Lake of the Ozarks

We covered about 60 miles Thursday driving around this lake and taking in its sights.  Our first stop was to view Bagnell Dam, which was constructed in the late 1920s to meet the large demand for electrical power.  It was the Osage River that was dammed, it being the largest tributary of the Missouri River.  Construction of the dam created one of the world's largest man made lakes.

Near the dam overlook area is the old historic Wilmore lodge which now houses a museum giving quite a comprehensive history of the area, before and after the construction of the dam. The dam's creation wiped out about 22 small farming communities.  Something else which I learned at the museum is the origin of the word Ozark.  When French fur traders came to this area in the 1700s they noticed Native Americans slinking around in the woods, usually with a bow and arrow in hand.  "Aux Arcs" in French means "to the bow".  French men would say, when they were going into the woods, that they were going "aux arcs".   The woods were not all that dangerous to them, but it was the men with the bows who were much scarier!

After touring the dam and museum we drove over to Ha Ha Tonka State Park.  With its springs, sinkholes, caves and natural bridge it is one of the most awesome geological wonders in Missouri.  John and I have been here several times over the past years.  We first toured Bridal Cave, its formation called the Pipe Organ is pictured above.  It is a popular site for weddings, as of this year, 3,571 weddings have taken place here all total.  We have toured larger caves, but Bridal Cave still has some beautiful formations!  It also can boast that it has the largest drapery wall.

It also has a room with some wonderful soda straw formations.

The end of our walk through the cave took us to a platform over what is called Mystery Lake.  I t was given that name because no one could figure out the source of that pristine blue water.

If you are wondering about the name Ha Ha Tonka, the area was given that name by the Osage Indians.  It means "laughing waters".   There are many trails in the park where one can check out springs and sink holes, but we only had time left to take a look at the ruins of an old stone castle.

When we were here in the past we could step into the ruins, now it is cordoned off.  The mansion was the dream of Robert Snyder, a wealthy business man from Kansas City.  He wanted a European-style castle with 60 rooms and a center atrium rising 3 and one-half stories to a skylight.  Construction began in 1905 but was halted a year later because Snyder died in an automobile accident.  His sons finished the structure in 1922.  Eventually the hotel was leased for use as a hotel, fire gutted the castle in 1942.  Of interest to note is that the Snyder family fought to stop construction of Bagnell Dam in the 1920s- of course they failed in their efforts and the resulting Lake of the Ozarks divided the Snyder estate.  That was our day in the Ozarks, it was tempting to stay longer, but we were due back in St.Louis Friday.