Knotty Pine Resort: Lake of the Ozarks

The Lake of the Ozarks is about an hour away from Columbia and is a great place, within a reasonable distance, to visit for day trips, weekend vacations, or even longer.  This resort was about an hour and thirty minutes from our house in Columbia.

 

There are many, dozens, of resorts at the Lake of the Ozarks and the Knotty Pine Resort was one Jenifer and I visited together in the early fall.  Off season rates were in effect and we had a wonderful time, this is when we visited Ha Ha Tonka State Park, and enjoyed our stay here.

Price included two bedrooms and a full kitchen.  You do have to bring your own towels to this particular resort and I suggest you bring some dish towels as well.  It was very clean.

 

  

I  enjoyed the cable television since we do not have it at home.  But, now days CNN gets tiresome pretty quickly.

View Larger Map

7 Springs Winery at the Lake of the Ozarks

On a recent trip to the Lake of the Ozarks we visited 7 Springs Winery which is located off of HWY 54 at the same exit you use to access Big Surf.  The winery was about four winding miles and in the middle of nowhere.  Our expectations were very low.  However, we were very impressed with the beauty of the setting and the wine.  Both were excellent.  I highly recommend you visit this winery if you are in the area or even as a day trip.

The parking lot was empty.  We were the first to arrive at eleven a.m.  The place started to fill up around noon.

From the terrace, you can see a good deal of seating at the bottom of the hill from where the main building is located.

 The food was very good.  We just ordered a bread plate with three different kinds of bread and three different kinds of dipping sauce.

A pavilion for outside events.

Jenifer and I each tasted four wines and they were all good.  This winery is definitely worth the time and trouble it takes to get there and the whole facility was tastefully appointed.

There is a lot to do in Missouri, a lot to do around Columbia, and it can be experienced for a relatively modest amount of time and money.

Tom Sawyer Paddle Boat at the Bagnell Dam

With summer drawing to a close on Labor Day weekend we took one last outing driving down to Bagnell Dam for the lake dinner cruise on the Tom Sawyer.  We surprised my parents just telling them to bring a jacket and did not tell them what we were going to do until we arrived in the lake region.  


Down on the dock looking up at the ticket booth.

Taken from the dock, looking down, before boarding.  These carp are over two feet long.  There is a vending machine where you can buy feed for them and the fish come up first then the ducks appear out of nowhere.  After you throw the feed in the ducks compete with the fish and the bolder ones actually end up walking on the backs of the fish.

The Tom Sawyer coming back from a cruise.

Waiting to board.

On board the Tom Sawyer waiting to leave the dock.

Pulling away from the dock to start our cruise.

Jenifer

My parents.

Heading back.

Pulling back into the dock.

Back on dry land looking back at the Tom Sawyer.

It was a great time.  While on the ninety minute cruise we enjoyed the buffet, the scenery, and each others company.

Taking HWY 63 out of Columbia to Jefferson City, and then taking HWY 54 to the Lake of the Ozarks area is a nice day trip.  Do not try to cram too much into the day and do something besides shopping at the mall.  This cruise is a nice option.