After our New York trip and wedding we didn’t have very much vacation time left for weekend getaways, so we decided to camp somewhere close. Unfortunately that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.

We left work early so we could explore Powell Gardens before heading to our campsite. Powell Gardens looked run down and abandoned as we walked through it; maybe due to the time of day (1 hour before closing) we got there but unless we go back we won’t know. After Powell Gardens we headed to Knob Noster State Park. The campsite we had reserved was kind of secluded and far away from the shower house. Both things that we normally appreciate.

After setting up Friday night and breaking in our Coleman stove we caught up on our favorite podcast; And That’s Why We Drink. Saturday morning saw us making scrambled eggs with tomatoes and arugula for breakfast before heading out on a 6-7 mile hike. The hike was a complete bust. We had to stop every 20-30 feet to take down a spider web across the trail. It totally killed our speed and motivation. Kirk briefly mentioned that this wasn’t what he wanted for our Ozark Trail thru-hike and we decided to talk about it more later.

We both love hiking and camping but we want to enjoy those experiences. There is a difference between doing something physically hard and pushing through it and doing something that is tedious. We both agreed that hacking down spider webs was tedious. We want our bodies to feel stronger at the end of our hike and we don’t feel that the Ozark Trail will provide that. This was a rough decision. We want to hike for a week plus but this climate is not the place for us. We’ve both been very excited for this hike and it’s hard to let go of that dream but we don’t want endure nature; we want to enjoy it.

With all of this we came home early from our weekend trip. The lake that we were hoping to kayak in was a major letdown and the trails were unfortunate. It didn’t help that it was cloudy and humid all weekend. We drove home Sunday after breakfast and making a plan to road trip around the southeast during our vacation. We plan to hit New Orleans and Nashville for sure but if anyone has suggestions for between there let us know!