Trip to Eminence, MO, October 2-5, 2009

Jill and I traveled from our home on Grand Lake in Ottawa County, OK to Eminence, MO.  This is a distance of approximately 260 miles from our home.  We took Captain Morgan, our Morgan colt, and Jill's mule, Pete.  We met up with my brother, Mike, his wife Trina, and four of their horses; Doc, Buddy, Spooky, and Spirit.

Eminence is in the Missouri Ozarks (population 548).  It is the site of a Cross Country Trail Ride (CCTR) camp which hosts several events each year.  The attendees outnumber the locals 3 or 4 to one during these events.  A variety of tack shops and other vendors can be found on the road leading to the campsite.

We stayed at the Coldwater Ranch just outside Eminence.  The ranch has facilities for campers, campers with horsetrailer RVs, and cabins for those of us who prefer a more comfortable stay.  Our cabin had a kitchenette, two queen-size beds, a fold-out futon couch, a bathroom with shower, a separate sink/vanity for shaving, etc., and a spa (not all cabins have the spa), and plenty of hot water.  Mike and Trina stayed in their horsetrailer RV.  Several bathrooms equipped with toilet, sink, and shower are available for the campers.  The ranch has covered stalls for the horses and requires all horses to be kept in stalls.  The stalls are reasonably priced but they are not free.  You can purchase hay or feed from the ranch.

The ranch kitchen served a catfish dinner complete with hushpuppies (laced with jalapeno), french fries, cornbread, with pie for dessert.  They also served deviled eggs which they passed around after the meal started. The cost of the meal was reasonable.  Other nights have other meal offerings.  The ranch kitchen also serves breakfast and lunches are available to trail riders coming from other ranches or campgrounds.

A variety of trails are accessible from Coldwater Ranch.  Some trails are knee-knockers through the trees and rocks and hills.  Others are dirt/rock county roads.  The county roads go up and down the same hills but are wider and accommodate side-by-side riding.  You can get better views of the scenery from the roads than on the trails.  The local residents take great care with their cars and trucks when approaching riders.  They are courteous and friendly with the riders and most of them can give you directions if you are temporarily disoriented.

The scenery is typical Missouri Ozarks.  AMAZING!  We rode past rock formations hanging over the road.  We forded the sparkling clear Jack's Fork River and Current River.  We rode to the Alley Mill Spring which outflows millions of sparkling clear cold water every day.  All in all, we had a wonderful time.