Tranquility amidst Bransons traffic, and...The Fish Hatchery

 Between the train, sirens (not too many, but), vehicle noise and of course the ongoing air hammering of bridge deconstruction and reconstruction here by the river, I've been craving some tranquility, trees and shade, bird song and wind song. Today we found the place.

Just off the Green on the Yellow

Location: Fall Creek Road (just 2 blocks south of Highway 76, near Dixie Stampede). Entrance on left. The Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area is a 130-acre Branson city park featuring rugged hiking trails, a scenic observation deck overlooking Lake Taneycomo, two miles of the Lake Taneycomo shoreline and 315 hand-lain stone steps that descend to the lake. This is a designated wilderness area, set aside to preserve a portion of the natural Ozarks. Admission is free. For detailed information,  http://www.bransonworld.com/branson-attractions/detail/branson-lakeside-forest-wilderness-area.html



White Oaks, Hickory and Butternut make up the canopy.

Many areas of the shady trails are edged with poison ivy - stay on the trail, besides, not doing so compacts the soil and limits growth!  

A gentle breeze was blowing, and cicada song filled the air, along with the scent of green, and cedar.

We stayed to the gentler paths, and found ourselves atop the ridge at an old homestead made of local stone. The old grapevine was overgrown with wild potato vine in full bloom. The flowers were over 3" across!

Gentians grew amidst the sparse grasses and vines.

Picnic tables and benchs turn up at just the right place for a rest. I'd love to come back here when it's cooler and take the ridge trail down to the cave. Just a bit too warm for that today, and my happy hiker honey wasn't up to it, and sharing a hike with him is always better than exploring alone.

Next time, we bring lunch and the dulcimers.

Next stop--->Shephard of the Hills Fish Hatchery at the base of Table Rock Lake Dam

http://mdc.mo.gov/regions/southwest/shepherd-hills-fish-hatchery

At the base of the 800' high dam is the hatchery (established in 1957), which uses the 42 degree water from the bottom of the lake to raise rainbow and brown trout. It is the largest hatchery in the state. We sat through a short video explaining how the fish are raised, and went on a guided tour through the facility. Interesting. I loved the hugh tank with underwater viewing! Brown trout have large speckles with white circles around them, and lack speckles on their tails. They tend to get larger than rainbows.

Rainbow trout have small speckles everywhere and a beautiful rosy stripe running along the center of their bodies. Male trout have a long protruding jaw (which they use to bite other fish to keep them away from their female during spawning). Females have a short lower jaw, and are wider at the middle to accommodate the 5000 eggs each one carries at spawning time. In the wild, an average of 4-10 eggs out of 5000 lives to continue the species. At the hatchery, 3 out of 4 lives to be released into trout streams. Trout require very cold water with a high oxygen content. Lake Taneycomo is ideal with an average water temperature of 54 degrees.

Note: the name Taneycomo comes from Taney County MO. How many other names can you find within the state that use that approach?

One Month In

For years I've been asking "How much is enough??" I never really thought there was an answer to the question. However, after buying our first camper (a 22' Coachman 5th Wheel) in early March 2011 and heading down to Texas for a 3 week reprieve from Old Man Winter, an answer became perfectly clear to us! This is it - RVing! We don't need anything else! WOW!

The house was already for sale by owner as we were going to downsize, so we listed it with a realtor, and I started listing all the big stuff on Craigs List. I had a commitment to play at the Wisconsin Renaissance Faire for 4 weeks, and by the time we moved out there, all that was left was to clean the house. The one garage sale we had was a sell out in one day (that's never happened before!)We left Wisconsin June 20th with our "new" 1999 F250 diesel and headed south.

tips, problems & solutions

When we came home with our hearts full of RVing, John's cousin Barb sent us some tips to get us started. They belong here, so Barb, I'm passing them on, along with a few of my own ideas!

1.  No dish water down the drain-grease and food particles eventually make this really stink- throw it in the toilet or outside.

 2. No toilet paper in the toilet- Has a tendency to stick to black water tank walls and plug you up- use a small wastebasket set right next to toilet with a plastic bag as a liner- spray with airfreshner and you have no smell in bathroom.

3. Throw a bunch of icecubes down the toilet when you are going from place to place- knocks down any solid materials before you dump

4. Make sure you have some disposable gloves or old rubber gloves to put on when you dump!

5. Get a hanging rack for your door.  Shoe bags work great for small things. They can be cut apart and put on the walls with snaps all over the place. I have 1 in the bedroom above the bed and one above the shower in the bath.

We also have one under the 2 that came with the camper by the back door for slippers, shower shoes, etc. Dan put the male end of the snap unit on with those mollies he talked about. Alarm clocks, extra batteries, the extra halegen bulbs, etc fit well in the one above the bed. In the closet I got one of those battery operated wall lights so it isn't dark in there. Dan mounted it on the back side of the door frame. Only thing is you have to make sure it is turned off, especially when you don't use the camper for awhile because the batteries do go dead.

6. Use a mail  rack used in an office desk for files, to put glass covers in, etc. I had to cut the little legs off to make it fit. The slots work great for holding the covers. It fits across the backside of the cupboard.

7. The thing you use to keep rugs from sliding on the floor works great for lining shelves to keep things from sliding, like canned goods and dishes.

8.  Remember to take somekind of battery operated radio to use if you run into storm trouble and there is no electricity. We got a weather band radio to listen for storms. Helps in the back woods like Crivitz and Armstrong Creek.

9. At age 62 you qualifiy for the National Parks Pass which gives you 1/2 price camping and entrance into any National Park and Museum for free. (Statue of Liberty, Arch in St Louis, Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, Glacier Park, Yellowstone, etc.) You get the pass for a one time fee of $10.00 at any National Forest Office. So we camp at  Laura/Gordon for $6 a night and $10 a night at Boulder Lake with electricity. That's 1/2 the normal charge.

10. a white board is a must by the door. I have things listed on there all the time. You just need a small one.
11. Get a can of "Great Stuff", crawl under your rig and fill up any holes down there to keep out unwanted "visitors" (This took care of my impossible ant problem in Branson)

12. Bulkily wrap tin foil around your electric hookup  holeon the outside of the camper to keep out mice.

13. When storing the camper, place fresh drier sheets around any possible entrances to keep mice out.

14. For coats and towels hanging on a wall opposite each other, use a 1/2 to 3/4 size drill bit (the same size as the dowel you will use), and make dowels to fit between the walls (and even with the outside wall), drill starter holes into the ends of them. Mount your hooks on 2 boards, one for each side of the wall; sand and finish them before mounting. drill holes in these boards at the exact location the screws will go into the dowels. This makes for a very sturdy wall hook arrangement. (see pictures)

15. Old eaves troughs work great to guide your sewer hose from it's exit point to the septic hole in the ground. 4"pvc also works but won't expand or contract for length.

16. Carry 2 different length water hoses and sewer hoses and a 30/50 amp extention cord to accomodate different sites.

17. No room for a vacuum cleaner: use the broom, then to get rid of pet hair  I have a stone that is @ 6" x3" x 3/4" - it looks like pumice but is made of a recycled manmade product that I found in a pet store. drag it across the carpet or upholstery, and like magec, no more hair!!! I use it about once a week to really de'hair the RV.

18. An electric skillet takes 90% of cooking outside and has been invaluable to our culinary needs!

19. Our friends from Arkansas have a double suction pad hanger hook for their hummingbird feeder
which is attached to the window adjacent to their dining room table - we found one at Lowe's for under $5. And - if you have a veteran card, Lowe's will give you a 10% discount on purchases!

20. Cleaning & insecticide products: Baking soda or vinegar will take care of most of your cleaning needs! I also use dawn dish soap,  laundry detergent and Downy softner. I also like to have a little bottle of lavendar,  sage or tea tree oil. One drop kills bacteria and bad odors - great when you have a cold, or nasty smells from ??? Bugs hate lavendar and tea tree oil - make a spray for around doors & windows to keep bugs at bay instead of nasty insecticides.

First stop: Branson, MO

Upon arrival, we met out hosts and new workamper friends at Branson Lakeside RV Park.What fun people! They got us settled into a nice site with a view of the river, full hookups, wi-fi and cable tv. The campground is wonderful. There are 5 or 6 floating docks with benches. doggie walk areas complete with little pick up bags, 2 pavilions, and it's clean and quiet.

It's tucked in to a nice spot just down (walking distance) from The Landing, which is a huge shopping mall right along the White River, with great restaurants, and free entertainment on Friday nights. Our first "job" was to get to know Branson. So next morning after a walk to Sarbucks, which is just across the railroad tracks from The Landing, we went for a ride. OH My! It's like Wisconsin Dells, but about 4x bigger and the hills!! #1 is learn the back roads - The red route, yellow route and blue route keep you off the traffic infested green route! #2: remember #1. Traffic is not fun. There is a free guide called "Best Read Guide" that has a great fold out map with all the theaters, shops, etc. marked on it. That is the key to navigating Branson! Everything is here though, nestled in the hills between the theaters. There are 2 super walmarts and one normal one, Staples, Target, Kohls, Walgreens of course, Kmart... Subway, McDonalds, Culvers... then there are some really wonderful restaurants. The food here is incredible. So far we have enjoyed great Mexican food at Little Hacienda (the one in Hollister), The Golden Corral buffet was great, Famous Daves has a special on Tuesday nights served on a garbage can lid that's quite incredible. There are some inexpensive little cafe's in old town, and they are within walking distance from the campground. There is also a back way out of the park under the railroad tressel to avoid traffic. The sales tax here is high - 14.5% - tourism tax. For groceries and what not, go across the bridge to Hollister, it's more reasonable.

John got a fishing license (non-res.) first thing (Scotties Marina is at the end of the campground and has everything a fisherman may need. The license was $49 with a trout stamp. We've had rainbow trout for lunch/dinner about 15 times in the last month.  They like pink and white powerbait the best. A neighbor caught a 23" 6 lb. rainbow here yesterday! Yes, the fishing is good. Early in the morning and after 7pm seem to be the best times. John set's up his line with a river rig. hook on the end, sinker up the line @18", cast it out and relax.

So far we've gone to see "The Legend of Kung-fu", "Top Hits of the 60's", "The Cat's Pajama's",  "The Duttons"and the Rankin Brothers. They were all very good. I would go see Legends of Kung-fu again. The storyline was wonderful - they emphasized that kung-fu is not about fighting, but about peace - I don't think too many people understand this. The costuming was beautiful, everything was precise yet flowing. We both really enjoyed it. Top Hits of the 60's was so full of energy! The singing was great, and they really kept the audience pumped up. The Cat's Pajama's reminded us of "The Nylons" who we used to listen to all the time when our girls were young. Acapella and really incredible. If you get a chance to see them - DO! The Duttons - what can I say - wow! The whole family lives and breathes music. I especially enjoyed their 2 little treks away from bluegrass/folk into classical guitar and Pachabel Cannon in D. Brought tears to my eyes. The Rankin Brothers were good. I'd love to see them develop their own style instead of doing impersonations of others, but they are incredibly talented!

Last Sunday I needed solitude, so we went for a ride.3.5 hours SE is Mountain View, Ark. Be sure to eat breakfast before you go. There wasn't a restaurant open between here and there on hwy 14 on a Sunday morning! we found a little grocery store, but that was it! We crossed the Buffalo River and stopped for a walk. What a beautiful place! Canoe and Kayak rental businesses all over the place, and walking along the river it was no wonder! Shallow, warm water, beautiful scenery, a great place to stop and take a breather, or a whole day! When we got to Mountain View, Mellon's General Store was open and looked inviting, so we stopped. I no more than stepped in, and JC Bonds asked if I was a picker - (they were playing bluegrass) - so I pulled my guitar pick out of my bag, he handed me a beautiful Washburn guitar, and I played along, and soloed a couple of my own pieces. Don Mellon hollered over - "who's over there? Judy Collins??" It was a great time. They said they'd put me up on stage if we'd stay for the evening concert. Thanks for making me smile guys!! Don Played a gourd violin that had great sound! JC played mandolin and guitar. They're both a couple great musicians, and great people.  Mountain View is a delight. I'd like to stay there some time and get to know the folks there better, and of course, play more music!

We've been here about a month now. It's been really HOT! Has been that way everywhere, but we haven't had the humidity they've had back home, so I have no complaints at all. I'm really enjoying working in the office and helping people with reservations, check in, and what ever else is needed. We're helping with watering now as there's been no rain.

So how do I feel about living in a 22' 5th Wheelafter 8 weeks? I love it. We have everything we need. It's cozy, it's easy to clean, it's simplicity. We found a Doggy Park over in Hollister (on Evergreen Dr. by the old school- first left after you cross the bridge and get through the turn around) and Sam is enjoying playing frisbee early in the morning. Kayle and Karma Cat are enjoying the air conditioning and watching everything going on out the windows, and snacking on rainbow trout! I've had time to read a couple books, play music everyday, do a few singalongs, play for a few campers, do a little cooking, and I'm socializing - I think that is the best of all!

Discovery, Preparation, & Departure

It all began one morning on a little outting to the aquarium in Rockport, TX. We were on a little reprieve from "Old Man Winter". Jan, a volunteer at the aquarium changed our lives. She was telling us about the aquarium.... and we got to talking about her travels, I found myself in tears saying I didn't want to buy another house. I yearned to travel and experience life without having to mow the lawn, shovel the sidewalk and everything else that comes with owning a home, including all the bills. In 10 minutes time, she introduced us to workamping. She shared her experiences with us and told us how to get started.

That evening we pulled up the site www.workamper.com and started reading. $42 later (the yearly membership) I started putting our resume together. By the next morning I had it published on the site, and 2 days later we had our first offer. A summer workamping experience in Schulenburg, TX at a private RV park. We looked into it, but decided we'd never survive the heat, plus, we didn't expect things to happen so fast! my gosh, we still had to sell the house, and drop the bombshell on my mom; oh, she wasn't going to be happy about this!

We graciously turned down Schulenburg, though we did drive through there on our way home, and it looks like a really pretty little town. It may have been fun, however; the following week as we were pulling out of the RV park driveway to come home, the phone rang. It was Jim from Branson Lakeside RV Park in Branson, MO. John was driving, so he handed me the phone and all he heard was: "Really", "Wow", "Oh", ..... It all sounded too good to be true. I explained that we'd have to talk it over, that we really had too much to take care of at home, but that I would get back to him.  John, "So, what did he say?????" So I told him all about it, and he said "call him back and say YES" My heart soared, "REALLY?" but, what about mom, and ....   I called, and we accepted the position!

The house was already for sale by owner as we were going to downsize, so we listed it with a realtor, and I started listing all the big stuff on Craigs List. I had a commitment to play at the Wisconsin Renaissance Faire for 4 weeks, and by the time we moved out there, all that was left was to clean the house. The one garage sale we had was a sell out in one day (that's never happened before!).

The hardest part was the downsizing - it's a lot of work!!! Do we need this, how will it fit. I've never been a pack rat, but clearing things out is just plain exhausting. The results though are wonderful! We didn't want anything left behind to drag us down or pull us back, so a storage unit was not an option. Did our family understand? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our youngest daughter did, but the oldest and my mom definitely weren't supportive of this new plan.

The "new" truck needed some work, and was supposed to be ready the 17th of June. That didn't happen, and the engine had to be torn back out on monday morning to reseal the oil pan. I have to  hand it to the folks at the dealership in Eau Claire, they put every mechanic in the shop on the job and got us on the road by early afternoon. We said our goodbyes and left Wisconsin June 20th (as planned) with our "new" 1999 F250 diesel pulling our new home, a 22' Coachman 5th wheel and headed south. We spent one night in a Walmart parking lot north of Kansas City, and pulled into Branson the afternoon of the 21st.