Tag Archives: hiking

Animals, Camping, Parks

Kansas City Zoo and a castle

05/12/2021 Danielle Huddleston 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, Wildlife Preserve/Reserve

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge ~Indiahoma, Ok

01/23/2021 Danielle Huddleston Leave a comment

We did the Elk Mountain hike at Wichita Mountains and it seems like no big deal since it is only 1.1 miles but it is going up.

If you look to the upper right of this pic you can see our destination.
We did it one other time but I had to stop before going to the top so I was pretty excited to make it all the way to the top this time.This is definitely my favorite hike we have done here.The view is definitely worth the hike up!It was very windy and chilly up there!Our four oldest were in front of us on the way down and got off the trail(some of it is not marked clearly). So my husband had to go back up to where they had gotten off and bring them back. After we got down we went to see the cute prairie dogs at the prairie dog town but they did not hold my kids interest long this time.

I guess they are used to seeing them now.After that we drove to the other side of the refuge to drive to the top of Mount Scott.

It is a nice easy way to see beautiful views.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip and loved Quartz Mountain and Wichita Mountains!

Hiking, Parks

Quartz Mountain State Park ~Lone Wolf, Oklahoma

01/21/2021 Danielle Huddleston 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!