We drove to Bagnell Dam today, only about 14 miles from our campsite at Lake of the Ozarks State Park. It was completed in 1931 and created the Lake of the Ozarks. It was not on par with a few of those great dams out west but it was still pretty impressive. They were lowering the lake level after the recent rains so the downstream level was pretty high as well.
As we were looking at the rush of water, we noticed fish jumping. Not just a few and not just a few inches. There were hundreds of fish jumping and they were jumping three feet or more out of the water. Next to the dam, we spotted some huge fish. We estimated some of them were more than four feet in length. I don't know what kind of fish they were but they were clearly eating well or maybe they had been around a long time.
The Willmore Lodge was built overlooking the lake just after the dam was completed. It was now the Visitor's Center and the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. It included a small museum highlighting development in the area, and of course, construction of Bagnell Dam.
I was surprised to see the grizzly hide on the wall since there were never grizzlies in the area. I'm sure a decorator found it at an estate sale somewhere and thought it would make the perfect addition to the lodge.
The Lake of the Ozarks, including 180 miles of channel and more than 1,100 miles of shoreline was clearly a popular attraction for boaters and vacationers in Missouri.
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