Buffalo Creek

We had a fun adventure at the end of May when we visited Buffalo Creek Ranch in the Smoky Mountains.  Pre-COVID 19, I was planning this as a surprise for Mark for Father's Day.  He often talks about taking trains to go places and has an idyllic vision of sleeping in a train car.  Buffalo Creek was featured in Southern Living for its caboose rentals, and when I read the article about the air conditioned, fully equipped, renovated train cars, I knew that this would be the perfect way for us to have an overnight railroad adventure.  Instead of camping, we called it "caboosing".  

We decided to move our trip up to May, as Buffalo Creek had just reopened after NC's Stay at Home orders expired.  This meant we had the place virtually all to ourselves, and we were able to explore the 65 acre bison ranch without encountering other people.  We hiked on some trails, checked out the playground and game room, and spent the afternoon enjoying our unique accommodations.  Oue caboose even had a back deck and charcoal grill, where we cooked hot dogs and s'mores for dinner:

We had a pretty view from the front of our caboose, too.  The bison grazed in the fields and Millie was quite curious about these large, strange creatures:

Here's a picture of the inside of our caboose.  It was so cute and cozy, with a full kitchen, heated floors in the bathroom, and a full size bed in the cupola that the kids accessed via ladder: 

All three kids climbed into Mommy and Daddy's bed, because it's not every day that you get to have breakfast in bed and watch cartoons in a caboose! 

Buffalo Creek had many animals at the ranch and we enjoyed checking out the llamas and turkeys and goats... Oh, My!

 

After 2.5 months of quarantine, this little trip was so good for our souls.  It felt great to be out of our house, doing something new and different, and in nature enjoying God's beautiful creation:

Always appreciative of a good theme, we enjoyed the Train Depot, cute railroad signs and whistle stop markers, and the rustic cabins/feel of the ranch:

Any place that has "W" signs is bound to become a favorite of the Winterhoff family!

Besides camping in a caboose, we had another fun family "first" while at Buffalo Creek.  We went horseback riding nearby, and this was the kids' and Mark's first time on horseback (I went riding once in college, so I'm not sure that even counts!):

We had a guide who led us on a 1.5 hour ride on paths and wooded trails through the mountains.  It was SO much fun, and such a peaceful, lovely way to enjoy the gorgeous scenery of the Smokies.  I was not very skilled at taking pictures while trying to hang on to my horse's reins, but managed to capture a couple photos of my family riding:

On our way back to the caboose, I had Mark stop so that I could take a picture of the sign for the horseback riding place.  When we pulled up and I saw that they also offered bear hunts, I almost chickened out.  I can honestly say that this was a very "authentic" western North Carolina mountain experience, and I'm proud of us for our sense of adventure and for trying something new.  We all LOVED horseback riding and I know that it will always be a special family memory:   

Another highlight at Buffalo Creek was feeding time.  The herd gathers each morning when the tractor dumps loads of oats in their troughs.  There were three brand new baby bison (only one week old), and we loved watching these sweet calves with their Mamas:

We had such a great time at Buffalo Creek and are so glad that we were able to have this fun adventure!