Our anniversary trip to the Ozarks

Hard to believe that we have had forty-five years of wedded bliss.  Well, it has not always gone smoothly, but through all of the ups and downs we have found that our love for each other has only grown stronger.  The pandemic certainly limited our choices as to how we might spend our anniversary.  John wanted to return to Echo Bluff State Park.  We visited the park in 2018, however we could not spend a night in its lodge because we had not made reservations.  This time we planned ahead and were able to spend two nights in the lodge.

Staying at the lodge gave us two days to roam the curvy and hilly two lane roads along the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.  On our first day we explored springs and streams of the Current River.  Our first stop was Devils Well, an open sinkhole that formed when the ceilings of an underground cavern collapsed.  If  you plan to visit this area be aware that it is not easy to find.  The mile or so road off the main one is gravel and pothole ridden, with rivulets of water running across it.  In the past few days there had been heavy rains, I was concerned that we would encounter deep water across the road.  There were no other cars in sight as we bumped our way down this questionable road, and I felt some relief once we arrived at the parking lot of Devils Den and found several cars there.  We were not the only insane people to search out this spot!  

We took a long wooden stairway down into the sinkhole.  There was a natural overhang of soil and rock, under which John is bending in the picture above.  And in the picture below he is behind a waterfall  peering into a lake measuring 400 feet long and 100 feet wide.  He said he could only see about five feet into the lake instead of the actual 100 feet because of the recent heavy rains.

                                            

The sinkhole was discovered in 1954 by the Wallace brothers.  It is the largest underground lake in Missouri.  

                                         

Pictured above is Welch Spring, also found along the Current River and the fifth largest spring in Missouri.  The building in the background is what is left of a sanatorium built in 1913 by  Doctor Diehl for patients suffering from various respiratory diseases. The building was erected over the entrance of a  a cave, the thought being that the moist air would be beneficial for the patients. A resort was added to the hospital.  The good doctor died in1940 and the family chose not to continue the hospital or resort. It was a good idea, but the road down to them was rough and the area remote from civilization. 

                                        

"Round as a silver dollar" is the next sinkhole we explored, consequently the springs here are called Round Springs.  It is notable for the variety of birds who visit the area, however there was not much activity the day we were there.

                                         
It is interesting that in the Ozark area we were visiting there are four separate herds of wild horses, one of which we were lucky to see.  We met up with a couple who said that they live in the area and track the herds rather frequently.  In the herd pictured above the horse in the foreground is the stallion.  The rest of the the group were either females or young ones, who are brown colored until they get older.