Tuesday, July 16, 2019, Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Camdenton, MO

Today's outing was a short drive to Ha Ha Tonka State Park in nearby Camdenton, MO. We drove right past the Visitor Center and through the park before finally turning around and finding it on the second pass. We had no idea how we missed it the first time. 

Ha Ha Tonka is probably most well known for the remains of a turn of the century castle within the park. The castle and carriage house, Robert McClure Snyder's dream vacation getaway, were destroyed by fire in 1942. The water tower, torched by vandals in 1976, was the best-preserved structure.

Not much of the carriage house remained but it was clear the building was huge - certainly larger than most homes of the day. The section below was less than a quarter of the building.

Robert Snyder envisioned a 60 room home with a central three and a half story atrium. He never saw the work completed. His sons scaled back the project and completed it after their father's death. Eventually, the property was leased as a hotel until it burned. I'm sure it was once spectacular!

Access to the ruins has been limited in recent years (safety concerns), so some views can only be seen in old photos.

In 1906, one year after construction began, Snyder was killed in one of Missouri's first automobile accidents.

His sons finally completed construction in 1922.

This is taken three years before the Bagnell Dam created the Lake of the Ozarks.

Consulting the map, I selected some easy hiking targets given the extreme heat. One such feature was identified only steps away from a parking area along Natural Bridge Road.

"Natural Bridge"

Our map showed a very short hike to our next feature as well. This was a lot more work, however, given the 75, or so, stairs. Balanced Rock was a rock and it was balanced on another rock but it paled in comparison to the balanced rock in Arches NP.

I decided to add this for a little scale. I would guess it stands about 6 feet tall.

I think the highlight of the day for Joani was spotting this little lizard. Well, that and getting back into the air-conditioned comfort of the car - it was the kind of day where you could not have been more wet if you were swimming in the lake.

Plestiodon fasciatus, Blue-tailed Skink

American five-lined skink - one of the most common lizards in the eastern U.S.

Most common!!! How have I never seen one?!

For me, this little guy was the highlight of the park!

At about 12 inches long and still a juvenile, he is bigger than wiki would lead us to expect.