We started our vacation in the Ozarks at a place called, Dogwood Canyon. From their website, here is a description:
“Welcome to Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, an outdoor paradise located in Lampe, Missouri. Featuring 10,000 acres of natural beauty and rugged scenery, you’ll escape to serenity when you enter this Ozark Mountain location. Dogwood Canyon is a family destination offering hiking, biking, wildlife tours, horseback riding and trout fishing amongst towering bluffs, waterfalls, creek beds, handcrafted bridges and wildlife.”
It was one of the most beautiful park’s I have ever been to. If you ever make it to the Branson, Missouri area, I 100% recommend it for a family getaway. We went in the middle of winter in the off-season, and it was still beautiful. Our kids have never been horseback riding, so we decided to take them on an hour-long horseback ride through the mountains and across rivers. It was incredible and beautiful and the kids loved it, although Timothy and I were a bit sore afterwards as it was quite the workout! Timothy went with Priya while I watched Joshua and Shiloh, and I went with Elijah while Timothy watched the little ones.
The park was full of activities for kids, wildlife, amazing scenery and much, much more. We could have stayed hours but it was chilly with little ones and there is only so much attention span with them. It was actually nice to feel winter again as the winter months in Florida are very mild. This was one of the reasons we wanted to go north in January, because we genuinely have missed a true winter! Another reason we went is because we haven’t had a true vacation with our children in a few years. Life got really busy quickly upon returning from Australia and having to deal with Timothys’ dads estate and having two children since then! It’s so important that we take time away and have intentional time with our children. Life can get very busy and it’s so important to take time to be fully present with them.
PS. We also figured out how to to do hotels for vacations cheaper, sitting through timeshare presentations, but respectfully declining 🙂