Yes, and the fishing usually does most of the work.
The ponds are stocked with bluegill, crappie and bass, and they are the kind of ponds where a child catches something on the first cast. That matters more than any activity we could plan.
The cattle
We are a mostly off-grid, grassfed Scottish Highland beef ranch. The cattle are long-haired and long-horned and they look like something out of a storybook, which is exactly what a six-year-old thinks the first time she sees one.
We put out alfalfa cubes as part of your stay, so you can feed them yourself. We just ask that children stay on their side of the electrified fence. The horns are wide and a cow turning her head has no idea where a small person is standing.
What else there is to do
A bonfire pit ringed with rustic limestone boulders, next to the water. A Traeger pellet grill and smoker. An eight-person hot tub on the covered patio. Thirty acres of walking, and a sun room that looks down over the ponds when the weather turns.
The room situation with a family
The West Wing has a twin bed, and with advance notice we can swap it for heavy-duty stackable cots, each rated to 500 pounds, that stack into a bunk. That puts a family of four in one room for a small extra fee. All three rooms together are $375 a night and sleep ten. Individually they run $125 to $175.
Every room has its own bath, which with children is worth more than it sounds.
One thing to know before you come
There is no television in the guest rooms and not much signal. Some families come specifically for that. If yours is not one of them, it is better to know going in.
We are 45 minutes north of Kansas City and 15 minutes from St. Joseph.