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New Haven, MO

Cabin in the Woods in a Town with a Population of 2,089

By Vanessa R. PowellPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Welcome to New Haven! Photo from Evolve Vacation Rental's listing

I knew I didn’t want to drive more than 3-4 hours for our 4-5 day miniature vacation. I kept searching AIRBNB for a cabin in the woods that was up to my liking. Sure, there were plenty of cabins out there...but there were a lot of them that looked run down or too “primitive” for my liking. I came across this cabin in New Haven, MO.

The cabin is situated on Camp Trinity’s property for retreats and vacations alike. If you’re a light sleeper, I recommend bringing a fan or whatever type of sleep-aid you normally require. The master bedroom sits directly below the upstairs bedroom. You will hear every shuffle if you are trying to sleep before whoever else is along with you on your trip. I wouldn’t hold this against the cabin by any means, simply sharing any tips/tricks I learned during our stay.

Note that this is not a self check-in cabin. You will receive an email from the host to arrange a meeting time for the keys to the cabin. I don’t know how many people manage the property, but we spoke to Luke. He was super helpful with letting us know where everything was located on the property along with nearby stores. Naturally, if we had any questions or issues to simply reach out to him.

Something I really liked about the cabin was the number of essential items that were available. They had coffee, cooking oil, basic spices, tons of silverware/utensils, baking/cooking dishes, and plates/bowls/cups. There was a washing machine & dryer and there was even some laundry soap & fabric softener on hand. I was really thankful because I forgot to pack mine. I could have purchased some at the store...but who wants to fully stock a kitchen while on vacation for a few days? I’ve stayed at many AIRBNB homes...and I always wished that they would have essentials like this. There were even cleaning supplies and full sized dish soaps. I realize how basic and silly these things might sound... but surely you get why I was excited haha.

Beautiful view once inside the property & on the way to the cabin.

The day we arrived we decided to explore the property a little. I say “a little” because the property sat on 200 acres. We brought our bicycles because we were excited about hiking/riding around the property and trails. Unless your bike is equipped for nature/forest/gravel, I don’t recommend bringing bikes. Upon entering the property you were immediately on gravel road and much of the property was either gravel or wooded trails.

We were also told that we could fish, hike, canoe, build a fire (there was a pit in the backyard), they also had volleyball nets and a basketball court. They had an outdoor pool but it wasn’t open yet. (Keep in mind we were traveling the last week of March).

Canoeing in the lake

I was a little nervous about the whole canoeing thing. We had never been before, so it was all a little new. My daughter had been before, but my son and I had not. I‘m not a fan of water so I didn’t get in...but they had a great time! The lake is small and not very deep (I think 3-4 feet or at least that’s what it was near the bridge that went across the lake)

Even though our drive wasn’t that long, we were still tired... we didn’t do a ton of exploration on the property during the first night. Aside from touring the cabin, attempting to bike down one of the gravel roads, 30-ish minutes canoeing and a trip to a local market, we were exhausted from day one of our trip.

The next morning, I was awake hours before the kids (shocker). I brewed some coffee, sat on the porch while listening to the birds and squirrels rustle through the leaves, and decided I wanted to go for a walk. I do wish they had some kind of trifold brochure that talked about the property and provided a map. I used the map app on my phone to be sure I wasn't straying too far from the cabin. I don't exactly have the best sense of direction and since I was alone... that was double the possible trouble!

A view from my walk in the woods
I have a thing for trees, ok? Haha

When we woke up on day two we heard MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

We were so confused, like...where is this coming from? We passed, what seemed like a million, farms on our way to the cabin. However, we didn't think there were any animals on the property.

Cow.

I decided to go explore the property again but walked towards the sounds.

I introduce you to the culprit. Actually, this one wasn't the culprit. Inside the barn on the left where the bars/fencing is at, there were several cows inside staring at me. When I walked away, they moo'ed. I laughed, I turned around, they acted like they hadn't just moo'd at me. Whatever dudes, whatever.

Rope & Tire Swing

Need I say more? We discovered these on another path we walked. I know I said I wanted a map earlier, but I have to admit it was kind of neat finding these things on our own.

Fire pit + Roasting Weenies

Don't be fooled, this fire only last a cool 5 minutes. Apparently, we had NO idea what we were doing. We have only ever used fire starter logs. I tried petroleum jelly + cotton balls, I tried charcoal lighter fluid, I tried rubbing some sticks and stones together (ok maybe not) but you get the idea. I guess I haven't watched enough youtube videos. I also suppose maybe a little wind and patience was all that was needed. About an hour after I gave up on the fire, (it was windy, maybe I shouldn't have started a fire?) we had a full blown beautiful fire in the pit. However, by this point, we were all tired and ready for bed. I ended up pouring water on it to put it out because I was terrified I was going to burn the place down.

Beautiful view while driving

I've always wanted to say, "Do you guys want to drive into town?"

New Haven, MO is DEFINITELY the place to pose this question. We drove to Washington, MO (about 20 mins away) several times. All in all, we aren't middle of the woods/cabin people. Maybe if there was a hot tub, it may have passed the time. We are addicted to our phones, computers, iPads. I enjoy gardening and photography. I like binge watching shows on Netflix. I am not good at "not doing anything". I wouldn't say the mini vacay was a waste or even terrible. We had our moments and enjoyed our time. We just think that maybe we'll try something different next time. Which is what we did this time. I don't regret it one bit. Operation: Explore!

I would like to close with this photo. It's heart shaped bird shit.

#heartshapedeverything #721

If this is the only story you have read by me, you need to check out:

I go into explaining where my findings of heart shaped things originated. It's a really cool story. I feel like the category should have been "inspiration" not "grief" but I can see how one would get that wrong without reading the entire article.

If you like vacation reads...I also wrote about our trip to Hollywood, FL here:

Or if you're like me and don't want other people telling or social media suggesting your next read... my profile can be found here, so you can decide for yourself 😆

Enjoy this post? Consider leaving a tip, sharing the post, or giving it a heart ♥️ , it's kind of my thing after-all.

travel advice
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About the Creator

Vanessa R. Powell

I am a portrait photographer, graphic designer, creator extraordinaire, oh and I sell Scentsy. I suppose I am dabbling in writing too 😊 | Based in Evansville, IN | I am 721vanessa Photography | www.721vanessa.com

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