Missouri Fall Magic! Rare Sightings, Unexpected Suprises and More.

Rare Wild Horse Sighting! (The Best of the Unexpected Surprises)

This video includes some more of my favorite parts of our Missouri Fall Magic Trip. This one came with the coolest and most unexpected surprises.

One morning during our visit to the Ozarks, the boys and I were headed to Echo Bluff State Park to do a bit of hiking, which I will tell you more about in a bit. As we passed over a bridge, there was a group of horses grazing off to the side of the road. Normally, I wouldn’t think much about this, except that we had just heard stories the day before about the wild horse herd that roams this part of Missouri.

While local lore says the wild horses have been a part of the area since the Great Depression when farmers released them after being unable to feed them, there are records showing these horses roaming the area in the late 1700’s. Either way, they are beautiful. While the adults are mostly white or dappled gray, the younger horses are typically born black and turn white later.

We were very lucky that morning to get to see them peacefully grazing along the roadside. We were also lucky to sit and watch them graze for a long time. This did my picture-taking soul so much good as the boys watched out the window and my camera clicked happily away! Since I hardly ever see the wildlife on our travels, I was very excited to be able to see this. It was one of the best unexpected surprises of the whole trip!

Echo Bluff State Park (Unexpected Surprises Around Every Corner)

Our next stop was Echo Bluff State Park. Driving up to the park doesn’t feel like you are driving in a state park. It has more of a resort type feel, complete with a big modern lodge. Don’t let that stop you from visiting, though. The park itself is really neat to see.

Originally opened as a youth camp over 80 years ago, the park sits at the base of Echo Bluff. According to local lore, the bluff was named as such because if you shout (or bark!) you will hear the echo of it off the bluff. Local historians also say that different parts of the bluff make the sound echo differently.

We enjoyed our time there because the creek was very shallow. Shallow enough that Winston even took a chance to dip his paws (and his tongue) in. We saw lots of wildlife here and even watched a deer run right in front of us to hop the creek!

Next Stop- Surprise! We’re Junior Bark Rangers at Big Spring!

We stopped at the Ranger Station at Big Spring, MO and were surprised to learn that dogs can participate in a program called the Junior Bark Rangers program. Basically, pet owners can stop into the ranger station at any national park or preserve. After reading some information about being good stewards of the park area, and taking a short test, pets are awarded a Junior Bark Ranger tag that can be added to their collar. Tommy and Winston wear theirs proudly, and we will be on the lookout for opportunities to add more tags to their collars.

After their promotion to Junior Bark Rangers, we continued on to visit Big Spring. This is the biggest spring in the state of Missouri. Being that it is such a big spring, it contains that beautiful bright blue water that we have come to love. After visiting Big Spring, it was time to head back to Lost and Danny and settle in for the night.

Rocky Ridge Farm, Home of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Mansfield, Missouri has been on my bucket list to visit since I was about 9 or 10 years old. I have been a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan since I could read the Little House books. My favorite clothes to wear as a child were prairie girl dresses. My sister and I spent hours reenacting scenes from the books and pretended our goats or dogs (whichever didn’t run fast enough) were pulling us across the prairie in covered wagons.

I was really excited to get to visit Rocky Ridge farm where Laura Ingalls Wilder and her husband Almanzo settled and where Laura wrote the Little House books that I have loved for so long. The visit did not disappoint. I got to see Pa’s fiddle in the museum and see both the little white farm house that Laura and Almanzo built with their own two hands, and the rock house that their daughter, Rose, built for them to retire in.

Unfortunately, it also made me add to my bucket list- now I want to go see the other houses that are part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder history! I am hoping and guessing more such trips are in our future.

To see the whole adventure, check out the video below. Please don’t forget to check out our other Travel-a-Long, Drive-a-Long, Hike-a-Long, and Top 5 Tips and Tricks videos, as well as our other Behind-the Scenes Blogs and Merch store featuring TWT swag and our newly released book!

Until next time, happy traveling!