Enjoying Big Cedar Lodge

It was the last day of the Missouri road trip for my friend Jaimee and me. We were determined to make the most of it and Big Cedar Lodge provided us with plenty of opportunities.

I woke up to sunshine and started my day with a bit of yoga as I enjoyed the scenery. The first order of the day was breakfast at Truman Coffee and Café near the main lodge.

The café was filled with people trying to decide what to get among the scrumptious offerings. I made the right choice in the Cinnamon Muffin with scrambled eggs on the side for some protein.

Jaimee went for the breakfast bagel with egg, ham, and cheese, and we both got our caffeine jolts with lattes.We ate out on the deck while we admired the views. 

After breakfast we headed up to the Top of the Rock Welcome Center. We were both excited to pick up our golf carts there to take the Lost Canyon Cave Nature Trail.

I have to say, I had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be an incredible journey that I’ll definitely repeat the next time I’m at Big Cedar.

We began with a ride through the tall trees and along the lake as we climbed the hills. We saw babbling brooks and a gentle waterfall on the way.

We drove into the entry of the cave and our first encounter was certainly an unexpected surprise. There’s a bar in the cave! Some of the people in front of us did stop to imbibe, but we decided to keep going.

I am a bit claustrophobic, but I didn’t feel that way at all in the cave. The air circulation was excellent and the scene beautiful.

We came out of the cave to even better scenery as we headed under a covered bridge and saw another waterfall.  It was an amazing trip.

After we drove the cart back to the Top of the Rock Welcome Center we headed down the road to Arnie’s Barn for lunch. The restaurant is named for golf great Arnold Palmer.

This restaurant offered the same great views Osage had thenight before, but with a more casual atmosphere.

The menu is TexMex, a favorite of both of us. We started with tortilla chips and a bowl of Arnie’s Guacamole, freshly made and delicious.

For our main courses, I had the chicken enchiladas while Jamie went for the Carnitas Tacos. Both came with something I had never had before – Mexico City Street Corn.  It was covered in a mixture of cheese, butter, and mayonnaise and was quite good.

After lunch we headed back down to lake at Big Cedar Lodge to go kayaking. It’s one of the complimentary activities at this resort and it was fun and restful on the calm lake.

We finished our day with a dip in the pool and Devil’s Pool before heading back to our private cabin at Big Cedar Lodge. It was the perfect relaxation to finish up an amazing road trip to Missouri.