We almost forgot we were in Missouri.

Since Spring Break ended, we were all feeling a little cooped up in the apartment.

 Some of us, a little more than others.

So we decided we would take advantage of a three day weekend and find somewhere to go camping.  Gizmo was very excited as it was her first camping trip.  I found a campsite at the "highest point in Missouri" called Taum Sauk Mountain State Park.  Yes, you read that correctly, Mountain State Park.  I was also unaware that Missouri had mountains.

When we got to our campsite, we went to the nearby scenic overlook to check these mountains out.  You can observe below that signage at aforementioned scenic overlook.  It clearly identifies mountains...

However, these are the "mountains" that we were supposed to see.  We laughed....a lot.

It was a still a good photo-op.  Mountains or no, it was a nice view.

 

At the campsite, we all got a lot of much needed relaxation.

I built a fire... 

...and Gizmo enjoyed sitting by it.

No camping trip is complete without the proper beverages.

Megan wanted to make sure that Gizmo was comfortable, so she put a blanket outside for her to lay on.  Gizmo, was much more interested in rolling in the dirt...everywhere.

The next morning we got up and went on a little 3-mile hike.  The hike took us to Missouri's "highest point" and to the biggest waterfall in Missouri as well.  

We made sure to take plenty of water breaks.

Here is the biggest part of the waterfall.  Above this is a series of "shut-ins" which is a term used to describe water that flows through a series of rocks.  There were probably 50 or so of these shut-ins above the waterfall.

Here is one such shut-in, right above the waterfall.

The view from the top was gorgeous!

You can see some more shut-ins right behind me and Gizzy.

Megan snapped this cool shot of me and Gizmo, looking like bosses.

Gizmo even did some exploring of her own.

Here it is, the highest point in Missouri.

Gizmo loved every minute of our trip!  She is a beast of a hiker and completely fearless when it comes to scampering around on the rocks (much to my delight and Megan's disappointment).

Gizmo was super dirty from all of our hiking.

When we got back home today, we decided an easy dinner would be frozen pizza.

At least until Megan broke the pizza cutter with all of her might!

Sorry it has been a while since our last post.  We hope this extra long one makes up for our lack of March blogs.  We'll be seeing all you Denver folks soon!  Megan heads back home in about a month with her first year of law school complete!  I will follow a couple weeks after that having completed my first year of teaching!  

- Luke, Megan, and Gizmo