To Blue Bank Resort and Back
After a stressful week, I needed to hit the open road to unwind; so on Saturday I asked my husband, Brandon, to pick out a fun place for lunch. Knowing me well, he knew my request for a "fun" lunch was more than a request for BWW. I wanted to do something that made me feel alive and that quenched my explorer's soul. Simply, hit the open road and go find something new.
So when he had an idea, I told myself before he even got it out that I was going to say yes.
"Let's go south and ride the ferry across the Mississippi. I know a place we can have a lunch at by Reelfoot Lake."
I had never been to Reelfoot Lake, and neither had Brandon. I had never ridden across the Mississippi River on a ferry with my vehicle, and neither had Brandon. It was an easy yes.
We headed South towards Sikeston and then East Prairie. We passed by East Prairie, and then through remote back roads on our way to Dorena, where the ferry leaves. Brandon explained that these back roads were heavily flooded after the Bird Points Levee was blown in 2011. We neared a sign with a car on water and knew we were close to our ferry takeoff point. I made Brandon stop the truck, so I could jump out for a photo.
Remote back roads near the Mississippi River in southern Missouri.
We pulled up to the sandy river bank, and were waved down onto the large ferry platform by a man that must have thought I was a sight as I was very obviously taking photos on the drive down. After we parked, he told us we could get out of our car for the ride across if we wanted. I told him with child like glee that this was my first ferry ride, and he said, "Well, we'll try not to sink it!" I laughed unbothered, and asked Brandon to walk over the edge of the ferry to check out the view. It was fascinating to watch the ferry boat maneuver a 90 degree turn to seemingly "connect" with the platform and to then proceed forward to pull us across the river to Kentucky.
The Dorena Ferry.
It was a very toasty day (well into the 90s), but the ride across only took about 15 minutes. It was nice to enjoy the 360 degree view of the river and the blue sky with perfectly fluffy white clouds.
The next time we were on solid ground we were in Kentucky! Near Hickman, we considered going to check out the little town since neither of us had been, but our hunger led us south towards lunch. We decided we'd check out Hickman another time. I still didn't know the name of the place we were eating lunch at, so I asked Brandon and he said Blue something. He stopped me as I grabbed my phone for Google; he wanted it to be a surprise.
About half an hour later—after more remote roads and crossing state lines into Tennessee, and spotting Reelfoot Lake several times from the road we arrived at our destination: Blue Bank Resort. It was such a fun surprise. I wasn't expecting it. The landscaping felt a bit island-y and the restaurant at the resort had a gorgeous deck overlooking Reelfoot Lake. It was warm, but we opted to sit outside and enjoy the view to it's fullest. To be honest, I had never heard of Reelfoot Lake, so I was taken aback by the sheer surprise of such a beautiful lake so near to us yet so unknown to me. It's amazing how much is within a couple hour radius at anytime.
Brandon had told me on the way that Reelfoot Lake was formed from the Mississippi River after several earthquakes in the early 20th century caused it to run backwards for awhile. Later, at our lunch table I read those exact facts in a tourist pamphlet about the area—my historian had got it right once again.
Our waitress, brought us rolls with strawberry butter. We ordered the Bam Bam Shrimp as an appetizer which I would highly recommend. The cajun sauce that came with it was delicious. For the meal Brandon ordered the Red Fish New Orleans and I got the Catfish plate. Both were great and the servings more than either of us could finish. Fair warning though, it was a pretty pricey lunch (definitely a splurge).
After we finished lunch, we walked from the dining deck over a foot bridge to a long waterfront deck with Adirondack style chairs. I spotted a crane and approached until he took off. Brandon and I sat in a set of chairs shaded by huge cypress trees and soaked up some R&R. Before leaving the resort we went and checked out the butterfly garden which includes a short trail and lots of flora. Brandon enjoyed pointing out plants and looking up others on his phone.
We decided to take bridges back home and drove through several small towns in Tennessee and Kentucky on our way to Wickliffe, KY. Entering Wickliffe I saw a sign for a scenic overlook, so I made Brandon brake and make the turn. It was a beautiful view with a large cross on sight that looked up the Ohio River which we would soon cross. When we crossed the Ohio we looked to our left and easily spotted the large white cross atop the hill. I had never noticed it before. Now, I'll see it every time. We made the remainder of the trip home through Cairo, and Cape. Crossing 2 bridges (from Kentucky to Illinois to Missouri) and 2 rivers (the Ohio & Mississippi) on our way back made me realize what a convenience the Dorena ferry is for getting from Missouri to Kentucky.
If you need a low key adventure to awaken your spirit I'd highly recommend the ingredients from this daytrip: a river ferry, a sparkling lake and remote country roads.
