HA HA Tonka S.P MO

The third day was dedicated to explore the beautiful HA HA TONKA S.P just 30 miles south of our C.G.

But before heading to the park we had to visit a tire shop as I found a nail in one of the truck tires,the guys from the C.G told me to go to “Bob’s Tires” and so we did, Bob is a real old time good type of a guy and in no time the tire was fixed and we were on the way.

HA HA TONKA S.P has it all ,old ruins of a huge castle

 

,big body of water –a part of the Ozark Lake

 

,hiking trails,cave,  

     

spring a friendly ranger and a Muskrat.

 

The Missouri S.P do not charge entry fees but we did not see many people taking advantage of this privilege-we will…

Ozarks Lake S.P MO

On the 28 June we hooked up the trailer and took a 2 hour drive to Cross Creek RV Park close to Ozark Lake , this will be our home for the next 4 nights.

The C.G it self is on top of a hill surrounded by beautiful nature,it has a lake ,a swimming pool,full hookups but no sufficient WiFi although it is advertised that they do have it…

After you are settled down in the C.G  it is quite and nice but getting there is another story,the gravel long road to the C.G it steep and it is not a party driving this stretch, if I knew in advance that there is no internet and the conditions of the road I would choose a different place .

Well ,after all this whining  the LAKE is and extraordinary place , a huge body water created by a big dam made it a paradise for water sports of all kinds,great vistas ,few brides and beautiful houses with a water front.

On the following day we took off to see the dam,drive to the Four Season area (the North Part of the Lake) and hiked in the Ozarks Lake S.P (the East side of the Lake).

The S.P has a very beautiful C.G with WiFi (I wish I went there) ,it has a nice beach,hiking trails and a lot of water.

    

On the way home from the S.P we stopped to see this beautiful panorama.

That’s it for today…

Rock Bridge Memorial S.P MO

This S.P has a few hiking trails but we chose to hike 2 of them jus because along the hike there are interesting natural things to see.

Devils Icebox trail is just 1 Mile long but as you get closer to the cave suddenly the temrature drops and the feeling is like standing next to an open fridge.

We used a flash light to walk along the stream in the cave ,the water is not deep but sometimes you have to bend so you would not bump your head against the rocks , it sure was an adventure.

  

Shooting Star Trail our second hike was 3 miles long and was mainly along a high bluff with fantastic vistas over the tree line, we also made it to the creek and got our feet wet just before climbing back to the trail head. There were parts that were very slippery and it made us to slow down and take it easy.

  

This shot was taken with a timer just after we found this great place for a snack.

On the way home we closed the windows,opened the A/C and listened to Frank Sinatra…..

Moving tomorrow to the LAKE- the Ozark lake.

Jefferson Missouri Capitol

We camped in “Osage Campground & More” a great  and neat C.G just 12 Miles South of the city, it has level sites,grass,full hook ups and WiFi good reception and all this for 24.25$ including tax, this will serve us for the next 3 days.

Arriving around 2 PM , we took the afternoon off , reading ,cleaning and mostly cooling from the hot weather.

On the next day we drove to the city and visited the major attractions such as the 100 year old prison,the Governor's mansion , the Capitol and the evening street carnival.

But let me take a step back and tell you the day events as it accrued:

First we hit the tourist information and found out what to do , what is opened and when.

We were lucky to learn that the Capitol tours and the Governor's mansion are open on Thursdays ,we wanted to visit the Mansion first but missed the morning tours and were asked to come back at 1PM, so  we took off to the Old Prison were some famous outlaws got their “bed and breakfast” for free…

  

At 1PM we showed to the Mansion where we meet our guide that turned to be a fantastic lady ,there was an instant “click” between us that led to unexpected invitation to meet at her house later.

 

Our next stop was the tour in the Capitol , a huge beautiful building with many paintings , decorations very impressive,we were explained all about legislations and the officials work, they are in cession  from January till May….and what after?? keeping contact with the voters?

  

The end of the tour brought us close to 4PM and time to visit our Mansion tour leader, she and her husband were waiting for us  and were not happy till they showed us the real Missourian hospitality including inviting us for dinner….we are so happy that we missed the morning tours and were able to meet this outstanding couple.

To complete this special day we joined the street fair on the main street that had it all,music,beer,food and a lot of sand for the kids to play.

 

That’s it for today….till we meet again.

O’Fallon MO

The trip from Waterloo to O’Fallon took us less than two hours and without any special events.

The reason for visiting the place was to meet Blogger friends Sam & Donna that were introduced to us by another Blogger friends Jim and Sandie.

Sam & Donna were just great and we had a good time together,mostly talking about the good old past  Sam told us all about his interesting military and  police  service ,we went to a local restaurant and had some of their famous ribs.

On the next day we took a day trip to St.Charles that has a beautiful down town strip loaded with bars,restaurants and small shops .

       

Coming back “home” Sam prepared one of his famous pizzas and we could smell it all over the house,wow that was a treat and he sure has all the professional tool that come with it.

Tomorrow we will leave their driveway docking as Sam calls it and drive to the State Capital –Jefferson , big thanks to Sam and Donna that invited total strangers to their home.

2014 RV trip-begining

We flew 12 hours on a direct flight to Toronto where we spent one week with our son,his wife and their beautiful 5 months old girl.

The week past so fast it almost did not feel the time passing,during this week we helped put a small flower & vegetable garden in their yard, but mostly spend time with them including a visit to the aquarium.

              

It was a fantastic week , we enjoyed every minute and will be seeing them again at the end of the trip before flying back home.

We flew out from Toronto to St.Louis where we were meet by our friends Rick & Pat that made our landing a soft one,they picked us up at the airport to the C.G , the rig was already there after Rick has serviced the truck and trailer,it was a huge help and there are no words to describe our thanks to this great couple.

  

On the next 2 days we shopped to fill the trailer with groceries and took a day trip to St.Louis to visit the famous Arch,the botanic gardens and drove through the  “HILL” and the “LOOP”

                          

We are leaving St.Louis but will meet Rick and Pat again as we travel through Missouri to share some more great times.

See you down the road .