Disaster! Flood! Looky-Loos - that's us!

Nothing brings out folks with their cameras and cell phones like a natural disaster.  You should have seen the traffic in the neighboring Missouri towns of Branson and Hollister earlier this week.  We don't think the tourist-towns could have anticipated such large crowds for the post-Christmas floods.  But here they came.  Where are the rest of the RVs?  Normally, this RV park in downtown Hollister, Missouri, is packed.

Here's an example - we were guilty.  At least we weren't in the way of any emergency crews. This picture was taken below Table Rock Dam, date-stamped 12/28/2015.

The roar and rush of the water, and the cold mist brought out people like tourists going to experience Niagara Falls.  Alice Ivy is dragging Dwain back to the car for another stop.  Other motorists were patiently waiting for our parking spot.  They wanted a chance to take a selfie or family photo.  Seriously.

Woah!  This ain't wading weather. The water was cold; the wind was biting.  Two hours later, snow was flying.  Where are that boy's shoes?

Megan's bundled up with her Mad Russian fur cap pulled tight under her chin.  See the TV camera truck, streaming video, way in the background?  This was an event.

Doesn't this look like the mist at Niagara Falls?

All 10 flood gates across Table Rock Dam are open a record 4-1/2 feet each. You're looking at 59,100 cubic feet per second.  Beaver Dam's flood gates were open 9-1/2 feet on Monday, but they're slowing being closed today as that lake level stabilizes.  This is in response to weekend rains of biblical proportions, but at least, no violent storms.

I'm glad the walk to the overlook was hard-surfaced, because the ground was mushy.

Alice Ivy thought the mushy ground was delightful.  Drinking water everywhere.  She might have gone for a swim, if we had brought her water wings instead of an overcoat.

Hurry up!  Look at the crowds!  Every day is a good day to be alive!  She is always so happy ...

... And excited.  She didn't blink, she just jumped up on top of the wall.  What is everyone looking at?

OK!  What next?  What next?  That was fun!

Oh wow, Mom.  I'm the only dog here.  This is a great park!

That's Dwain in the green coat.  He just took a right jab to the side of the head, and didn't flinch.  That's concentration.

License plates showed Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Maryland, Missouri and Arkansas, and on and on.

The road and bridge past Bass Pro on Branson Landing were closed because of high water.  Yep, traffic was funneled onto the old (big, tall) bridge.  It is reliable.

Here's the warning opposite Branson Landing.  Why were engineers so short-sighted as to not visualize that Lake Taneycomo could come up this high in a flood?  And the supplemental flood gates weren't even open.

Road closed!  Those are familiar sights across the rain-flooded region this post-Christmas weekend.

This is a shopping-center in Hollister, Missouri.  Troy Burleson has a martial arts studio in one of those flooded buildings.

Hood's up!  Sump pump is running!  What are they pumping the water into?  Surely not the same pool of standing water. ;(

This is a housing division along Lake Taneycomo in Hollister.

And another home in that division.  We like the blurred-action in this photo.

What do we see drowning along the shore on the other side of Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri?

There's a lovely Magnolia tree, a boat dock, another boat dock, a deck with water rising on a house.

Here's a homeowner's landscape and porch, and the entire yard is underwater as Lake Taneycomo surrounds the house.

Oh, here are the RVs.  Like a wagon train, they've been pulled in a circle ...

... around the edge of the Lowe's parking lot.  We even saw a license plate from Alaska on an RV, and a motorhome pulling a travel trailer.

We're ready to dry out.  Time for supper.  Pizza by the Chef, just a few feet away from Lowe's, sounds good.
Megan and Dwain - stay dry folks. 
P.S.: We're going to send 3 video snippets on later e-mails.

look·y-loo

[ˈlo͝okēˌlo͞o]

NOUN

1. a person who, out of curiosity, lingers around the scene of an accident, etc., or strives to get a look into the private property of others, especially celebrities:

   "the trespassing looky-loos caused her to build a fence around the front yard"

   • a person who seems interested in making a purchase, but whose actual intention is only to browse:
   • "a treat for all the North Shore's looky-loos: the popular Spring Designer Kitchen Tour"