I KNOW YOU ARE ANXIOUS.......

I know a lot of you are anxious to enjoy your annual float down the river.........you've had reservations.......had them cancelled due to the river water height........re booked.........just to have the same thing happen again..........sorry..........we are really anxious too........but what can we do........up to mother nature and the Army Corps decision as to the amount of water to discharge and when........geez..........but it sure has been a really sweet week weather wise........blue skies.......sun.........mild breeze............hope it holds...........and it probably will ........so we can get you all on the river when it is ready.......

.......here is a recent picture of our fleet.........ready to go.............

.......tonight is FAF............meal, music, classic car show on the lawn............

enjoy July...............and happy holiday........

Water Water Everywhere

Man it was nice to have the rain quit and lots of sunshine this week.........but the water is so high on the river that we are not able to float again this weekend..........in fact the four-lane highway 30 that runs by Seven Oaks is under water.......as you have no doubt seen on TV........

......but that's Iowa!

.......Have our FAF tomorrow night for July.........includes our Third Annual Auto Show on the lawn.........spearheaded by John Tuttle..........and it's Military night as well.........discounted meals and a free drink for our military friends...........of course I can't forget to mention the great meals from Grand Times as always...........it is really unbelievable the number of people that travel quite a distance to each of our FAF's for their ribs.........

.......have a class reunion in the lodge Saturday night........with catered meal.......which should be fun........

.........in spite of the river, the paintball fields are open and being used each weekend so you might include that in your weekend plans..........call and make a reservation........

.......worked more yesterday on putting the finish grade to the new Quiet Camping Area which should be ready to be used next spring..........

Have a happy and safe Holiday Weekend!

Finally.......maybe

I say it that way because there is always some amount of uncertainty when it comes to the weather but.......finally........maybe the weather is going to change for the better.......change to real summer weather.......and not rain every other day. Some of you know that with the rain and the high water on the river we have chosen to NOT float for the past couple weeks.........but looking at the predictions it seems we might be getting back into river floats in about a week or so. It will take some time for the river to settle down to the level we like it but at least the sun is shining and it's hot which will go a long ways in getting us there.

Yesterday was beautiful and today is starting picture perfect too. Had the chance to play in a golf outing at Panorama yesterday and while the course had several very wet fareways, the weather was perfect.

We have a couple of paintball groups yesterday and again Saturday plus have a wedding with reception in the lodge Saturday and another Mt Bike race will be here Saturday as well.

With all the WET weather we have had, virtually everything on our lists have been completed so we are ready.........actually more ready than ever before to get moving with the river traffic.....

Later........

Every Day is a Holiday

Had a big crew on site yesterday and pretty well got the new Quiet Campground ready to spread grass seed.......looks nice.......this area will be for our family, scouts, church groups etc that are looking for a quiet camping experience......this area will be open no later than next spring.....maybe late summer or early fall this year.......depends on how quickly the grass grows.....

....and pretty well got Carters Crossing done yesterday too. We didn't get too much rain here last night so I would guess I will be able to finish it today......gonna try anyway.......the staff were all pretty excited about the new trail.......Frost said "it's gonna be a lot of fun to ride"........

....got our new Seven Oaks baseball caps in yesterday........four colors to chose from.......

......Joel and Kris went to Minnesota Tuesday and purchased 10 more canoes and got them home by 5 pm........big day........

.....Had a retirement party in the lodge last night.......saw a LOT of people coming and going from my vantage point on the dozer as I was shaping Carters Crossing.....

......got a couple new professionally made signs to help the mountain bikers see where to access the trail as they start from the parking lot.........

.......also made a sign to let everyone know that we close and LOCK the gate when we are finished so if you want to leave your car in the parking lot......that's okay.......just know it will be there til morning once we leave......tough guy huh!.......

.....weather has been pretty rainy lately hasn't it........although it is beautiful this morning.......I think dry weather is just around the corner.......hope it doesn't get too dry for river floats.....but in nine years we have never had to shut down due to too low flow.......which is a good thing.....

......gotta get ready for the 8 am staff meeting now........come see us soon........

Been busy

Been busy with a lot of different tasks since I last posted. We purchased an 18 passenger bus to be used for shuttling to and from the river.........sometimes we just don't need to take a big bus for the number of people being shuttled........I think we are going to really like it........and it has air conditioning too......

.....then last Sunday we drove to southern Missouri to purchase another canoe trailer.......we really don't like having to handle the boats twice in a day and we still have more canoes than trailers........still will be the case but it is a step in the right direction.......

.......got a dozer on site to start clearing junk trees and shrubs for our new "quiet, family camping area.......but got rained out a couple hours ago........and I think we might have got enough rain that I won't be able to operate tomorrow either.........dang nab it......

.......new brochures were ordered Monday.......should have them on site in a week or so.......

....and ordered new Seven Oaks caps, which should be ready next week........

...another wedding reception in the lodge this Saturday night.......

FAF last friday was a hoot........lots of guests and several new faces as is the case every FAF......

......so what's the GOAL ? ........Get Outside And Live..........

It's June

It's June and tonight is our Friday after Five with the usual once a month only mouth watering ribs, pulled pork, prime rib sandwiches and sides from Grand Times Catering........PLUS......it is our annual Jimmy Buffett themed event with margarita specials......and the weather forecast is sweet......

....another busy weekend on track.......people on the river today and this weekend, paintball groups on Saturday and Sunday, FAF tonight, large wedding reception Saturday night.......and blue skies.........

....heard on the radio this morning that there is talk of a La Nina summer which means hot and dry.........hot I like.........dry is okay if it isn't so dry the river doesn't flow enough to float.......but hey, that's life......we've never had a time yet we could not float.......and we know in our business there is nothing we mortal humans can do about the weather.......

.....42 more new river tubes arrived Wednesday and we purchased four more new kayaks.......gonna go get more canoes in a week or so.........

......gotta sign off for now as my contractor is here to talk about building the new showerhouse up top near the camp grounds.........next summer we want to add a few cabins and RV camping spots too........

remember the GOAL.........Get Outdoors And Live!

What's planned this summer you ask.....well read on

First let me say that yesterday was a totally awesome day.........lots of campers, two paintball groups, lots of mountain bikers, large numbers of people enjoying the river in canoes, kayaks and tubes.......and lots of sunshine..........WOW..........and today looks to be sweet as well........

Then I want to quickly address the plans for this summer at Seven Oaks.......

• We are going to add more canoes and kayaks to the fleet........and yes 40 more river tubes..
• We plan to build a showerhouse up top to be used by our campers and those engaged in a fast action game of paintball.....
• We plan to open the area on the west side of the bottom of Abby's Alley for a little side trip thru the woods for the skiers and riders........it will be called Carter's Crossing.....
• We are going to install another rope tow in the beginner area so those learning can get more trips in per hour.........that tow is going to be called Bella Bunny........
• We have already ordered more childrens ski and boot inventory in rental.......and more snowboards........and we will have some helmets for rent this winter as well.....
• We are looking at a new layout of the rental department.........
• We are adding another groomer to the fleet so we can groom the trails even more........we want them to be pristine........everyday........
• All that and more as we take care of all our summer guests........gonna be a busy one........

As always, remember the GOAL........Get Outdoors And Live !

.........but be smart and safe...........