Maybe it's a bad idea to make comparisons when it comes to the natural world. It all has it's unique qualities and each person experiences a place in their own way. Peck however has meant a great deal to our family personally, and has also played a central role in the conservation of various species of animal and plant life and is set in as beautiful a region as Missouri has to offer. It is very large in size at 20,000 acres plus, and is filled with an abundance of wildlife - some of which either only found in Peck, or at least rarely encountered elsewhere. Part of the cool aspect of Peck Ranch is the part it has played in reintroducing extirpated species to the state of Missouri. Currently, elk have been reintroduced to the wildlife portion of Peck, and their numbers are growing. There is even some talk of an eventual hunting season for elk as a means of controlling their population. Turkeys were once so rare in Missouri that they were rarely encountered. Their return to prominence started in Peck and then distributed throughout the state over time to where now Missouri has an abundant population. It is unlikely in reality that the same plan can take place for elk - it may be the case that their population remains only in th It is not uncommon for black bear to be spotted in Peck. During a youth managed hunt I had brought my son to perhaps 10 years ago, a father and son took some fine video of a black bear in the conservation area. There is abundant deer and all the species you would expect. Many nights we have ben awakened from our tent camping by packs of coyotes singing their songs. The terrain in Peck is incredible. Having grown up in the West, the Ozarks do not really qualify in my mind as mountains. But by "Lower 48" standards, the area is true wilderness. It butts up against tracts of Mark Twain National Forest, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and several other very large conservation areas like Rocky Creek and Current River. Peck faces challenges. I very much respect the locals in the area, but too many times we have encountered illegal hunting such as deer being driven by dogs. In fact, when we hunt the area in the Fall, more often than not, we encounter hounds running deer through the woods, or at least hear the telltale signs. I know it is an Ozark tradition and would not relish the idea of being a conservation agent trying to enforce the rules. Some nights we have seen evidence of what we thought were spotlighters traveling the many illegal roads that have been established by ATV travel which is itself not supposed to occur in the area. Management considerations are constantly in a delicate balance with selective logging and burns. All-in-all, it seems to me that the MDC does a pretty good job doing the best they can. More personally, some of the best outdoor experences I have had with my family have occurred in and around Peck. Camping in the short leaf pine forested campground is something special for sure. Nearby Rocky Falls is about the best swimming hole I have ever seen. It is a short distance to the Jacks Fork River and the Current River. A portion of the Ozark Trail cuts through Peck. The vista form Stegall Mountains firetower is amazing. If you live In Missouri and love the outdoors, plan a trip to Peck. Bring your family and I do believe you too willfind it a magical place. #peckranch #missouriconservationarea #missourielk #missouricamping #shortleafpine #outdoors #missourihunting #missourifishing

Family-Outdoors has undergone quite a facelift. Behind the scenes, we have been working on this for quite a while. It represents a coming to terms with the relative importance of the way we spend our time with site creation. When we launched in 2008, it was pretty rough, and site design was a work in progress to put things kindly. The content of the site is what really matters most, but the lookwas getting pretty outdated. The facelift represents the realization that every minute spend coding html and css was one less writing or getting outdoors. Thus, we have been migrating content over to our Wix built site, and we still have a ways to go. We could have waited, but the vast majority of content has been moved, and the rest will be soon. The mobile friendly aspect is an aspect we hope will add utility to the site. As always, we appreciate feedback from out users, so if you find things you like or don't, or even mistakes or suggestions, use the contact us button at the bottom of each page. #family #outdoors #familyoutdoors

David is home for the weekend and we decided to take advantage of a break in the weather and get out in the woods. One of the new advantages of having David around is that we get a full scale description of all there is to know about trees, plants, and the interlocking systems of the forest...the advantages of having a forestery major in the family. We have been experiencing some fairly cold weather for around these parts the last day or two, and are expecting the weather to get cold once more, so this was a nice little respite...especially given the not surprising reality that the weather forecasters had predicted today to be a complete washout with freezing rain and the dreaded "wintry mix." David is a junior at the University of Missouri at Columbia, and is now at the point in his education where he is really learning the things he will use when he works in the field. His favorite class so far has been Forest Ecology, and was telling me that when he job shadowed a forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation, he literally did the same things he had been doing in the class. He says this is the class where he experienced the sensation he had truly chosen the right field for him. Last semester, we realized he had not made it home for even one weekend, despite the fact Columbia is only an hour and a half up the road. It was looking a bit dicey as to whether the weekend was going to allow for travelling...we were glad it all worked out. The land that surrounds our home is filled with relics of a history where many of the implements of the former inhabitatants still reside in what is now forest. In some cases the machinery has literally become a part of the forest. If you ever think of your life as a part of much bigger and longer running picture, seeing these old farm tools becoming part of the forest really makes you think. I am sure when the farmer or farmers parked these machines for the last time, they either did not know it was the last time, or at the very least, they did not grasp how the scened would appear 75 to 100 years later. I wonder how the actions I take or do not take in my life might be viewed by someone 75 or 100 years from now? Being in the outdoors with family seems to have a timeless quality. I am not a real philosopher or verywell educated in American Literature and the transcendentalist movement, but it seems like my thinking gravitates this way fairly constantly. For example, I wonder how many families have walked together through these woods, and found evidence of fairly recent ancesots as they did. Is it possible or likely that the connection we formed with the former inhabitants extends through them to the people who preceded them by 75-100 year... and so on? Just one of these connections takes us back to perhaps the Civil War or even further back. Given we are in the very area where Daniel Boone & family resided at the end of his days, could that connection exist? It would be difficult or impossible to know, bu the possibility is very real! Laura and I have two sons who are in fields where they have real opportunities to make or preserve in ways that will have permanence. Our oldest son is a civil engineer; mostly doing road design. It was fun being in the woods with David, observing the way he interacts with his surroundings and having him share with us what he knows. #hiking #family #forest #nature #outdoors