Typically the final weeks of our southwest road trips are spent back in Missouri. Although it may be a little cooler there in March, it is most certainly better than Wisconsin’s crapshoot. By the time we’re at this stage of the trip, we’re a little tired of dining out and the go, go, go, and we settle in by the fire and relax.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Return to the Red Rocks 2024.

Fun Stuff at one of our Favorite Resorts

The weather was a factor on a few days and laziness was a factor on a few more, but we got out and about on several occasions. I mean you can’t expect me (us) to cook every night, do you? And I can’t stay cooped up more than a day or two without needing an escape! I’ve provided captions on the photos if you’re interested in what’s going on in the photos below.

The Wilderness Club at Big Cedar is one of our favorite resorts and even a nice stroll around the resort provides a little exercise, a few deer sightings, and some beautiful buildings with fabulous landscaping – even in March.

Keeping Busy at the Resort

One of the free activities at the resort is Bingo two days a week, so we made a trip over to Fun Mountain to join in with a friend who was also staying here. We arrived a little early, so the Blue Fin Lounge provided a little craft beer while we waited for the fun to begin. Underwater bowling always sounds fun to me, but we’ve yet to try it. And the arcade is very cool if you have kids in tow.

Good timeshare friends were staying here during one of our weeks, so we had built-in entertainment on several occasions with cards, a little wine, wood-burning on charcuterie boards, great food, a show in Branson, and (of course) lots of laughs!

Plenty of wood is re-stocked daily on the front porch of our two-bedroom cabin.

Clay Self provides some fun at the Buzzard Bar.

Lovely woodwork adorns all of the buildings at Top of the Rock.

A must-visit at Mr. Gillberti’s for a little vino and fabulous food.

Our charcuterie class results.

Our wood-burning results.

Our wood-burning results.

Anthems of Rock at the King’s Castle Theatre in Branson.

A visitor on our deck out back.

Walking the grounds at Big Cedar Lodge.

Bridges and waterfalls at Big Cedar Lodge.

The ironwork is amazing at Big Cedar Lodge.

Garden Chapel at Big Cedar Lodge.

Underwater bowling at Fun Mountain.

Blue Fin Lounge at Fun Mountain.

Blue Fin Lounge at Fun Mountain.

The arcade at Fun Mountain.

The arcade at Fun Mountain.

Dogwood Canyon

One day we took a short drive to Dogwood Canyon. This is one of our favorite places – any time of year. If you know us, we don’t get going too early in the morning now that we’re retired. When we leisurely walked thru the Mill & Canyon Grill Restaurant to get out the other door, we realized the last seating was coming up quickly. We had hoped to eat after our visit, but that option was not available.

Since we got such a late start, we decided we would just walk the trail for a ways out rather than rent bikes like we’ve done in the past. We were hoping to return again later in our trip, but that didn’t happen. You’ll probably be glad when you see how many photos I took on just a short visit!

If you’d prefer to see photos with leaves on the trees, check out our last visit to Dogwood Canyon. In fact I have several posts from visits over the years, so check them all out at Locations/Missouri.

Poor Planning on my Part

Needless to say we didn’t get very far. Since our visit was at the end of February, it started out beautiful, then cooled off quickly – on the one day we didn’t bring along sweatshirts! Poor planning today, that’s for sure!

“Welcome to a 10,000-acre paradise.

Welcome to Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, an outdoor paradise located in Lampe, Missouri. Featuring 10,000 acres of natural beauty and rugged scenery, you’ll escape to serenity when you enter this Ozark Mountain location. Dogwood Canyon is a family destination offering hiking, biking, wildlife tours, horseback riding and trout fishing amongst towering bluffs, waterfalls, creek beds, handcrafted bridges and wildlife.

Conservation is our mission. Enjoy a carefully maintained landscape while learning about conservation and interacting with nature up close.” ~ READ MORE and watch a short video of folks having fun at Dogwood Canyon!

Be sure to click on the first photo and scroll to see the square photos at full size. I’ve also added captions on some of the photos below.

Lovely bridges are plentiful here.

Dogwood Grist Mill.

Engraved on the beam above the fireplace: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.” ~ John Muir – John on the Mountains. 1938

Great Food and beers at the Mill and Canyon Grill.

A smooth pathway leads you through the gorgeous surroundings. You can walk, rent these cool bikes, or take a tram out even further than you can bike, to see wildlife!

Long Pine Crossing.

Historic photos on the beams of the covered bridge.

Historic photos on the beams of the covered bridge.

Hope Wilderness Chapel.

View from the inside of Long Pine Crossing.

Go up inside the cool treehouse!

This treehouse was built by Animal Planet’s Treehouse Masters.

Wildlife photos in the upstairs of the treehouse.

Wildlife photos in the upstairs of the treehouse.

Enter by staircase or swinging bridge.

See ya there!

That’s all Folks!

Flipping up the footrest on my couch marks the end of another fantastic winter road trip. I hope you enjoyed reading about it!

Up next: Red Rocks Recap

Happy trails,
Barb