Lake of The Ozarks

For my 40th birthday last year my husband surprised me with a weekend away to Ozark,MO. We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast named appropriately enough "Cliff House Inn" The owners of the establishment were friendly, helpful and a joy to visit with. The room we had was cozy and warm. We played cards and drank Amaretto Sours until the wee hours of the morning. The next day we headed out on a hiking expedition to Lake of the Ozarks State Park. We hiked a total of 8 miles, and enjoyed the trails and the views immensely. We discovered a suspension bridge that was down right scary. It is pictured here, it covered the entire expanse of the river and you could feel the entire bridge moving as you crossed it. We made the BIG mistake of walking out onto the bridge, where we discovered many missing boards, and boards with holes in them. UGH! If we would have noticed that FIRST we probably wouldn't have driven across it. Once on the other side we spotted the deer pictured getting herself a drink at the river. We also found a pileated woodpecker, which has been my nemesis bird for many years now. I was so excited to finally have seen one. They are huge and and impressive. I nearly cried I was so happy. As we were leaving the area we discovered this old Chevy parked in a open grassy area, I thought it was so cool I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture of it. The only thing I like taking pictures of more than nature is old cars and barns. I look forward to the day when we can head back to this area and pay Cliff House Inn a visit again. Well worth the visit if you are looking for a weekend getaway.