Lake of the Ozarks 2010: Part Two

This is the lookout point over Truman Lake.  We watched a little movie about why the lake was built (while the real adventurers trekked out into the heat to visit the one room schoolhouse a mile away); it was quite fascinating!  I couldn't give you many details in recollection because that's not really my strong suit, but I will tell you that the flooding in this area caused millions of dollars worth of damage.  The lake is a blessing that keeps on giving to the community.

Deisha and I spent many hours in the car while she napped.  It was more important to me that she rest and be tolerable later than for her to catch up with the fun that everyone else was having.  I didn't mind being that I'd rather sit and people watch anyway.  When she did wake up this day we went straight into the Dogpatch, a huge gift shop, on the strip downtown.  Little did I know when we walked in that we would stop just a few feet from the front door and there stay planted for close to twenty minutes.  The toys, the candy, and the shiny rocks were no distraction for this little mama.  She fell in love with the hermit crabs and made it her duty to watch over them for as long as I would allow it. 

Frankly, I loved watching her watch them in wonder.  If I only had one child, I would have come home with a hermit crab that day.  I should say if I had only had one child and had not already buried seven previous crabs, I would have bought her one to love for it's short life. Nothing lives too long in her care; she literally loves them to death. 

Here is the crew next to the stream flowing out from the springs at Ha ha Tonka.

Further into the state park there are castle ruins.  Who knew there were castles in the Midwest hundreds of years ago.  I can't give you more details than that because it was a million degrees.  It was all I could do to keep walking and snapping pictures around this wonderful mystery.  There was nothing left in me to read the signs.  But don't fret.  We'll go again and I'll tell you all about it next time.  I'm sure you're dying to know!

The main reason we ventured further into the park was for Deisha, Tre, and Leila.  Tre was too little to remember from our previous trip, and Leila and Deisha were just dreams in our hearts the last time we visited.

Here is how everyone else enjoyed the castle ruins.

This stairway leads up to a lookout point over the springs.  You can actually see this point from the castle ruins and conversely the castle ruins from this point.  Pretty neat.  I've never climbed the six thousand or so stairs to the lookout point.  That may surprise you about me, but it's true.  Tre, however, ran up and down the stairs twice before I stopped him from a third trek up.  It was a hundred degrees.  He also wore this fur hat every minute of the trip that I didn't make him take it off.  I finally said, "Tre, if you are sweating, I want you to take off your hat." He conceded but it was not without a little pout.  It was his first real Davy Crockett hat; who could blame him?