Our first day, driving from the Chicago area to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, was a long one. We got to our campsite in Lake of the Ozarks State Park late at night, long after sunset. It was very dark and we couldn’t see anything around, even though we knew that there was a large and scenic lake road right next to us.
What we did see was a lot of deer. As we drove to the campsite, our headlights illuminated families of deer grazing in the grass. They didn’t seem afraid of the car even though they had young fawns with them. We tried to take a picture but it didn’t work in the dark.
We parked, set up our bed in the back of the car, and tried to sleep. Even though we were really tired, it took a long time to fall asleep for the first time in our new setup in the back of the car.

After getting some broken sleep, we showered at the state park facilities, cooked some oatmeal and decided to take a walk. Lake of the Ozarks State Park was a great campground, quiet and spacious with clean facilities and camping spots right on the waters edge. Lake of the Ozarks is expansive with many alcoves and fingers spreading across the county.
We decided to take a walk near Osage, one of the more popular spots to camp and vacation within The Ozarks. Our 1.5 mile walk was a short but beautiful loop trail alongside Osage Beach- blue water, boats of all sizes, butterflies, wild flowers, and some cool new birds! We viewed some iridescent blue barn swallows, red headed woodpecker, and found a blue jay feather.
It was a fun walk but we needed to get back on the road and head toward Kansas for our second night on the road. In the future, we hope to return to Lake of the Ozarks with some friends and a boat rental to really soak up all The Ozarks has to offer.
