Day 15: Poplar Bluff to Springfield, MO

A 6:00 am wake up call got us up and on the road early. Even so, it was a long drive to the Ozarks to visit Dogwood Canyon Adventure Park in Lampe, MO. We passed the time with snacks from Love’s Truck Stop; Liam and Ali were very excited about their special find - Reese Peanut Butter Cup Pudding.

At Dogwood Canyon, we explored the park. The landscaping was beautiful and it was extremely clean - not a blade of grass out of place. We fed the trout, saw the grist mill, took in the (man-made) waterfalls and walked along the paved trail.

A massive treehouse 

At 2:30 pm, we experienced another first for the boys - horseback riding. We took an hour long trail ride through the canyon. Our trusty steeds were Charlie, Rip, Nay-Kid, Pecko and Ghost. I think these horses could likely do the trail in their sleep but they were gentle and friendly - perfect for an introduction to horses. We ambled along, did 13 stream crossings, and tried hard not to let our horse buddies ruin their dinner by snacking on the delicious green grass. Liam, in particular, loved the trail ride, ranking it a 10/10 and his favourite adventure so far.

Evening took us to Sequiota Park for supper and dish washing. We had planned to park behind the huge Bass Pro Shops in Springfield for the night but were warned by a fellow camper upon arrival that a strange fellow has been skulking around the parking lot the past few nights being creepy. Not excited about the prospect of this, we opted to park a few streets away behind a scooter store. We are now hunkered down with doors locked, hoping for an undisturbed sleep until morning.