Wednesday July 2
We're just loving the flowers and birds that surround us...
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| blazing star |
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near the Dewey Short Visitors Center. there's actually three
birds in the nest...mom was off gathering food... |
We have been wanting to go to Bull Shoals Dam, in Bull
Shoals Arkansas. Today was the day. It was a great day for a road trip.
Prior to visiting the dam, we decided to go to Peel Ferry
and take the ferry across Bull
Shoals Lake. Peel is an unincorporated community located
in Marion County, Arkansas (it does have its own post office). Sam Peel was a storekeeper who received
permission to operate a post office back in the late 1860's. At the time the town was named Needmore, but
Sam named the post office after himself.
The town changed its name to match that of the post office.
The Peel Ferry was developed when the White River was dammed
to make Bull Shoals Lake. The lake now covers Arkansas Highway 125
leading into Missouri. To compensate for the road loss, the Arkansas Highway
and Transportation Department created the ferry to transport vehicles across
the lake. This is the last public
ferryboat operating in the state. There is no charge for the ride.
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| lined up and waiting for the ferry |
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| ferry dock |
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| here comes the ferry |
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| docking |
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| our turn, heading onto the ferry |
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| all loaded and ready to go... |
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| closing the gate behind us |
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| wheelhouse |
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| coop enjoying the ride |
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| beautiful day... |
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| our captains in the wheelhouse |
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| enjoying the ride |
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| Bull Shoals is a beautiful lake. the dock is in sight... |
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| and just that quick, we're back in Missouri!! |
We then continued around the lake back into Arkansas to the town of Bull Shoals.
Bull Shoals is primarily a retirement and vacation center. It is bordered on three directions by the
clear, deep
man-made Bull
Shoals Lake. Bull Shoals Dam is the entrance way to the
town. The town was created by two real
estate developers and officially established in 1954.
We drove across the dam to the James A. Gaston Visitor
Center. The visitors center sits atop a park overlook
(overlooking Bull Shoals Dam) in the Bull
Shoals-White River
State Park.
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| beautiful grounds surrounding the visitors center |
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| beautiful building as well |
Some of the exhibits inside the center...
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mock-up of the conveyor belt that was used to haul rock down from the
mountain |
We then walked outside to the observation deck...
The main purposes of Bull Shoals Dam is hydroelectricity
production and flood control.
Construction began in July, 1947 and was completed in July, 1951. It was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman
in 1952. At it's inception, Bull Shoals
Dam was the fifth largest dam in the world.
The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to
severe flooding between 1915 and 1927.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized the construction of the
dam, as well as six others on the White River
and it tributaries in the Flood Control Act of 1938. From it's completion until 2009, it is
estimated that the dam has prevented $225. 5 million in flood damages.
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| Bull Shoals Dam. Bull Shoals Lake on the left, the White River on the right |
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| the White River |
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| view of the dam and power house on the White River |
We then left the visitors center and drove to the base of
the overlook in order to get another view of the dam...
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| the dam and Bull Shoals Lake |
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another view of the powerhouse on the White River. Notice the churning
water??? Normally caused by power generation |
We had a blast today!! And learned something in the process as well!!!
Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Coop
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