Matt, enjoy Beaver. (
) . I haven't been there but used to have a co-worker who had his pocket cruiser there (probably still does). He felt like it was the best lake anywhere.
We did a
major lawn renovation last fall and it's looking better than it has since before we bought the boat. We found, like many boaters, that the lawn is the first thing that falls apart when you buy a boat. After last year's drought and all the trampling that has taken place with getting a new roof, new windows, all new trim & gutters, and new paint, the lawn was on life support. It's great to have it back to looking the way it should.
Also, to be fair, Kansas taxes aren't out of line with other states, other than boats. We had some arcane detail in the state constitution that prevented any changes to boat property taxes (of all things) for decades. Last year we passed a change to the constitution allowing the state legislature to finally change the boat taxes, which they did immediately, hence the change coming next year. $450 per year on my boat, which is what they estimated based on the new rate, is still excessive in a state where boats sit in storage 8-9 months of the year and are used in flooded pastures the rest of the year.
For those not familiar with the area - even though eastern Kansas is only a few hours away from central/southern Missouri, the topography and waterways couldn't be more different. The best lake in eastern KS has a normal max depth of about 30' with a mucky, muddy bottom and no coves to speak of. After a few hours in that lake, your boat will have a dark stain all around it from the mud; water clarity is measured in inches. Four hours away at Table Rock (southern MO, just above the AR line), normal max depths are in the 170-220' range with a bottom of rock and downed trees, water clarity to 6' (sometimes much more), and countless coves where you can hang out all day, often without even dropping the hook. For the fishermen, it's one of the best bass lakes in the world - which, for those of us who like night boating, means we have to be very careful about those guys coming around the corner out of a cove at 90mph on their way to their "relaxing fishing."
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. To be fair KS is dropping to around $425 per year starting next year, still roughly double MO and still ridiculous.
