While guests come for the fishing, they also come for day trips on horseback, scenic river float, photography or reading tours of the area, golf, and digging for crystals, garnets, gold, and sapphires. Wildlife is abundant: bluebirds, eagles, great horned, owls, sandhill cranes, beavers, foxes, antelope, deer, elk, and moose. Visitors also come for the gourmet food-made to order by trained chefs-open gathering areas, king-bed suites, the 10,000-volume library, photography darkroom, and front decks with the best sunsets in the West.
"We host corporate meetings, families on vacation, friends, and individuals-many have become very dear to us. Most of our business is return guest and referrals," Jacques says. "We have medical/dental seminars, board meetings, photography seminars, and writing seminars. Through-out the year, we also host special weeks-learn-to-fly-fish weeks and winetasting weeks, for example. Whatever our guest need or want, we try to provide." Mary Jacques is used to meeting the needs of others-she has built her life around service. After graduating from the University of Missouri at Columbia with a bachelor's degree in secondary education, she held several positions as the St. Louis State Hospital. She served as secretary to the clinical director of the Youth Center, as an educational therapist, and as head of the Youth. < previous - next >