Tag Archives: Missouri

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.

Camping, Hiking, Parks

Trail of Tears State Park ~Jackson, MO

07/13/2018 Danielle Huddleston Leave a comment

On our way home from Indiana, we stopped at the Trail of Tears State Park.

The big plus of the campground at the park is that it was right next to the Missippi River!

The downside was the train track that ran right next to it.

And the train that runs 24/7, it honks it’s horn as it’s going past also…

In the MIDDLE of the night.

Ouch. They did have nice bathrooms and a playground but they were not in the campground but a little ways away from it.

I believe there was a vault type toilet in the campground though.

The Missippi was incredable to see this close up.

It was like a living breathing thing.

So intense.Another bonus of this park was the Museum at the visitors center.

I have become fascinated with learning all I can about early Native American culture and sharing it with the kids.A deadly crossing happened near the park on the Missippi.A trail goes behind the nature center and I was excited to go on it but it ended up being a really narrow trail with a lot of bugs and poison ivy.This was the trail I was using to test out if we wanted to go on a longer hike while at the park and I decided not to.

It is hard to deal with narrow trails that have poison ivy with kids.

They are constantly brushing up against it!

We were pretty excited to be back at the start.

This park does have some pretty views of the Missippi though.This overlook was amazing also.I saw pictures like this when I was looking for places to stay and it convinced me to stop there.

So I was pretty determined to find this deck.

I would like to check out this park again when it is a bit colder so less bugs and maybe the trails are not as close.

Camping

Roubidoux Springs Campground and Rv Park ~Waynesville, MO

06/02/2018 Danielle Huddleston Leave a comment

First stop was Roubidoux Springs Campground and RV Park!

It was pretty close to the highway and only $20 per night for full hookups! We had no clue what it would look like and if we would be able to pay since we were getting there after 5 pm.

Thankfully it does have a self-pay at the campground and it ended up being in a nice location.

A pretty creek on one side and woods all around!

I found out later that this was a Conservation Area! They do make it clear that they have flooding problems so keep that in mind when you go. Instead of getting on the road right away the next morning(we were driving to Indiana for a family event).

We ended up spending the morning at the campground due to our first mishap of the trip…

A tire that was losing air.

It started on our drive the evening before and my husband took it to get checked out.

We ended up needing to get it replaced.

I have begun to embrace that there will be these mishaps on our trips.

Pretty sure there has been something on every single one.

Thankfully this one was a quick fix and it was done while we had a beautiful place to wait.
I really do not like being in the camper with the kids if I can avoid it (they have a lot of energy for a small space) so I took them down to the creek to eat their breakfast.

And then we went for a walk to the Conservation Area!
What a beautiful walk!

Can you imagine this as your daily walk?

It would be an amazing way to start your day! Since we were walking everywhere (Nick had the vehicle and our oldest at Walmart), we only checked out the edge of the Conservation Area.