Lake Barkley was one of two shorter stops between Mammoth Cave and my first destination in the Missouri Ozarks. I stayed from Sunday through Friday, and while there weren’t a ton of places to hike, there was still plenty to enjoy. I spent time taking in the scenery around the beautiful campground, visited a National Recreation Area wildlife facility, explored a 700-acre prairie filled with bison and elk, and even found a couple of local dives to check out.

But the prairie really stole the show.

I ended up going twice. The first time, I went a little too early — or maybe just at the wrong time of day. I only saw two elk, but it was enough to make me want to come back.

So I returned about an hour before sunset, and this time the entire prairie seemed to come alive.

The mature male elk were calling and bugling, their enormous racks silhouetted against the evening sky. Females were grazing alongside their babies, and the entire herd seemed to be slowly emerging as the sun began to drop. The longer I stayed, the more wildlife appeared.

As I started making my way out, I was honestly a little disappointed that I hadn't seen any bison. I was almost done with the tour when, suddenly, I caught something in my rearview mirror.

A bison was coming out of the woods.

I stopped, backed up the truck, and before I knew it, an entire herd was making its way out.

One of the baby bison had a serious case of the zoomies, running all over the place while the rest of the herd slowly made its way across the prairie. I’d guess 40–50 bison came through, eventually taking over the road and holding up the cars behind me. And then, somehow, the elk started weaving in and around the bison.

It was one of those completely unexpected moments that you just can't plan for.

Some of the bison even walked right past the truck, grazing along the way. I sat there taking it all in, realizing I was seeing pretty much everything I had hoped to experience when I came to the prairie.

I stayed until the cows… well, the bison came home.

It was the perfect way to finish my time at Lake Barkley.

Now it was time to pack up and head to the next stop — and for the first time on this journey, I got to experience breaking down camp in the pouring rain.