Hiking Branson

FINALLY, it is warm enough to spend extended amounts of time outside. I was beginning to think it would never happen, but it has, and just in time. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I'm not really into cold weather so I have spent a lot of time indoors this winter and cabin fever was rampant in the Dossey household--even the dogs were about to go stir crazy.

Now that we're venturing out into the outside world again, we figured we might as well get some exercise so we decided to explore the different walking trails in the area. Branson is developing a master trail system which will eventually connect all the trails around the city and the surrounding area. Several new trails are in the works, the most extensive of which will be a trail stretching northward up the Roark Creek Valley and connecting with trails in Stone County and Reeds Spring. For those of you who don't know the area, believe me, that would be quite a walk. It will probably be years before this trail is completed, and I am pretty sure it will be years before I'll be ready to walk it! In addition to the Branson trails there are trails at Table Rock Lake, Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery, the nearby Ruth and Paul Henning State Forest, plus
Big Cedar Lodge and Dogwood Canyon which are both owned by Bass Pro Shops.

I have discovered that the internet is a great source of ideas for hiking spots. Here are two links that will give you some additional trails to explore. http://www.linkpendium.com/hiking/USA/MO/ (Scroll down to Taney County if you want to stay fairly close to Branson) and http://www.localhikes.com/getHikes.asp? Search=1&getreporter=Stargazer&getHikebyReporter=Yes ( these trails are 35 miles or more away, but easily doable from Branson).

We've only attempted a few of these hikes so far. First, we went to the Fish Hatchery. Turns out that the bridge got smashed by a tree during one of the storms this winter making the trail impassable so we walked to the bottom of Table Rock Dam instead and then  back by the rows and rows of fish ponds. Hopefully, they'll fix the bridge so that they can get the trail opened up again soon.

(Fishing in Lake Taneycomo beside the fish hatchery)



(The trout ponds at Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery below the Table Rock Dam)



(View of Table Rock Dam from the Fish Hatchery)

Next, we decided to go to Stockstill Park. Its  paved trail  winds around softball fields, pavilions, and a large  children's playground and then follows alongside the Roark Creek. If you stay on it long enough you'll end up at the Skaggs Hospital. You can continue on from there to the Roundabout and on the the Branson Landing and its waterfront walk.




(Jake, Kaylee, and Byron beside Roark Creek in Stockstill Park)

The Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area was an interesting hike through a 130 acre park. If you go down one unpaved trail you can walk past an abandoned house built  of stone and see crumbling stone walls that once  surrounded the property. The other trail leads you to 300 historic stone steps that will take you all the way down to Lake Taneycomo. We chose not to do the steps, because we had the dogs with us and dogs are restricted from the steps. The decision  had nothing to do with the fact that even if I managed to get down 300 steps, I would then have to drag myself back up 300 steps!



(Trail and steps at Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area)


Our next adventure was on the new Waterfall Trail. It was an adventure just trying to find the trail head. We drove around and drove around trying to spot the sign and when we did finally see it, we weren't sure it actually stood at the beginning of a trail. This path is classified as rugged, and rightly so. It was often difficult even to see where the path was! I don't recommend taking your dogs on this hike, because we spent a lot of time just trying to untangle ours from the surrounding brush. We also had to cross the creek which both dogs were reluctant to do at first.After a little leash tugging we finally made it across. They weren't so hesitant on the return trip although they didn't want to spend any more time than necessary in the water. In fact, Kaylee took off just as I was stepping on a slippery rock and down I went. I  walked  the rest of the way in soggy clothes and covered in green slime! I had to sit on my jacket on the ride home, but we now have a roll of trash bags in the car just in case we have future accidents. We turned back before we reached the waterfall because it was just too difficult with our dogs on leashes, but we plan to return sans dogs and to make it all the way to the end.


(Waterfall Trail crossing where I soaked myself)
(Byron and Jake on the Waterfall Trail)

If I could figure out how to make my nifty  hand-held Garmin GPS system work (I've had several people besides my technically challenged self try to get it set up), we would love to go geocaching. Geocaching is a high tech treasure hunt using a GPS device to follow coordinates to a hidden "treasure." I really, really want to try it so if you have one bring it with you when you come to visit (hint, hint Kim and Michael) and we'll see how many we can find around here.

I am sure there are more trails that I haven't discovered. If any of you have suggestions about new places or thoughts about the ones I've already mentioned, please leave a comment in the comment box. Byron and I would really like to keep trying new places as long as possible.

The Ozarks are Going Medieval in May

May is going to be an exciting month around Branson. Not only can you fly through the canopy of a forest on a zip-line, I've discovered that you can also go back in time and watch a medieval castle being built using 13th century methods, techniques, and tools,

The Ozark Medieval Fortress is being built approximately 30 minutes south of Branson near Lead Hill, Ark., and is expected to take 20 years to complete which is the amount of time it took to build a fortress in the Middle Ages. In the meantime, visitors will watch as "thirty masons, carpenters and stone carvers authentically dressed" build a "genuine, full-sized, fortified castle, with 45 foot high towers, a drawbridge, and 6 foot wide stone walls surrounding an expansive inner courtyard, using the materials, techniques, and rules of the 13th century."  I envision the Ozark Medieval Fortress to be a Middle Ages version of Williamsburg, a working replica of colonial America. 


You can learn more about the history and the future plans for this exciting and educational experience HERE.  This is just one more reason for my friends and family to come visit me this summer!

                                                                

    

(these pictures were lifted from the Ozark Medieval Fortress' s publicity materials)

I am constantly amazed at the variety of activities to be found ALL ABOUT BRANSON. Every time I surf the web, I seem to find something new.I don't think I could experience everything that the Branson area has to offer even if I tried something different every day for a year. Since I can't do that, I would love for any of you who have been to Branson to tell us about some of your favorite activities or shows. You can make suggestions by clicking on  the word "comment" below and then writing in the comment box that will appear. We'd love to hear about your experiences.

                                                                                                                                                          

We've Spotted the New Branson Zip-line

The Branson Zip-line, a new adventure tour in the area, has added roofs to their towers, and now you can see them dotting the hillside as you are driving Hwy. 65 between Branson and Springfield. As you are going north from Branson, start looking for the towers right after you pass the large sign indicating the turn-off to Bonniebrook, (the home of Rosie O'Neill who was the creator of the Kewpie doll). The Branson Zip-line is on the property of the Wolf Creek Preserve which also has a large sign visible from Hwy. 65. Once the trees leaf out, though, it will probably be difficult to spot them from the road anymore.

The grand opening of the Branson Zip-line is scheduled for May 1 at which time they will offer two tour options: the 2.5 hour long Ozark Xplorer or the 1.5 hour Flying Prospector. You can learn more about the Branson Zipline and view their picture gallery by going to http://www.bransonziplineblog.com/.

     Here are two of their pictures of the towers so you'll know what you are looking for.

Now you know that there is a lot more to Branson that just shows and shopping.  Who's going first???

They're B-a-a-ck!

The tourists are back, and, of course, they've brought their cars. Last weekend we went to the Legends show at the
Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater and noticed a difference in the amount of traffic. Tonight we went to our favorite Branson Mexican restaurant, Casa Fuentes,  on the strip and watched the steady stream of traffic parading by the window. After two months of driving up and down the strip without even thinking about it, I will have to remember to leave my house a little earlier and to make use of the alternate routes again.

There is a new energy starting to build in Branson.The tourists are back. The weather is getting warmer. The shows, some of which are brand new and others which have changed venues, are gradually opening.  A giant King Kong is being attached to the side of a building in the New York skyline atop the
Wax Museum. It's Irish month at the Titanic. Trout season is in full swing and the fishing camps and Lake Taneycomo are overrun with fishermen. This weekend the Ducks will once again make their continuous treks around town, out to Tablerock Lake and back, all the while entertaining their curious passengers with stories and trivia about the history of Branson and the surrounding area. I have also started noticing the distinct sound of the helicopter flying overhead. Silver Dollar City will be opening on March 20, just in time for spring break, plus the hotels and restaurants that closed for the months of January and February are accepting customers again.

Most exciting of all, though, is that people are going back to work. Anytime a show, a restaurant, or a hotel closed during the off -season, its employees were laid off and were forced to live off of savings and/or unemployment. Last Friday, while answering the phone at my church, I answered a call from a lady asking for gas money. She said  she was finally getting to go back to work, but she wouldn't get paid until then next Friday and she didn't have enough money left to buy gas for the week.

Yes, the energy and the excitement are building, and I pray that it will be a good year for Branson. Last year, I was afraid that the economy would really hurt the tourist industry in Branson. While it wasn't as good as in previous years, it wasn't that bad, but we'll have to see how this year goes. Instead of going overseas, maybe more people will decided to stay closer to home and Branson is smack dab in the middle of the country. It will be interesting to see how this year will go.





Just for fun--A Branson Sunset. Unfortunately, the picture isn't nearly as beautiful as the actual sunset was. The sun was a bright, bright orange that just didn't translate in my picture, but I still think it is an interesting picture. Let me know what you think.

A Great Branson Resort Rate From Travelzoo!

I was looking through the great deals sent to me from Travelzoo and ran across this unbelievable rate for a Branson lakeside resort room. If you are looking to get away for a few days in the next two months this would be a terrific deal--a $100 room for just $35. You can't stay at a Motel 6 for that price! Click here if you are interested, but hurry because these deals usually sell out fast. Don't forget that Branson has its own airport now, so if you live too far to drive here then be sure and explore the possibility of flying instead. You can access the Branson airport site by clicking on flybranson.com.

So who's coming to see us??