November 8 - November 14, 2020 - Meeting up with Heartland Friends; Sinus Infection; Moving to Oswego; Virtual School with Jaxson; Working on the Blog.

November 8 - November 14, 2020 - Top of the Rock Golf Cart Tour; Meeting up with Heartland Friends; Sinus Infection; Moving to Oswego; Virtual School with Jaxson; Working on the Blog.

November 8, 2020 - Today is Saturday, November 14 with only one more week to go to be caught up with the blog.  Thank goodness for pictures, receipts and Google Maps Timeline to keep me on track - along with text messages, etc. to remind me of what has gone on the past several days, and the week before.  We have been so busy and this week did not change, but I'm so thankful for every day that God gives me.  Even though I tire a little sooner than I used to, I am thankful I still have the strength to get up every morning and do the things I want to do, although occasionally it does require a little help from my sweet husband.

I was searching for things to do in and around Branson earlier this week when I discovered Top of the Rock has a golf cart tour.  We were both intrigued by this.  We were up early this morning. I fixed breakfast before we headed south on 76 Highway to the turnoff toward Top of the Rock.  It was much closer that I expected it to be.  There is a fee of $10 to get into the park, another $44 per person for the use of the cart for the tour.  I didn't realize the cost until later as Dean paid.  I thought it was $30.  Either way, I'm glad we did this, especially since it's the only "paid" activity we did all week. It was about equal to 2 tickets to Silver Dollar City and less than Sight and Sound.  It was a wonderful morning of fun and a beautiful nature setting.  

After paying our fee, we were assigned a golf cart and off we went on a nicely paved trail weaving through the beautiful hills in the area.  We've already decided we'd like to come back at a future date to see it in the spring.

Lots of fall colors

The first of several waterfalls.

Amazing bridge we crossed over.  You have to see it to believe how far above it is to the water below.

To get a perspective of the height of this rock formation, I had to get Dean in the picture.

A couple and their three boys were behind us.  Dean and I were laughing how they reminded us of our boys when we went somewhere, running, laughing, pushing one another, etc. I could tell the mom and dad were both getting frustrated, and she apologized for them.  I just laughed and told her we had five between us, and she just enjoy every moment with them because they grow up way too fast.  

Another bridge with such bright colors to go with it.

A view of Table Rock Lake

Once we finished the golf cart tour, we hopped on a bus that took us to Top of the Rock where the Ancient Ozarks Natural History and Museum and Heritage Preserve was located.

We spent another hour or so walking through the museum that housed a huge amount of Indian artifacts, as well as early settler and war information.

We stopped in the gift shop, but there was nothing we needed there, so we walked outside to a full length veranda overlooking the golf course.  

Right next to the golf course they have dug out an area where a sink hole formed.  They originally thought they would fill it in, but found all of these rock formations.  Since then, they have continued digging it out.  The guy driving the bus told us they hope to include this as part of the golf cart tour in the future.

There was a wedding at the chapel this afternoon so we could not visit. What a beautiful sitting it is - it almost looks like a postcard, doesn't it?

We left here and headed on west toward Lampe, MO, then on to Kimberling City, crossing Table Rock Lake twice as shown in the pictures below,

before returning to Branson.  We had not eaten since breakfast.  It was after 2pm before we stopped for linner (lunch/dinner) at Pizza Ranch.  We've noticed a few of these restaurants in different places we have visited but it was our first time to try it.  It was expensive and even though we probably ended up getting our money's worth, we ate way too much and decided their buffet wasn't as good as Godfather's Pizza, located on 76 Hwy near downtown Branson.

They had a salad bar, many types of pizza, a food buffet (I didn't try it.  Dean said the potato was not edible and the chicken was just okay, but not as good as Godfather's).  The dessert pizzas and chocolate chip cookie were really good, plus their ice cream.  I'm glad we tried it but we'll return to Godfather's Pizza.  The last time we were there (about a year ago) their prices were also less than Pizza Ranch. 

After taking a short drive, we returned to Bentley about 3:30.  Dean watched TV and I worked on updating the blog.

Monday, November 9 - We didn't get out this morning.  I did a couple of loads of laundry and showered.  We are meeting friends for lunch at 1.  We met Larry and Mary Ann several years ago at a Heartland Rally in Texas.  We haven't seen them for awhile.  While we were in Oklahoma City I asked a mutual friend how they were doing.  She mentioned they spend time at Treasure Lake, usually in the spring and fall, and thought they were planning to go later in the month.  A few days ago, I reached out to Mary Ann to see if they would like to go eat lunch with us one day.  She responded they would and we set our meet-up for 1pm today.  We picked them up and drove to Billy Gail's Restaurant just off of 76 not far from Silver Dollar City.  We were seated right away.  They have really expanded their parking lot, which was really needed.  In the past we've often had a difficult time finding a place to park, and have even left because there were no parking places available. Since we arrived after 1:15 or so, it was not quite as busy.  We had a great meal and visited for quite a bit after our meal.  We stopped at their RV to let them out, and they invited us to come in, where we visited for another hour or two, before we headed back to Bentley.  We enjoyed catching up with them and hope we see them on the road again sometime soon.

We stayed in the rest of the evening.  Dean was watching TV and I worked to update the blog.  I'm hoping to catch it up well before Thanksgiving.  (High hopes, but we've been super busy).

Tuesday, November 10, 2020   Dean wanted to go eat breakfast this morning, so we headed to The Hungry Hunter, located south of Table Rock Dam.  My Uncle Richard and Aunt Joyce introduced us to this place a few years ago while we were both camping at Treasure Lake.  We've been back several times, and the food is always good.  When we reached the restaurant door, they took our name and asked if we wanted to wait in our car (they'd call our phone) or did we want to wait outside.  We chose the latter.  There was only one other couple waiting so there was plenty of seating available.  It wasn't long until a couple left and we were called in.

I had french toast (2 slices rather than the 3 mentioned on the menu).  The bread is homemade, nice and thick.  It was delicious.  Dean had an omelet.  In addition he had toast and hash browns.  Needless to say, we didn't need anything for lunch.  

On our way back I saw these planes flying in formation.  With tomorrow being Veteran's Day, and Branson's annual Veteran's Day Event is scheduled this week, we suspect the planes were here for that reason.  We enjoyed watching them.

Dean needed something from Home Depot, so we headed there after breakfast.  When he was finished, we made a quick stop at Walmart for a few grocery items, before we returned to Bentley.  Since we are leaving in the morning, Dean stopped to purchase diesel for the truck.  It was just shy of noon when we returned to Bentley, where we rested and I did another load of laundry. 

We have had a wonderful week here in Branson, doing many new things.  As much as we've been to Branson, it was fun to find new things to do, mostly outside.  We enjoy the drives around the area for the beautiful vistas, that we enjoy seeing time and again.

We made one last venture out this afternoon around 3 to Cakes and Creams, our favorite "food" place to visit in Branson.  We love their cobbler.  Dean chose peach with a scoop of ice cream, and I went with blackberry (no ice cream).  

As usual it was wonderful.  Choosing this time of day, it was not real busy and we were only one of two other couples in the newer sitting area.  

Tomorrow we'll head back to Oswego.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Happy Veteran's Day to all of those who have served our country.  We are so thankful for each and everyone of you.  

It was 10:25am when we pulled out of our site at Treasure Lake RV Resort, and pointed Bentley north on Highway 65 toward Springfield, MO.  We are happy that Highway 96 near Halltown has reopened, as we enjoy driving Hwy 96 back to Oswego.  Our last trip to Branson in April, we noticed a new business in Arvilla, MO called Lottie's.  We decided to check it out after we had stopped along the road for a restroom break in Bentley.  There was only one other person that came in while we were there.  Today all the tables were full with people having lunch.  It's great to see a new business like this flourish.  We ordered floats to go.  I chose root beer and Dean chose Coke.  

I sent a text to my cousin Todd as we were leaving Branson to see if the spot we were in before was taken, that we were headed back to Oswego.  Unfortunately, for us but great for him, he had several people coming in and was not going to have a spot for us.  It's not a big deal, as we will just park at the city's RV Park, Kamp Siesta.  We really enjoyed our last stay there.  The only drawback is lack of a good Verizon signal.  It works, but very s l o w l y.  

We liked the spot we had last time, #37 so we parked there again today.  The weather is supposed to be nice for the next couple of weeks.  While the evening temps are dropping into the mid to upper 30's, afternoon temps are supposed to be in the 50's and 60's, and even a few days expected to reach the 70's.  

We were soon set up.  I made us a quick sandwich and an apple for lunch.  While we were eating Dean remembered before we left last week the low tire light came on in my car, and when checking it, I did have a tire going flat.  We didn't have time to deal with it before we left .  It was shortly after 3pm when we headed to the garage.  He aired up the now completely flat tire, and I drove it to Co-op, with him following me, where we left it for repair.  He took me back to the RV before he headed to the garage.  While he was gone I started searching for a place for us to park with sewer hookups  when we leave Kamp Siesta.  I first checked out the Big Hill Lake area, but since it was Veteran's Day I could not reach anyone and I had a question about the sewer hookups.  Since we do not have them at Kamp Siesta, we need to be sure and find a place with sewer, so I can do laundry.  After a week, our laundry basket will be overflowing.  Dean called about 4:30pm to let me know the car was ready to pick up.  I told him I couldn't reach anyone at Big Hill, so I went ahead and made a reservation for a site at the City Lake in Altamont.  We decided to leave the truck at Co-op and drive the car to Altamont to take a look at the sites.  We were almost to Altamont, when I noticed the light on my dash showed we had a low tire.  GREAT!!!!  The same tire was low.  We drove to Marc's hoping we could air it up there, but he wasn't home.  Fortunately, Casey's just down the road had an air hose we were able to use.  We returned to Oswego and left the car parked at Co-op overnight.  Dean will call them in the morning.

It was 5:30 before we returned to the campground.  

Returning from to Bentley.  He looks so alone.  We are in the newer section of the park at Kamp Siesta.  There are two other RV's on the west side.  We all have plenty of room!

1

Taken out our back window shortly after we returned to Bentley.

We've had quite a day.  After dinner, we did nothing but set back and rest for the rest of the evening.

Thursday, November 12  We both had dentists appointment this morning, but I cancelled mine yesterday morning; rescheduling it for a few weeks out.  I've had a sinus infection the past few days and while I feel okay now, my mouth is dry from taking medication to clear it up.  I just don't think I could set with my mouth open that long without coughing.  Dean headed over this morning.  When he returned we went out to pick up my car.  The problem with the tire was the valve stem.  They replaced it and so far, we've not had any other issues.

Since our trip to Altamont did not go well yesterday we drove back over today to look at the RV park at their city lake.  Surprisingly there was no one parked here.  They have full hookups.  When I called yesterday I reserved Site #1.  We were happy with my choice.  We will be backed up to the lake, which will provide a great view out the back window.  I think we'll enjoy it there as the weather is supposed to be really nice for the four nights we plan to be there.  Mid-60's are expected for those four days.  What's not to like about that?

Once we returned to Bentley, we had some lunch.  After Dean left to go back to the garage to work, I contacted daughter-in-law's to get ideas for Christmas presents for the grandkids.  I will do most of my shopping on Amazon this year. If I had more time I prefer shopping in the stores, but I have exactly two weeks today to get ideas, place orders and have presents delivered to me, so I can wrap them before Thanksgiving morning.  All of a sudden time is speeding up!!!

Marc called this evening to visit about Jaxson's Virtual Class tomorrow.  The kids are all doing an online class through their home computers for the day.  It is a trial run in case they would need to do classes online at some time in the future.  I told Marc I'd come over and spend the day with Jaxson so Marc could work.  Its a busy time of the year for him, and I don't mind helping out since I'm here.

Friday, November 13 

I was up early this morning with the idea of leaving Kamp Siesta by 7:15am.  I planned to stop at Casey's on my way out of town for something to drink and a raspberry flip (if they have any left).  I haven't had one in a very long time and it just sounded good this morning.  They did have one, and it was SOOOOO good.

I arrived at Marc's at 7:45, in time to go over Jaxson's lessons plans for the day.  It was really pretty interesting to me and we had a fun day together.  I don't have a copy of his agenda, but he had math, PE, writing and reading, and a few other subjects, including playing outside.  

When was the last time any of you tried to run with an 8 year old.  I was embarrassed at how out of shape I was.  I can walk fast, jog, but RUN....I just hope no one was watching me.

Leg lifts.  He also did Sumo Squats - which was pretty cute!  

We had a good day together.  At the end of the day, there was an alphabetical page to go outside and find things in nature.  We walked all around the area near their home where we found several things.  Once we finished this area, we took a drive around Altamont to look for other things in nature.  We lacked 3 items of finishing up.  X, Z were too we missed and one other, maybe Q.  

We had so much fun.  When we returned from the nature hunt, Kamron was home from school, so I had the chance to visit with her for awhile before I left for Oswego.

Out our back window!

It was a pretty quiet evening back at Bentley.  

Saturday, November 14  

Most of my day was online ordering Christmas presents for the grandkids.  I really prefer getting out and going to the stores to pick out presents, but time is limited right now with our family gathering on Thanksgiving Day.  With the things I have to do between now and then, selecting presents that will arrive in time, wrapping them, etc. I needed to get it done as soon as possible.  I spent a good part of the day on this.  With 16 grandkids, it takes awhile to figure out what they want, then search for it online, etc.  

About 9:45 Dean reminded me we needed to pick up the Blue & Gold items we purchased from Tucker today.  Dean called him to make sure he was at home.  He was, so we headed on over there to pick it up and visit with him for a little bit before we returned to Bentley.  I got a big bag of breaded chicken tenders (5#, I think), and 3# of bacon.  I still have 3 of the 4 sausage rolls I bought from Brett earlier, so we are good for awhile.

I talked to all of my sisters today.  It's a rarity to talk to all of them (on the phone) in one day, but it was good to catch up with them, even though most of us will be together tomorrow at Cindy's.

I made white chicken chili for dinner tonight.  Dean and I really love this soup, and it usually is enough for at least 3 meals - who doesn't like a ready made meal for two more days?  I wish I would have thought to make cornbread.  I think it would have been good with it.  This time instead of using canned chicken broth, I used the chicken base you buy in a jar.  I used a slightly 

Dean went outside to do something, and came back to tell me I should come outside and see the sunset.  The sun was really lighting these clouds to the south and east of us.

All that is left of the sunset - but that sun is sure bouncing off the clouds above.  Very pretty!

Sunday-Saturday, November 1-7, 2020 - Hosting Sisterfest; Making Plans for Thanksgiving/Christmas; Follow-Up with Podiatrist; Moving to Branson, MO

Sunday-Saturday, November 1-7, 2020 - Hosting Sisterfest; Making Plans for Thanksgiving/Christmas; Follow-Up with Podiatrist; Moving to Branson, MO

Sunday, November 1, 2020  It's been many Sunday's ago since I last hosted my sisters at Bentley.  Dean was going to the garage to work this afternoon, so I suggested they come here, and they agreed.  After church, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a cake for our dessert.  I had some of the banana nut bread that Jaxson helped me make left too, plus a few pieces of the Mexican fruit cake I made earlier in the week, so they will have choices.  

When Crystal arrived she brought a plateful of no bake cookies.  She makes big cookies, at least twice the size or more than I usually do.  I saved some to give to our cousin Todd, and sent some home with anyone who wanted them.  I saved a few for Dean and I, but not many since we had a lot of sweets already.

We had a nice two hour visit together before they headed home.

Dean didn't get back until after 5 and he was worn out.  He had spent a good part of the day cutting more brush.  Once he gets started he just can't stop.  We talked about contacting my cousin a month or two ago to get a quote for having him clear the areas we want, as he has the equipment to do it.  I asked him about calling Carthen again.  He said he would think about it.  Lol!

I made meatloaf, sliced tomatoes Linda B gave me before we left Osceola on Friday, and some broccoli.  We really enjoyed it.  After dinner, Dean was asleep in the chair pretty quick.  

Monday, November 2, 2020  Dean headed back to the garage/lot this morning.  He spent quite a bit of time clearing more small trees, and when he came home later in the evening he agreed to my suggestions that we at least get an estimate from him.  I sent Carthen a note on Messenger with my phone number and he called us about 10 minutes later.  He can meet us tomorrow morning at the lot at 7:30, which works well, as I have a follow-up appointment with the podiatrist tomorrow at 9:00.  

My main focus today was to try and find a place for us to hold our Thanksgiving/Christmas with the kids, to be held on Thanksgiving Day.  I had already checked the Airbnb's in the area and they were already reserved.  I checked at the City Office here in Oswego and it was booked for Thanksgiving Day, the day that seemed to work out best for everyone.  I checked several other places and all were a bust, so I'm still not sure where we will be able to meet.  Fortunately, later in the day Carol M from the City Office called to let me know someone had cancelled their reservation for Thanksgiving Day at the Community Center, so we now have a place to meet.  What a blessing that was!

I spent a good part of the day doing laundry so I wouldn't have worry about it while we are in Branson, MO for a week.  We haven't had a chance to spend much time there this year.  Other than 3 days back in April when Dean had his follow up doctor visits we've been busy running here or there.  We are looking forward to going again, and hope to find some new things to see and do.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020  

Today is a busy day, we are going to vote, meeting my cousin Carthen at the lot at 7:30am, go to Vinita for a follow-up appointment on my toenail removal; then on to Joplin to run a few errands.  We headed to the Community Center shortly before 7, to find a long line outside waiting to vote. We decided we would wait and vote after we return this afternoon.  Carthen was already at the lot when we arrived, so we had plenty of time to walk the lot and discuss the areas we wanted him to clear.  We had the chance to visit a little too, which is always nice.

We decided to leave early for Vinita after meeting with Carthen.  Since we had not ate breakfast yet, we stopped at Braum's for a breakfast sandwich and juice.  We arrived at the clinic prior to the required fifteen minute arrival before my appointment.  That worked out well.  I had barely set down and they called me back.  While my right toe didn't look near as good as the left one to me, he said they are healing just fine.  He did need to scrape both of them a bit.  It didn't really hurt that much, it just felt really weird and I was glad when he finished.  He told me unless I had problems he didn't need to see me again.  They took x-rays during my initial appointment.  Today he told me I had a bit of a bunion on my right foot, but it wasn't bad, instructing me that if it begins to bother me I should let them know.  

From Vinita, we drove to Joplin.  I had a couple of things I wanted at Sam's and Walmart.  It didn't take us long at either place.  I had a coupon for a free meal at Steak & Shake for my birthday, so we enjoyed a half price lunch for the two of us.  We like their burgers, very similar to Freddie's, but we like Freddie's fries much better and I really love Freddie's Fry Sauce.  Anyway it was nice to have two meals for the price of one.  We love good deals!

Back in Oswego, we unloaded everything and put it away, then headed to the community center to vote.  We were the only ones there so it didn't take us long to get in and out.

I had to call and cancel some dental work we had planned to do in a couple of weeks, because the follow up work would not be done until the first part of January.  We will be leaving the 1st of January, if not sooner for south Texas, so we'll reschedule it this spring.

My friend Cheryel just moved back to Oswego in the last few days.  Since we are leaving tomorrow, I drove out to see her new home and visit for a bit.  It was good to see her.  We've been friends for many, many years (since grade school).

After dinner, we both just rested, watching a couple of Hallmark Christmas movies, which we enjoy; well I probably enjoy them a bit more than Dean does.  Lol!

About 9:00pm my phone rung and it was Grandson Logan!  I was so surprised and thrilled to hear from him.  We had a good visit and look forward to seeing him after the first of the year when he will be back in the area for a visit.

It was a wonderful day!

Wednesday, November 4, 2020   It's moving day!  We have a membership with Treasure Lake Resort in Branson, MO.  We love visiting the Branson area.  We plan to spend a week there.  We would stay longer but we have dentist appointments on Thursday of next week.  

We left Oswego at 10:20am and arrived at our site in Treasure Lake by 1:40pm.  After getting things setup inside, I made us a sandwich followed by our daily apple.  We wanted to do different things this week, trying to be outside as much as possible and keeping our expenses to a minimum, since Christmas is right around the corner - and for us even sooner as we will be celebrating it on Thanksgiving Day with our children and grandchildren.  

One thing I've wanted to do for years is visit College of the Ozarks in Hollister, MO.  Typically you can stop at the various work locations at the college and see first hand how things are being done.  However, right now all you can do is drive through it per their website, due to Covid.  We headed to Hollister, but we soon found out the website needs to be updated - they are not allowing anyone except students and staff on site.  Well, that was a bust.

Recently our Pastor and his wife, Jim & Yonnie, vacationed a week in Branson.  They mentioned they had found a list of hiking trails.  I'm so glad they mentioned this, as I did the same to find  several trails we hope to enjoy during our stay.  One park that wasn't far from Hollister was Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area, just off of 76 Highway and Fall Creek Road.  We enjoyed a short walk this afternoon as it was too late in the day to take off on a long hike.

Remember, you can click on any picture to enlarge it.

Enjoying the fall colors - even though most leaves are on the grown here.

We really need to improve our selfie skills!!

Old Soldier's Cave on Taneycomo Trail - We plan to walk this trail later.

Beautiful late afternoon scenes.  

More information on Old Soldier's Cave

An interesting story about Dr. Lyle Owen who did much of the stonework on this property that allow people to enjoy this area so much.

We are enjoying beautiful fall colors in the Ozarks.

Map of the many trails in the Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area! 

We returned to Bentley, but since we had a late lunch we decided we'd have ice cream from Culver's instead of dinner.  Dean wanted me to drive and while I don't mind driving he truck during the day I do not enjoy driving it at night.  Not that it was far, it's just the traffic here in Branson is busy, and I just don't see as well at night as I used to.  However, we made it just fine, and our "supper" was really fine!!  Lol!

Thursday, November 5 - We have missed walking in the mornings, so today we got outside and walked about a mile and a half, before coming back and enjoying a breakfast of cornbread pancakes, sausage for Dean and bacon for me.  Yumm!!

Sunrise this morning in the park.

I had ordered an item from Amazon a few weeks ago.  After getting it, I wasn't happy with the product so I wanted to return it.  Now that Kohl's accepts Amazon returns in their stores, it means I no longer need to pay postage to return an item.  This morning we headed to Kohl's to return the item.  While we were sitting in the parking lot, I opened the app to do the preliminary work.  I was surprised when it said not to return the item and they gave me the full refund.  I guess it would cost more to return it than the item I purchased.  It was only a few hours before my refund showed up on my Amazon account.  Unbelievable!  It was only $12 +/- a few cents, but still things like that add up quickly so I was surprised.  

Dean wanted to stop at Lowe's.  Since it was just across the street from Kohl's we headed there next.  I waited in the truck while he went in.  The wind was blowing hard today, with lots of dust in the air.

After a quick sandwich and apple for lunch we headed back to Lakeside Forest Wilderness Area to do the "blue" trail, which runs along the edge of the bluff above Lake Taneycomo.  We arrived shortly after 1pm, and started the trail soon afterwards.  It took us approximately 1.5 hours to complete the trail.  It was much more than we bargained for.  We walked down for awhile then it was a steady walk, up, up, up and when we were close to leveling out I wondered what in the world were the two of us doing on a ledge this high above Lake Taneycomo, when it was at least twice the height, maybe three times as high as the bluff in Oswego.  We were at a point we didn't want to turn around, and we wondered what we would run into ahead of us.  However, we persevered.  The trail kept going up and up on several sets of steps to the top.  We both had to stop and rest a few times.  We made it even though we were both winded by the time we reached the top.  

Before we left to walk the trail, we noticed the trail sign said it had a waterfall and a cave, which intrigued us both.  The waterfall would have been amazing had there been any water, but not today.  The cave was interesting and if you read the information from the picture I posted yesterday, it has a neat history regarding the Civil War.

Once we finally made it to the top, there was a picnic bench that we set on for at least five minutes to rest before we took the same path we walked yesterday back to the car.  

Looking back on the trail we just came up

A long way down to the bottom from here.

The cave

Width of large parts of the trail after climbing one section of stairs behind us.

I'm not sure how many sections of stairs we climbed before reaching the top but our knees were feeling it!

As if that wasn't enough, we decided to move on over to trails along Table Rock Lake.  It was a beautiful day out here along the water.  The wind was blowing but it didn't seem as bad here as it did when we were at Lowe's and Kohl's earlier today.  

View of Table Rock Lake from the Visitor's Center Platform

Dean talking to son Matt on the phone.  We walked to the Visitor's Center hoping to get a map of the trails, but it was closed.

A few pictures I took along the lakeside.

We enjoyed the walks quite a bit.  As we were getting ready to leave Table Rock Lake Visitor Center I noticed these beautiful red maples.  I asked Dean to move the truck closer so I could take some closeup pictures.  They were so pretty with the sun shining on them.

On our way back, we took a back road that provided a beautiful sunset over Table Rock Lake.

We turned off and in just a hundred feet or so, we saw this little guy watching us as we drove by.

We made a quick stop at Price Chopper on 76 Highway to get some hamburger buns.  When we returned Dean cooked hamburgers on the griddle.  They sure hit the spot.  Later this evening, I looked up and saw a couple walking by with this huge parrot.  Isn't it beautiful?

Friday, November 6   Several years ago while we were in Branson Dean found a leather pouch to carry his cellphone in.  He'd tried several different ones but they did not hold up.  The one he has is still good and works, but it is pretty beat up since he wears it when he's working outside.  He wanted to go back to the store where he bought, Leatherworks Unlimited, located right next door to our favorite sweet shop Cakes & Cream.  We highly recommend both establishments.  Fortunately for him, they had one leather pouch like he wanted.  It was well worth the money for how well it has held up with the abuse it's taken.  He will continue to use the old one when he's working outside or at the garage, and save the new one for special occasions.

One of the things I enjoying doing when we are in Branson is visiting the kitchen stores at Tanger Mall and The Shoppes at Branson Meadows.  You can imagine my surprise and disappointment to find out both kitchen stores were not only closed but were both entirely empty!!!!  I'm not a big shopper but I really enjoy looking at new kitchen items so it was a huge disappointment to me.  We didn't even stop at Tanger Mall after we noticed it was no longer there.  We did drive through to make sure it had not been moved to another area, but no such luck.  When we arrived at the Shoppes at Branson Meadows and realized it was closed too, I walked over to Vanity Fair to see if they might have some sweatshirts.  Dean went to a tool store.  There was nothing that interested me in Vanity Fair. I sent Dean a text I was walking to Tuesday Morning, knowing they carried some kitchen items.  They didn't have much so I let Dean know I was headed his way, when he pulled up not far away to park.  He wanted to go to the Tool Store here - what's the deal with leaving the tool stores and getting rid of kitchen items?  There's just something wrong with that!  I chose to set in the truck, checking email and Facebook.

We needed propane.  Shortly before 3, Dean went to the office and paid for filling the bottle, then he took the empty bottle to the propane area where someone arrives to fill them every day at three.  He must have been one of a few or the only one as he returned pretty quickly.  While the days have been nice here, the evening temperatures drop into the upper 30's and low 40's so we want to make sure we have heat!

Dean's youngest son, Jarred and family are coming to Branson for the weekend.  They are staying at an airbnb with Andrea's parents, her sister and family, as well as their aunt and cousins.  We met them at The Track around 6:15 so Jarred and Emerson could ride go-carts, before meeting up with Andrea's aunt and cousins for dinner at Landry's Seafood.  It was fun to spend time with with Hayden and Andrea, 

Hayden

Proud Papa

Go Cart Driver Emerson Peine

while we watched Jarred and Emerson on the go-carts.  Emerson loves the go-carts, and after going on one with her dad, she rode in one by herself at another course for children her age.  She had the course to herself.

Afterwards we met Andrea's Aunt and cousins at Landry's Seafood Restaurant.  We thought there might be a wait - but two hours, not with two little ones who are hungry.  We called Psaghetti's just down the road, and were quite glad to hear they had seating available so away we went.  They had a big round table that was big enough to seat all 10 of us.  

Emerson at the entrance to the big meatball and fork outside of Psaghetti's.

Tomorrow all of their group is going to Silver Dollar City.  We called for tickets but they were full and are not selling any more for Saturday.  Later we decided it was probably just as well.  The two toes where the toenails were removed are still a little sensitive.  I don't notice anything just walking but when going down a slope my foot pushes forward in my shoes and causes some discomfort. In addition, Dean's knee has been bothering him.  We typically follow the walking trail in Treasure Lake that takes us down a steep hill and back up and he doesn't want to do it because it is painful.  I think it's just as well we missed it this year.

Saturday, November 7 - We did get outside this morning and walked 2 miles in areas where the elevation didn't change too much.  After breakfast, I did several loads of laundry before we headed out on another adventure.  

The trees are still pretty even though many leaves have already fallen.

After lunch, we stopped at The Vintage Market, located not too far from Treasure Lake on 76 Highway where we walked through all of the attached buildings.  Years ago it used to have much more "new items", and today it is more of a flea market.  We enjoy flea markets too, so we walked it from one end to the other.  We left without finding anything to bring home with us.

From there we drove 76, through downtown Branson that was bustling with people coming and going to the shops, driving on to the road alongside Branson Landing, thinking we might walk down through the walkway between stores.  There wasn't a place to park anywhere, so we passed on that idea.  It was super busy so not a place we wanted to be.  We did enjoy watching all of the people getting ready to ride the Branson Train - many were wearing pajamas (even taking family pictures).  Maybe it was a Christmas train!

We drove through nearby Hollister, MO, then on out to Point Lookout that provides a beautiful view over Lake Taneycomo and the Branson area.  Here is a panoramic view I took of the area.

A closeup of the area.

We continued on our drive that took us further southwest and brought us up the highway to Table Rock Lake and over the dam.  The trees are so pretty this time of year, and with the sun out it really makes them pop.

It was a little after 5 when we returned to the campground.  It was a nice day, just getting outside and seeing the beauty of this part of the world.  After dinner, Dean watched TV and I was working on updating the blog.  My goal is to get caught up and back to daily posts again.  I'm not sure it will happen until after Thanksgiving (we are having Thanksgiving/Christmas with our kids) so it is pretty crazy trying to buy Christmas presents, plan a meal, find a place for us to meet, etc.  Somehow we always manage to make it work, and we will again this year.  We look forward to it.

Stay tuned for the next update.