PART II of June- Ozark National Scenic River exploring and Bull Shoals lake trip:

Departing the Buffalo river we drove along the the beautiful scenic road ???? with a jeep and Grandma in tow. She headed home and we headed to the beautiful and quaint Dawt Mill on the Northfork of the White River. As a small child we camped here almost every weekend in the warmer months. Canoeing, fishing and crawdad hunting. Some of my fondest childhood memories to date.

Arriving after hours, we had the entire campground to ourselves and again the river smells were intoxicating!

The “New” Dawt and the “Old” Dawt are vastly different over the years. A number of years ago the old mill was bought by a local Dr. and completely restored as the old Mill was crumbling. They added on a fancy restaurant, outdoor bar and weekend entertainment. They converted our favorite riverfront campsites into a row of small cabins and built a multi level mountain Inn above this with campground behind. Many locals boycotted the newly renovated “resort” because of all of the changes. For me it still holds the old charm and the food is out of this world.

The river on the other hand is as beautiful and graceful as she has always been. (except when you take 3 hyper dogs on sups for 11 miles)…. The river was high, yet extremely clear considering the rains they had recently received. There are many springs that feed into the rivers and they are just gorgeous. We counted over 179 turtles on the 11 mile stretch and stopped a few times to just take it in and skip the flat rocks that were plentiful. Oh, and chase after the dogs….! We saw a few men fly fishing, otherwise we had the river to ourselves. It’s a great river for the beginner and excellent for fishing. We saw eagles and numerous other wild life sightings. Rapids are small, but fun bumps to play on. There is just something about his stretch of liquid history, that always puts me in an “in awe” state of mind that I can’t explain.

The end of the river trail is at Dawt Mill where there is a large damn across the entire river a couple hundred yards long. A section of the damn broke loose last year and it is dangerous to shoot. Although we used to do it as kids all the time they said canoes were not allowed to cross the dam.. but nothing about SUPs! So of course I scanned for the mischievous water moccasin hiding behind the falls and dropped the board in and played on the nice little rapids that are offered below the damn. Over and over….. just like when I was 8. There is a thruway that is blocked now but used to be functioning to turn the turbines for the mill operations. My Dad and I used to swim that in the swift water and bail just before you became flour..! Those were the days.

We spent 2 days playing on the river and talking with the locals. This is about 45 min from the town I grew up in.

Here is the Dawt Mill FB page to follow their stunning photos and events.

https://www.facebook.com/DawtMill?fref=ts

Another good read: “Rivers to Run” by Larry Dablemont

Next stop: Bull Shoals Lake, Pontiac MO:

Pontiac Cove Marina and campground is where I spent most weekends in my teen years. My father kept a small sailboat and we would head down there most weekends Spring through Fall. Also wonderful memories! Many of the families and their kids still go to the lake as well as taking up year round residence there! The lake is owned by the Corp of Engineers and is pristine, clear and clean.

The Morgan family have owned and operated the Pontiac Cove Marina for many years, and now they spend most of their time in the Fl Keys while their daughter, Jabet and her family have taken over the marina.

Jabet and I knew each other growing up, she was much younger. Now as adults she only seems a little younger! She had been showing interest in the growing sport of SUP and was picking my brain about paddling which is ultimately the catalyst behind the entire trip to Missouri! I gave two days of clinics and donated the proceeds to the annual 4^th of July Fire work fund. We had more than 20 folks on the water and it was one of the best paddling groups and a super fun day. Jabet later became a YOLO dealer and offers boards for sale and has a rental fleet. Bull Shoals is an exceptional lake to paddle on with her crystal clear, calm waters.

Pre and Post clinics we enjoyed a cold one and good grinds at “Just Jackies” right there on the campground above the marina. They also took us out for a pontoon ride and dinner down by the damn. We caught up with old friends and made new ones. Great trip down memory lane!

Here you can follow the Pontiac Cove Marina blog along with paddling and local Ozark lifestyles: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pontiac-Cove-Marina/82916135727?fref=ts

This concludes the June Missouri trip.  Next up… Summer sailing and Jim the regatta Chairman!

Bull Shoals Lake, MO: