The Indian Oaks... an introduction

The Indian Oaks was started by Baron and Morgan Smith as a way to share our love of the outdoors and nature with our family and other families along the way.  We both love being outside whether it’s in the backyard or out on a hiking trail. The sound of birds singing and fluttering in the trees all around, the rustling of the wind blowing through the leaves of a cottonwood tree or any of the other sights, smells, and sounds of the great outdoors stirs my imagination and at the same time relaxes me and removes me from the stress of the week and I know it does the same for Morgan. We both have tried to instill this love of nature to our kids, letting them play out in the backyard in the dirt box.  Yes, you read that right, we started out not with a sandbox but a dirt box.  It was once a raised garden bed that was quickly taken over with toys and trucks and one of the boxes soon became two dirt boxes until we later connected both and filled them with sand to have a proper sandbox. On to the point, we’ve searched for ways to connect our kids to the outdoors and pass on our love of trees, grasses, and all those tiny growing, wiggling, scurrying animals and plants we find along the way. The challenges and frequency of our outdoor excursions changed with the addition of kids.  And while it does limit the time and distance of being out there, it has opened up a whole new world of curiosity and imagination of being able to slow down, look around, and enjoy what is going on around us as a family.  And that is really our goal.  To help families get outside, collect interesting twigs, nuts, rocks and whatever else is stirring our children’s imaginations. When you’re out playing, hiking, or camping, whatever you’re doing together is important.  Those are the memories that will last.  It isn’t always easy, they get hungry, thirsty, tired, need a diaper change or want to be carried the whole time, but being out there together is worth it.