Over Fourth of July weekend, we went down to my in-law’s house in Southwest Missouri. There was a family who wanted a Sweet Nectar Network session in that area and I planned to do their session that weekend, too. They suggested a very interesting location– Red Oak II.

Apparently, this man went off to World War II and when he returned home, his town, Red Oak, had become a ghost town. He ended up purchasing and moving what was left to his personal property, and also purchasing other interesting buildings.

I like to scope out session sites ahead of time, so Aaron and I took the kids over to Red Oak II the day before and checked it out.

It’s a really interesting location with lots to see.  My kids enjoyed the child care center. 

An old-fashioned gas station.

Playing in the stables. Reed and Lena were cows.

Ping-pong in the rec center.

Petting this big, friendly cat.

Geocaching.

And, it was the Fourth of July, so this photo was mandatory.

Red Oak II is definitely an awesome little slice of Americana (right along Route 66!).