Category Archives: Parks

Camping, History, Parks

A Fort, White Sand, and Sand burs.

Leave a comment

After Wind Cave we headed south to Fort Robinson, all of the buildings were closed but we still enjoyed walking around and reading the history of the place.

We had learned while at the Crazy Horse Monument that this is where he was killed.

This place has a lot of sad history including being a POW camp during WW2.

That being said it was a beautiful place to camp for the night and the wildlife loop was pretty.

The horses (I think they belong to the fort) surrounded our vehicle and even stuck their noses in!

There were actually a lot of trails and I would not mind going back to this area to check out more of it.

The next day we continued our journey south and stopped at Lake McConaughy.

As we got closer I realized there were a lot of campgrounds around the lake and I started panicking on picking the right one.

I ended up choosing the one where all the sand burs go to party.

Do not walk on the grass was our mantra the whole time.

Our poor dog made that mistake several times.

I was pretty sure this was the fail of the trip, it happens. They can’t all be winners.

It was windy and the sand would get in your eyes, the vault toilet was not super clean, sand burs were everywhere and on everything, and it cost more than most of our stops.

It was pretty though.

And than we went to Kansas…

Animals, Camping, Parks

Kansas City Zoo and a castle

Leave a comment
This little bit turned 7 and I decided she should finally see her favorite animal in person.
So we drove to Kansas City Wednesday night to go to the zoo on her bday the next day to see the koalas!
They got to feed camels and goats, and pet stingrays also while there!
We stayed at the Blue Springs Campground in Jackson Park and it was great! Two playgrounds within walking distance and at different areas around the lake there were trails, elk and bison herds, and a historic town!
Next up we stayed at Lake of the Ozarks State Park! There is a nice trail system next to the campground but it does take a while to get anywhere else in the park so keep that in mind.
I basically just stayed there so I could go to Ha Ha Tonka State Park to see the castle! It was an interesting stop and the Colosseum trail nearby was nice as well.
If I did it again I would have gone into the Dutch Bakery and Bulk food store! Nick went in with one kid while I sat in the vehicle with the rest but I found out later it is a great place to stock up! The weather was pretty perfect except for a thunderstorm on our last night and we got to see Koalas so I feel like the trip was a success. Even though one of my children might have stopped sleeping and flip flopped all night instead which rocks the camper all night… I love the camper but also having a house that stays still is nice.
Hiking, Parks

Quartz Mountain State Park ~Lone Wolf, Oklahoma

Leave a comment

Quartz Mountain was just turned back to a state park last year.

So it is slowly getting upgrades and looked a lot nicer than the last time we visited. My kids favorite area is the Baldy Point Climbing Area to the west of the main area of the park.There are places for serious rock climbers but thankfully there are giant boulders that are fun for my kids to climb on also.And the views are beautiful.My boys like to push the limits of what is safe and keep wanting to go higher. They were sure they saw a way to the top this time but I said no.

HaWe went to a less challenging area after that so all the kids(and the dog) could make it to the top.See those specks?

Those would be my kids, leaving me in their dust.

I was pretty determined to make it to the top, even though it felt like I might die in the attempt…I liked to stop and take in the view often and give myself a chance to breathe.

Thankfully you can’t tell in the pics that I was gasping all the way up.

These cactus caused problems on our way back down.

Always at least one kid that puts their hand where it should not go.

After making it down we decided to check out the other parts of the park.
I am so glad we did!

This is a swimming beach! Wouldn’t this be an breathtaking place to swim!I usually avoid this area in the warmer months because I am a bit concerned about rattlesnakes but I might have to go back just for a swim here.

This is such a fun place to visit, glad we were able to go again!