War Horses at Rest

They deserve a break. Both our war horses worked hard today
ferrying our gallant customers to and fro upon Lake Taneycomo,
where they vanquished many-a-fish on this fine day in Rockaway.

The caption with the boats is just a little bit of "Craig Lingo". He cracks me up. If I can EVER get him to commit some of his poetic ways to these blog postings I know you will fall in love with it.

The work horses are, of course, our boats at the Rainbow Haven Resort and Marina. The gallant customers were a group of fishermen who frequent this area every single year. Fishing by day watching the game by night from both inside and outside.  Guys, boats, fish and football.....

Try it sometime...... They certainly seem to enjoy it!

 

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A Treehouse.......When Nothing Else Will Do!

I have people ask me all the time, "What do you do for a living?" I LOVE that question. My answer is that I never figured out what I wanted to do so I decided to grow up and be a kid! When I get the quizzical look that usually follows, I reply with " I build treehouses for a living!" And it's true, But, They're not the childhood, back yard type of treehouse forts where you could stage a respectable defense in a green apple or walnut fight!

No, these treehouses are the grown up "adult version" treehouse that will either inspire romance or adventure, or perhaps both! Our treehouse cabins are designed as romantic or whimsical. I guess that's a good way to describe them. The romantic cabins have fully functional bathrooms, kitchenettes, jetted tubs for two, flat screen TV's with satellite, private decks, tree decks connected by swinging cable bridges, some have fireplaces and even outdoor showers (part of the Adventure!) Okay, they are private outdoor.........or at least semi-private outdoor showers.........Or at least private from peoples point of view. Birds and squirrels may see you!

Some of the treehouses (Ben's Hide Away for example) are built more for fun and big groups. It boasts three treehouse cabins on one site with the entire site being dedicated to just one group at a time. Each treehouse sleeping up to five in beds. We also allow tents to be pitched on the site extending the number of guests that can occupy this site at one time.  No indoor plumbing here but there is an outdoor fully functional restroom and outdoor kitchen with private showers just a few feet away. (The swimming pool is just a few feet away as well much to the delight of the kids who stay there!)

When ONLY a treehouse will do, we have the treehouse for you. As we continue building, we will be adding new levels (and heights) to the fun and adventure!

You can experience an adult version of a childhood treehouse adventure at Branson Treehouse Adventures.

You can also follow along with our other camp, cabin and lake adventures by subscribing to the email updates on the right (view in web browser mode if you can't see them on your phone)

See you on the Dock, or around the Campfire, or on the Lake............Or in the TREES!

Campfire Chocolate Cake

A few postings back, I presented my KISS (Keep It Simple Silly!) version of Dutch Oven Biscuits and Stew. As it turned out, it was by far the most popular posting of this blog. I'm not sure if it was because of the looks of it in the oven was so delicious looking or if it was in it's simplicity!

I'm going with simplicity (even though it IS delicious too) But in keeping with the "simple" theme, here's the perfect dessert! Dutch Oven Chocolate Cake! Of course you may need to invest in a second Dutch Oven.......can't see a problem there!

SO here it is

Dutch Oven Chocolate Cake Ingredients

1 16 oz package chocolate cake mix
1 3.9 oz package instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

     Lightly oil or spray 12 inch Dutch Oven; line with parchment paper if desired.
     In large bowl, whisk milk with pudding mix until thickened.
     Stir in cake mix; mix until well combined, batter will be thick.
     Spread batter in prepared Dutch Oven.
     Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips.
     Bake for 30-35 minutes or until edges pull away from sides.
     Allow to cool before lifting from oven with parchment paper.

Remember that cooking with a Dutch Oven requires the oven to be placed over hot coals but not directly in the fire. The lid has a lip to contain hot coals placed on top. Check the contents periodically for progress.

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Autumn in Camp

I realize that you may be reading this at some point in the future when it's like 104 degrees in the middle of July, or 28 and in the middle of January. But right now....It's 58 and early October where we are. It's early enough that it shouldn't be quite this cool, but a rain and a cool front came through last night making it legitimately feel like fall.

I don't know what else to say that the picture doesn't already tell you. Fall seems to be EVERYBODY'S favorite time of year for camping. When you Full Time it, there's never a lack of opportunity to enjoy a nice fire, maybe some s'mores, some prefer a glass of wine or steaming cup of coffee or tea! You really don't need a special occasion. Grab a chair, build a fire, breathe in the cool autumn air,enjoy the smell of the fallen leaves and look up at the stars. This time of year, even they seem to be brighter!

If you haven't been infected by the camper/RV bug yet, there are always cabins available that will give you the same experience. We have a hard time deciding which we like best, campers or cabins. One of our annual traditions is to head over to Cross Timbers Cabins in the fall for a couple days of leave raking and clean up. Even though it's only about 20 minutes away from the Campground, we always spend 2 or 3 days there. We rake and clean up around the cabins during the day, enjoy a campfire in the evening and then slip into the Jacuzzi tub at night! I guess you figured out that we time our trip to the cabins when cabin 3 is available! The leaves will always be there!

I suppose that no matter what season you're in when you read this, a camper or a cabin will always be in season. Check our Websites to reserve your next big adventure!

Acorn Acres RV Park and Branson Treehouse Adventures
Cross Timbers Cabins
Rainbow Haven Resort

You can also subscribe to our news, updates and special offers on the right side of this page. Send us your name and email address and we'll keep you updated on everything that's happening around camp, around the cabins, around the dock and in the trees! Treehouse cabins that is! Yep.....We do treehouse cabins too!

A Tiny Cowgirl in Camp!

You never can tell exactly what might be going on in camp from one day to the next. This little cowgirl was part of some fabulous entertainment around the campfire. She's part of the Lindsey Family (I think the littlest part) Nothing little about the talent THAT'S for sure!

The Lindsey Family graces us with their family talent and their family friendliness each year and we are honored to enjoy their company!

 

When You are ready to head into camp.......

 

www.bransontreehouseadventures.com

 

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Night Noise

I hesitated even writing this post simply because I don't want to give the wrong impression of camp life. In our case, we get to experience some wonderful night time sounds without the obnoxious "wake you in the middle of the night" intensity. Of course there are the usual crickets, the occasional whippoorwill and the rustling of leaves caused by who knows what.  All of that normal camp life fare is to be expected and very normal. However there are a few of the "Night Noises" that will bring a quiet smile to my face in the darkness of the camper when I hear them out the window net to the bed.

The first is the interesting assortment of owls that inhabit the woods around camp. While I've tried. I've not been able to record any of them successfully. The only thing I've been successful with while trying to capture owl noise, is to work myself up to being completely awake. I've had to resort to youtube videos to give you the sense of what the different owls are like. The Barred Owl is the most common around here. Occasionally I'll here a Great Horned Owl in the distance. Their call is usually a lot softer than it is in the video.

The second night noise that brings on a smile is that of the local coyotes. They never venture too close to camp and I assume when I hear them they are probably a half mile away. Never too close to wake me up, but wen I'm at that half asleep, half awake stage, it's a sound that will put me the rest of the way asleep.

Finally, and this one is going to sound totally weird, is the train that passes a couple miles from camp. I've figured out that it does not run every night, and almost never during the day. It starts with a very faint almost inaudible hum of diesel engines. It's so faint tat it can barely be distinguished from the other night noises. It's a little more noticeable when the train is travelling up the valley and less when rolling down the valley. Soon, it will let out the brief warning at the single crossing close enough to be heard from the camper. I have yet to get through that moment without breaking out into an unseen grin in the darkness.

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