A transfer is not available. Please rent a car.

Day 1: In the afternoon you arrive at the 500-acre family-operated cattle and horse ranch. Meet your hosts and settle into your secluded log cabin or room. Take time to admire the view of the sparkling lake from the porch of your cabin. Your dinner is served from an authentic chuck wagon while nearby musicians play Bluegrass music around the campfire. The evening ends with an old-fashioned hayride, behind a team of coal black Percheron draft horses, into the sunset. The following days will offer a variety of riding excursions into the Meramec countryside. Several days will include a short morning transfer for horses and riders, giving you a wide range of trails to explore.

Day 2: The morning ride introduces you to the gait of the foxtrot horse so that you will enjoy a smooth ride across the ranch, returning for a cowboy lunch at the house. After lunch it is back on the trail to explore rock bluffs decorated with drawings by the Osage Indians.

Day 3: Ride across country and over a ridge to a neighboring homestead that raises buffalo and other animals. Our host Fran will give you a tour of her farm, after which you will enjoy your lunch on the front porch of her log house while watching buffalo graze nearby. A fast-paced foxtrot ride returns you in time for dinner.

Day 4: Time to Cowboy Up! You can help saddle and load your horse before heading to Blue Springs Ranch. From Blue Springs Ranch you can see some of the most spectacular lookouts over the Meramec River. Your ride today will cover miles along river frontage and through farms, ranches and hardwood forests. You climb the landscape for impressive views from bluffs over looking the river. You will enjoy a saddle bag lunch overlooking the Meramec River. This is a challenging all day ride that you will not want to miss.

Day 5: …it is time to saddle and load up to head deeper into Ozark country for today’s ride. We will be unloading our horses at the Brazil Campground to ride the Berryman Trail. You will be riding switch backs and thru thick stands of pine forest. You’ll enjoy your saddle bag lunch overlooking the forest.

Day 6: Transfer horses and riders to a completely different area: Dry Fork Creek. Ride on the Lenauer Farm, settled by German immigrants in the late 1800s. This unique farm still has huge stands of virgin timber though you will ride under huge stands of oak and maple and through pastures of cattle along Dry Fork Creek. Let you horse gait back to the woods to a natural rock bridge, complete with a cave and spring-fed pool of water. This is where you will have lunch today. Afterwards, a short ride takes you back to the ranch for the evening. Relax, fish, or reflect on the great day you've had.

Day 7: Departure after breakfast.

Subject to change

Summers are generally humid. Average daily temperatures range from 78 to 80 degrees across the state. A typical July day may be around 66 degrees just before sunrise and may reach 85 to 90 degrees by mid-afternoon.  There are periods of almost constantly changing weather and periods when the weather is settled and stable.   Best time to ride is in the Fall.

Winters vary from year to year and geographically. Winters are fairly brisk and stimulating, seldom severe and may feature short spells of extreme cold or unusual warmth. Temperatures vary from north to south. The average daily temperature in January varies from 25o in the northwest to 34o in the southeast Missouri “boot heel.” (All temperatures listed in degrees Fahrenheit.)

Summers are generally warm and humid. Average daily temperature ranges from 78o to 80o across the state. A typical July day may be around 66o just before sunrise and may reach 85o 90o by mid afternoon.

The average annual precipitation is 36 inches in northwest Missouri, where winters are fairly dry and the greatest percentage of annual precipitation comes during the summer. In southeast Missouri, average annual precipitation is 47 inches, most of which falls in spring and autumn. About 46 percent of the annual precipitation in the northwest occurs during the May August crop growing months, compared with 34 percent in the southeast.

 The ranch has all sizes of riding helmets available and strongly encourages riders under 16 and novice riders to wear one. Bring your own if you prefer!

·       Fishing Pole (optional)

·         TIES NOT REQUIRED

·         Casual Attire - Jeans are O.K.

·         Books/Preferred Games

This trip includes some wine with dinner and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Passports
Valid passport required by all nationals referred to in the chart ; validity varies - for most countries the passport must be valid for at least six months from the date on which the holder enters the USA. If not, the holder will be admitted until the expiration date on the passport; check with the embassy (see Contact Addresses).
Passport Note
(a) For nationals included in the Visa Waiver Program (see below), passports must be valid for at least 90 days from date of entry.
(b) All travellers entering the USA under the Visa Waiver Program require individual machine-readable passports. Children included on a parent's passport also now require their own machine-readable passport. Travellers not in possession of machine-readable passports will require a valid USA entry visa.
(c) Passports issued on or after 26 October 2005 will need to have a biometric identifier in order for the holder to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Machine-readable passports issued between 26 October 2005 and 25 October 2006 require a digital photograph printed on the data page or an integrated chip with information from the data page. Machine-readable passports issued on or after 26 October 2006 will require an integrated chip with information from the data page (e-passport).

The US has announced new measures that require all travellers to provide details online 72 hours prior to travel.
ESTA: The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) came into force on 12 January 2009. It is a fully automated, electronic system for screening passengers before they begin travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. ESTA applications must be submitted at least 72 hours before travel to the USA. Some websites may charge you for the service but you can apply online for free at www.dhs.gov. The granting of an ESTA does not guarantee entry to the USA.

New Requirements for Travellers: As of 23 January 2007 all persons, including US citizens, travelling by air between the USA and Canada, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda are required to present a valid passport, or other approved document, when entering or re-entering the USA. Similar requirements for those travelling by land or sea will be introduced on 1 June 2009.

For further details about the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, visit the website of the US Department of State: (website: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html).

Visas
Not required by nationals referred to in the chart above for stays of up to 90 days except:
1. nationals of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic, who do require a visa.
Visa Note
(a) Landed Immigrants of Canada and British residents of Bermuda who are citizens of, and have valid passports from, Commonwealth countries or Ireland are not eligible to enter the USA without a visa. (b) All passengers using US airports for transit purposes are required to obtain a transit visa. This does not affect qualified travellers travelling visa free under the Visa Waiver Program. (d) To qualify for visa-free travel under the Visa Waiver Program, nationals must travel on a valid passport, for holiday, transit or business purposes only and for a stay not exceeding 90 days. (e) Passengers must have the full address and ZIP code of where they are staying in the USA to be able to fully complete the I-94W form. Note: Airlines are also required to collect passenger details, including the address of their first night's accommodation in the USA, before they board the aircraft. (f) 2. Holders of UK passports with the endorsement British Subject, British Dependent Territories Citizen, British Protected Person, British Overseas Citizen or British National (Overseas) Citizen do not qualify for the Visa Waiver Program. A passport which states holder has right of abode or indefinite leave to remain in the UK does not qualify for visa free travel. (g) A visa does not expire with the expiry of the holder’s passport. An unexpired, endorsed visa in an expired passport may be presented for entry into the USA, as long as the visa itself has not been cancelled, is undamaged, is less than 10 years old and is presented with a valid non-expired passport, provided that both passports are for the same nationality. (h) Nationals of countries not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see Contact Addresses).
Types of Visa and Cost
Tourist, Business, Transit and Student: US$131.
Validity
Visas may be used for travel to the USA until the date it expires. Some visas are valid for multiple entries. The length of stay in the USA is determined by US immigration officials at the time of entry but is generally six months; there is, however, no set time.
Applications to:
Embassy or consulate (see Contact Addresses).
Working Days Required
Usually five after interview. Some cases may take up to 12 weeks – check with embassy/consulate.