Ozark Sunsets

Dwight, Rachel & I were on vacation in the Ozarks last week, and it is so hard to come back to reality after being away! My oldest and dearest friend, Chandra, and her family invited us to share their time at a wonderful resort outside Branson called Big Cedar Lodge. It is similar to a timeshare and they reserve a couple of weeks there each year. We were fortunate to be able to go with them about five years ago, and this was the first time since then that we were able to coordinate our schedules to go back.

Big Cedar, billed as "the Ozark's premier wilderness resort," was the brainchild of two Missouri businessmen, Jude Simmons and Frisco railroad executive Harry Worman, who began the development in the 1920s. It didn't really take off until Bass Pro Shop founder Johnny Morris purchased the property in 1987 and officially established Big Cedar Lodge. Nestled in the mountains surrounding sparkling Table Rock Lake, the development boasts a classic hunting-lodge decor, with moose & deer heads, stonework, wood carvings and decorative iron work in every cabin, lodge and restaurant.

 It was a fun-filled week. We played on the man-made beach at Bent Hook Marina; we floated in huge inner tubes in the Lazy River, and swam in Devil's Pool and the Swimmin' Hole; we fished; we played shuffleboard (my first time ever) and putt-putt in the mouth of a gigantic plaster fish; we visited a sing-along campfire and took pictures of the waterfall by the covered bridge.

One night we all drove into Branson to go to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, a red-white-and-blue extravaganza with singing, fancy horseback riding and and huge meal that you eat completely with your fingers, including roast chicken, corn on the cob, potato wedges & a biscuit. It was very messy and the kids loved it. Then another night both of our families, kids and grandkids included, spent the evening enjoying the "Singing Cowboy" Clay Self at the family-friendly Buzzard Bar. This guy was a hoot. Not only could he play guitar & sing country songs with the best of them, he also told the funniest, corniest jokes. Like this one: "Why do rock stars name their kids such weird names? Take Frank Zappa for example--he named his kids Dweezil & Moon Unit. If he had had another kid, he should've named him Bug." Ha! 

It was at the bar that night that I ordered my first Ozark Sunset, a potent concoction made with strawberries, ice cream, amaretto and rum. Delicious. I watched many Ozark sunsets during that week, and I drank several more Ozark Sunsets, too. That became the symbol of everything I enjoyed during our wonderful vacation.

Cheers!