Hard Work U. - Mon., Oct. 27, 2014

With all the going and doing on this trip, today was our day to relax and take it easy. Bob had some work to catch up on. I had photos to edit and blogs to write.

Our one destination today is College of the Ozarks, otherwise known as Hard Work U. We want to have lunch at The Keeter Center's Dobyns Dining Room.

Founded in 1906, College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian liberal arts college on Point Lookout near Hollister, Missouri. It is just up the road from Turkey Creek RV Village. The campus sits on 1,000 acres overlooking Lake Taneycomo.

What makes Hard Work U, Hard Work U? No tuition is charged to the students. Every full-time student works at a campus job to help defray their expenses. The remaining portion of each student's expenses is made up through scholarships provided by gifts and contributions from donors who believe in and support the college. College of the Ozarks is a fully accredited, four-year liberal arts college with majors and minors in 45 areas. Approximately 1,500 students are enrolled with a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

Upon arrival at the campus, the first building you see is The Keeter Center which houses a lodge, Dobyns Dining Room, a bakery, gift shop, ice cream parlor, and conference center.

The Keeter Center

Bob outside The Keeter Center

I'm standing under a weeping willow tree outside
The Keeter Center

Lobby of The Keeter Center

1906 Seal of The School of the Ozarks, as it was known then

Books for sale in the gift shop

Cozy lobby arrangement

Bob choosing his lunch

Dobyns Dining Room

The servers in the dining room are all students. We had an excellent meal with really good service. After we ate, we walked out on the balcony to look out over the campus. 

College of the Ozarks campus

Entryway in The Keeter Center

People are encouraged to take a driving tour of the campus. There's a driving tour map with points of interest:

• Gaetz Tractor Musem
• Edwards Mill - powered by a 12-foot waterwheel turned by run-off from Lake Honor. Student workers grind whole-grain meal and flour (available to purchase inside the building). 
• Greenhouses - Home to Clint McDade orchid collection which today numbers more than 7,000 plants
• Howell W. Keeter Athletic Complex
• Star Schoolhouse
• Williams Memorial Chapel
• Ralph Foster Museum- dedicated to the history of the Ozarks region. The museum houses thousands of objects of archaeology, history, firearms, antiques, numismatics, natural history, fine arts, geology, and mineralogy.
• Fruitcake and Jelly Kitchen - where the campus's famous fruitcakes are made. Visitors are welcome in the kitchen where a variety of jellies and apple butter are also made and sold.
• Point Lookout - view of the Ozarks

Since this was our quiet day, we opted not to stop at all the points of interest and just drove by.

Lake Honor. College of the Ozarks

Hollister, Missouri was on our return trip to the RV Park and we drove the two-block old part of town. It's an English Village. We never would have known if we didn't get off the main highway.

Hollister, Missouri

Hollister

Nice mural on Hollister's caboose

We needed two tanks of propane filled, so we headed over to the marina at Lakeside RV Park across Turkey Creek from our campground. If you want a campground that's right on the water, Lakeside RV Park is for you. It's pretty much a paved parking lot with rows of closely packed RVs. The fact that it's flat is a bonus in this hilly country!

Lakeside RV Park, Branson, Missouri

It's still light out and we're finished with sightseeing and buying propane. Just need to do laundry.

Turkey Creek RV Village has a laundry room with four washers and four dryers. Great! Except when we carried our five loads of laundry over, three sets of people had the laundry room fully in use. Two sets of people had their laundry going, and another lady was waiting for machines. We put our dirty laundry down and told them we'd be back. It took almost three hours to do all our laundry. When I finished someone else came in. Busy place!

Monday done. Check.

Tomorrow we will drive to Little Rock, Arkansas. Travel Bug out.