trip for our first anniversary. So on Saturday we packed up and headed to the
Little Niangua Campground at Lake of the Ozarks. I hadn't been to the Ozarks before but as soon as I looked at a map I realized how big the place actually was. The Lake actually snakes out in a million different directions so there's lots of waterfront. We stayed in the south on this trip!
Originally we had decided to go to the Ozarks for some kayaking. We had chosen this particular campground because it sported cabins boasting air conditioning. The pluses were that we were right on the river, we got to stay indoors in a cute cedar cabin and we were fairly far away from the tourist bustle of the marinas. The downsides were that we had campsite facilities (community toilets and showers) and that we were way off in the middle of no where. Unfortunately it was really hot this weekend (think 90's with heat indexes of over 100's) but we managed to keep busy.
We arrived Saturday afternoon and dropped our stuff and headed out to explore. After lots of driving around we ended up at
The Horny Toad for dinner. The food was fabulous and there was live music that was great as well. We even got to sit on the marina for a bit and enjoy the evening as it cooled off. We arrived home late that night and crashed.
On Sunday morning we got up early to beat the heat and got in the water. The water was really clear and slow moving. It gave the whole body a glassy look and the reflections from the trees and cliffs and sky were beautiful. I managed to get a number of great shots, but this is my particular favorite. We stayed in the water a little over 2 hours and then it started warming up so we headed in (well ok I also got tired... I'm a wuss.) It was in getting out at the shore that I managed to dump myself out of my kayak for the first time. Wes is still chuckling at that!
After a shower and some breakfast we decided to relax outside on our front porch for a bit. Between the shade and a bit of a breeze it wasn't unbearably hot yet. I, of course, knit for a while and Wes read for a while. I couldn't resist photographing him.
When it got too hot to sit outside, we got in the car and set off in search of entertainment and food. I knew that there were some caverns and caves around the Lake and had figured it would be a good cool excursion on a hot day. We spent a little time trying to find the place, but we ended up at
Bridal Cave for a tour. It was nice and cool, and a pleasant hour underground viewing some of the recordbreaking onyx formations in the world. The cave apparently got it's name back in the 1800's when some Native Americans were married inside the cave in front of one of the formations. Today you can still book the cave for a wedding ceremony! The picture is where people get married - they call the structure The Pipes because it looks very much like an organ (and since most of it is hollow, sounds like an organ in varying tones as well!) For dinner last night we relaxed at a more "beachy" resort,
Captain Ron's. Finally we headed back to the cabin for another nights rest.
We had planned to get up this morning and kayak but about 6:30 a huge clap of thunder broke and the great storm started. It was still pouring by the time we packed up and left around 9am. Now we're home, basking in the post-vacation glow, trying to get laundry done before we have to face another week.
If you're interested in more photos, I posted the full Flickr set
here.
More on my knitting projects to come soon!
Labels: A Picture is Worth 1000 Words, Family, Knitting Content Ahead, Weekend Update
