Ozark National Scenic Riverways

We had just gotten through a rainy cool weekend when we realized that a couple nice warmer days were ahead of us.  On Tuesday morning John suddenly commented that we should leave that day to finish our trip down into southern Missouri.  That sounded like a good idea to me and we suddenly left the breakfast table, packed and headed out the door.  Never, in all our married years had we been that spontaneous.   We may not be in our mobile home any more, but we still have the yen to travel!
Also, now that we are living in the Midwest,  we have a different appreciation of the seasons- it is not sunny and warm up here year around as in Florida!

Our first stop that afternoon was Big Springs.  A sign in the park noted that it averages a daily flow of 288 million gallons- which would fill up Busch Stadium in 33 hours.  It, as well as the other two springs we were planning on visiting, is part of the Ozark National Riverways.  In the 1950s and 1960 America was into damming up its rivers for hydroelectric power.  Concerned citizens in Missouri  fought to keep the Current and Jack Forks Rivers open and free-flowing.  A bill was introduced in Congress and the first national river based park (the Ozark National Scenic Riverways) was opened in 1964.

Pictured above is Alley Springs, located on the Jack Forks River.  The mill located there was a grist mill in 1868, and a steel roller mill (powered by a turbine) in 1894.

Round Springs is on the Current River- by the way, that river is the most spring-fed river in the Ozarks and can be floated any time of the year.

John and I have seen many of Missouri's springs over the years and have floated a few times on the rivers.  Our main goal for this trip was to see Echo Bluff  State Park, located near Eminence Missouri.  A new lodge was built in the park two years ago, and we had planned to stay there Tuesday night.  Surely there was no need to make reservations for a night in the beginning of the week- but we were so wrong, it was filled up.  Maybe that was because it was a new lodge, or that families were vacationing for fall school breaks.  Could have also been that people were in the Ozarks for the fall colors.  It so happens that fall is slow this year, here in St.Louis we are just starting to see the leaves change into beautiful hues of red, yellow and orange.

We spent Tuesday night in a motel in Eminence- at about a quarter of the cost we would have paid at the park.  Echo Bluff's famous feature is a large sheer bluff located right outside of the lodge.  Also in this park is Sinking Creek, a crystal clear stream which feeds into the Current River.  The creek seems to sink into a hill as it flows into a tunnel at the base of the hill.  After hiking the Current River Trail (which has sections in both the Current River State Park as well as Echo Bluff State park) we head back north to St. Louis.  We may miss warm and sunny Florida, but the rolling hills and beauty of the Ozarks still makes it a place near and dear to our hearts!