An Afternoon in Dogwood Canyon

Cornus Florida, a.k.a. Dogwood

Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, south of Branson at the Missouri-Arkansas border, is a beautiful nature park that Johnny Morris, the owner of Bass Pro Shops, purchased the park in 1990, putting it into a trust to permanently protect the beautiful 10,000-acres from development.

The park includes a riding stable, but having already finished a trail ride the previous day at Big Cedar Lodge, I figured I would use my own two feet this time. (Okay, so I didn't know about the Dogwood Canyon stables till I got there, but I'll remember to make reservations next time.) Anyway, I took the six-mile walking path by foot, photographing the many beautiful scenes along with way. The leaves were just beginning to open, slowly adding color to the grey deciduous trees. 

However, even in winter the canyon must be colorful, due to the surrounding red cliffs  riddled with mysterious caves. My father and I spied a vulture staring perspicaciously from the mouth of a deep cave high above us, which a wooden sign nearby cheerfully dubbed "Indian Burial Cave." I wish I knew the history behind that!

Vulture on the rocks, please...

I'd turn back, if I were you...

Later, the divulging of a covered wooden bridge from among trees at the end of the winding path created one of my favorite images. The bridge was built by the Amish (or was it Quakers?).

And I have never seen a wider variety of waterfalls. From a faint trickle over mossy rocks and wild flowers, to a cascade waterfall pouring into a glassy stream, and enough block and tiered waterfalls adorning the gurgling streams to inspire the Keats in even the most unpoetic traveler.

The Hope Wilderness Chapel was a nice surprise to come upon, and their wedding brochure online says that you can arrive in a horse and carriage. Unfortunately, they were running short on grooms that day, so after taking a few snaps of the photogenic chapel I trudged on ahead, still, as the old vernacular would say, a spinster.

Hope Wilderness Chapel

The finale of the walking tour was the Jumping Hole -- I mean Glory Hole! The site of the crystal clear water really does give you the urge to go swimming. Behind the plunge waterfall gaped a deep, dark cave that looked right out of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or Journey to the Center of the Earth. If you don't know what I'm talking about, spend a few lunch breaks getting acquainted with Mark Twain's and Jules Verne's fertile imaginations.

The grey sky that day could not minimize the canyon's beauty one iota. I left the canyon that day with a new love for, well, everything about it, but especially dogwood trees--now I want a house just surrounded by them!--and mossy stone bridges, not to mention a new addition to my photographic collection of unique signs.

And I just found out that Dogwood Canyon stands in the Mark Twain National Forest. Mark Twain! Now if that ain't cool, I don't know what is.