The Great American Campground and Dive Bar! Part 2 of 2

 

Part 2 of 2 Whiskey Dicks!

Brad and I checked into the Great American Campground.  We decided to walk to the closest bar.  The Dive Bar was closed that night.

Whiskey Dick’s is a neat little bar.  The locals mainly frequent the bar.  It felt like tourists were a rare sight, but everyone we encountered was friendly to us.  Oh, there was a self-serve ICE CREAM machine adjacent to the bar.  You can have your drink and treat yourself to an ice cream cone.  I wanted an ice cream cone but wasn’t sure how it would go with my beer!  I eyeballed that ice cream machine each time I visited the bar.  

  Four hours had quickly passed as Brad and I sat at Whiskey Dicks.  We were considering the walk down the dark country road to the campground.  Just then the door opened and our campground hosts walked through the door!   She came to check up on us to make sure we made it back to the campground safely.  She brought the owners with her!  We were soon introduced to Joel and Jill, the owners of The Great American Campground and Dive Bar.  We ended up sharing stories for a couple more hours.  Joel gave us a ride back to the campground in his truck. To our surprise, Dee, our camp host (campground manager), had built a fire outside the Dive Bar.  The five of us enjoyed the campfire for a few hours, exchanging stories and visions of the campground.  Brad and I were delighted at the hospitality we experienced. 

  The next morning, Brad and I did a map study of the area and recalled the directions Joel had given us for a scenic ride.  We fired up the motorcycles and were off exploring.  Upon our return, our camp host contacted us and offered to show us around the lake area.  So we ended up in this red jeep receiving a windshield tour of the area.  We stopped at a bar that had a waterfront.  Many establishments catered to boat traffic.  They have docks complete with fueling services for boaters.  We realized drinks and food were more than double the prices we were paying at the Great American Camp Ground and Dive Bar and Whiskey Dicks.  Brad and I decided the other establishments were neat to know about.  We’ll continue to look for the local experience.

Great American Campground and Dive Bar! Part 1 of 2

Part 1 of 2 Checking in and the Sandwich

   Brad made reservations at The Great American Campground and Dive Bar because it is near the Lake of the Ozarks.  Our plan is to have a good RV camping location so we could have daily rides around the lake and surrounding area.  It is an unfamiliar area, which we agreed to explore.  Gravois Mills was also about the halfway point from Conesville, Iowa, to Depew, Oklahoma.  We have Depew marked on our road atlas because we plan to go to the Rt. 66 Motorcycle Rally there during the following week. 

  We arrived at the Great American Campground and Dive Bar in the late afternoon.  It had a pretty decent-sized RV camp area.  We checked in.  A few campers remained after the Memorial Day weekend.  The campground was full during the holiday weekend. There is a centralized shower and bathhouse. Facilities were very clean and well taken care of.  We were told there are plans to expand the facilities with cabins around the pond. There was an outside and inside bar.  There is a stage outside for the bands and a large custom fire pit in the seating area.  The host checked us in and gave us the lay of the land.  We discovered that besides the Dive Bar, there was a bar named Whiskey Dicks down the road in one direction.  In the opposite direction, there was a bar named Big Dicks.  Brad proclaimed that we were sandwiched between two dicks.  The camp host turned a little red with embarrassment of Brad’s observation.  Hey, we didn’t come up with the names.  Makes us wonder what is on folks’ minds around here! 

  Brad and I usually park the bikes and walk to a bar and restaurant for the evening and walk back.  This lets us have a drink without risking a motorcycle accident.  The location is fantastic as a basecamp with easy access to adventurous ride routes for our motorcycle rides. The location is not so good for walking off the campgrounds.  There are no sidewalks.  It is a rural area which we like.  The two-lane road has a blind hill and high speed limit that isn’t very safe for pedestrians.  Regardless of the verbal warnings voiced by our host, we decided to walk the road to Whiskey Dicks, which is the closest of the two bars.  The Great American Dive Bar wasn’t open every night of the week.  We discovered some local restaurants and bars alternated open days in order not to take customers from each other.   Possibly a concept many will not understand until they visit and discover for themselves.  Brad and I begin our walk to Whiskey Dicks. 

Check back next week for Part 2. Whiskey Dicks!