5: The furniture is driftwood

Lampe, Missouri, craftsman Rick Braun is Johnny’s hand-hewed furniture source. His whole-tree headboards, juniper mantels, and gnarly end tables seem so forest-fresh that you half expect the sap to still drip. Rick, who has created hundreds of Big Cedar commissions, salvages downed signature-size timber (often cedar and oak) from burn piles, storm debris, and Table Rock tributaries with his 34-year-old son, Shawn Gates. “Johnny trusts craftsmen and turns us loose to create one-of-a-kind pieces,” Rick says. See more of Rick’s work at www.wood-merchant.com.

6: You can build a fire in July
Crank up the AC so you can start a wood fire in the cabins. Johnny says so.

Next7: The Missouri mountain trout is the best thing on the menu