Table Rock State Park - Branson Missouri

The drive from Memphis TN to Branson MO was a little rough as we drove through a couple of nasty storm fronts.   We didn't realize just how mountainous it is in the Ozarks of northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri.  Beautiful scenery and a beautiful day 5 hours later when we landed in Branson.  Table Rock SP is a very nice park too.  Campsites are full hookups on concrete pads with plenty of room:

The campground is located on Table Rock Lake:

We used the bike trail along the lake every day:

We saw many colorful cardinals and woodpeckers on the bike trail and around camp - only caught this one with the camera:

Branson has a nice old town downtown area with the Branson Landing area on the Taneycomo Lake.  Outdoor mall, old fashion 5 & dime, boat cruises, restaurants and floating bars:

The rest of Branson is 50+ show houses with shows going all day and night, Ripley's hokey stuff and several restaurants:

The shows didn't appeal to us so after scoping out this area we explored the Dogwood Canyon area.  We made a day of biking the canyon and then later hiking the 7 mule pass there.   The bike path runs all along a canyon river:

The Bike trail wound back and forth across the river:

Many of the flowers and trees were just starting to blossom:

There are many waterfalls feeding the river:

If you look closely you can see the trout in the water below this waterfall:

OK, I looked closer and here's what you can see:

The bike trail eventually crosses over into Arkansas:

Not sure if this crane hanging in the river was fishing for trout but he'd have a hard time swallowing the one above:

Have to show one more of the waterfalls . . . there were several more:

The canyons and the hiking trail were lined with dogwoods (perhaps why they call it Dogwood Canyon) that were all blooming:

If you're into beautiful scenery and a nice campground, southwest Missouri & northeast Arkansas along with Table Rock State Park is a good place to visit for a few days.  If you were into shows too, you could stay here all summer!  We'll off to see the wizard in Kansas.   More to come . . .