sedaliahog

On Tuesday, October 30, with cooler days and chilly nights I feared our good riding
weather was about to come to an end. With that in mind, the sun shinning and 62
degrees weather, Jerry and I took off for a day trip to Ha Ha Tonka State Park which
is located just out side of Camdenton, Missouri. We rode S. 65 Highway to 54 East,
then South on D Hwy. No matter which way you choose to get there, it is a scenic
drive, especially this time of year; red maples, red oaks, yellow pecans and purple
sumac make keeping your eyes on the road a real challenge.

The possibilities for this kind of day trip are endless, pack a lunch and plan to spend
all day exploring this wonderland of trails and boardwalks making it easy for visitors
to experience the Parks honeycomb of tunnels, caverns, springs and sinkholes.
Visitors can peer into caves, trek through and around sinkholes, or climb from the
spring to the “Castle Ruins” on wooden steps that circle the spring chasm. The
“Castle Ruins” perched high above on the 250-foot bluff are the charred remains of
the stone mansion built by Robert M. Snyder, a wealthy Kansas City businessman
who first visited the site in 1903 and was so impressed by the scenery that he
eventually purchased more than 5,000 acres. He envisioned a private retreat with a
European-style castle, with a center atrium rising three and one-half stories to a
skylight. Snyder also planned an 80-foot-high water tower, greenhouses and a
carriage house. Construction began in 1905 only to be halted a year later with the
untimely death of Snyder in one of Missouri’s first automobile accidents. Snyder's
sons finished building their father's dream, though not quite as elaborately as
originally planned. Eventually, the property was leased for use as a hotel, until
tragedy struck in 1942. The entire interior of the Castle was gutted by fire when sparks
from a chimney ignited the roof and today only the charred ruins remain. The
carriage house also burned the same day and in 1976, the water tower was burned by
vandals. Much like the birth of our local Bothwell Lodge, Ha Ha Tonka began with
one mans dream and is now explored by all those who come and share what this
extraordinary park has to offer. Ha Ha Tonka was purchased from the Snyder estate
in 1978 and comprises nearly 2400 acres on the Nangua Arm of the Lake of the
Ozarks.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park is unique in the quality and number of its remarkable
geological features. A natural bridge, 70 feet wide, spans 60 feet and reaches more
than 100 feet into the air. The Colosseum is a steep-sided sinkhole measuring 500 feet
long and 300 feet wide. Whispering Dell sink basin is 150 feet deep with two bluff
shelters -- Counterfeiter's Cave and Robber's Cave -- both of which were used as
hide-outs by criminals in the 1830s. Tall bluffs -- 250 feet high -- tower over the gorge
through which Ha Ha Tonka Spring, Missouri's twelfth largest discharges
approximately 48 million gallons of water a daily. All of these wonders are the result
of the collapse of underground caverns in ancient geological times. Today, the spring
is issuing from the mouth of a portion of the cave that still exists and continues to be
sculpted within the earth.

Missouri is a rich in historical old towns, beautiful parks, intriguing caves and scenic
byways that are just a day trip away from your next adventure.

Susan & Jerry Horton