~Day Hikes and Baby Wipes~
I’m sorry for the hiatus but the new baby distracted me from a lot of things *cough— writing—cough* over the last two months.
Now that I’m recovered from the c-section, lack of sleep, and visiting family I’m starting to get my writing bug back.
I’ve been posting to my poetry page more and I’m once again getting my act together— I should make a procrastination calendar so we can see how long I go without posting once I’ve extinguished the dopamine this blog gives me…
Anyways enough with my excuses and horrible attempts at jokes and puns.
Last month, we took our little wombats home to the Missouri Ozarks for a long weekend. Well, to my old home. I had a family reunion, my dad hadn’t met his newest grandchild, and another family get-together to hit up. Wade tagged along as well and had a fun time.
I’m glad I’m on maternity leave because I needed a few days to recover. During this jam-packed trip, we got in a few visits, rambles, and a hike!
One of the highlights was that for the first time in a long time my sister, niece, and brother-in-law were able to make it! Sadly, my nephew wasn’t able to make it up but plans are in the works.
It’s noteworthy to mention that neither my brother-in-law nor nephew have met my son due to Covid and other things. Daniel got to remedy that this trip and we’re hoping to organize a meeting between the kiddos this fall!
“Anyways enough of your boring family stuff and get on with the hiking stuff”— I’m assuming that’s what someone reading this is thinking…
Because PJ and I are Ozark Girls at heart we love showing off our home turf. After a bit of debating we decided to take the families to Blue Spring on the Current River.
Out of habit I always add the “on the Current” bit whenever I talk about it— because in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways there are two Blue Springs’ (I know real original names there). The one on the Jacks Fork River is not as deep nor as blue.
Blue Spring on the Current is the deepest spring in Missouri and is the 6th largest in the state. Pretty impressive if you ask me.
Now, an important thing to note when traveling in the Ozarks. When building the roads, the engineers followed snakes and made the roads curvier than a corkscrew— I jest but I always heard that growing up. In all honesty, the engineers followed the ridge lines because it was easier than cutting down the roads and I’m still not convinced that entailed following a snake, or at least a game trail.
I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, that’s wonderful and all but why do I need to know that? Well, if you get motion sick, are married to a flat lander who gets carsick, or have little ones not used to the rise and fall of the Ozark Hills someone will be cleaning up vomit… probably the mom…
Poor Hunter blew chunks all over his cousin Danica’s phone. She was a trooper about it. The sad news was that he started just after we went passed Highway HH and we were almost to the gravel road to access Blue Spring.
So sadly he blew like Mount Vesuvius a few more times…
There are five ways to get to Blue Spring— two involve the river either floating down or crossing it. This means you can float to the gravel bar, set up a picnic or a camp and then walk/swim across and hike to the spring.
Driving, while there is only one gravel road, you can come from the east or west on Highway 106 from either Eminence or Ellington and from the south from either Winona or Fremont (if you’re willing to run some backroads).
Once we finally made it I debated dragging Hunter down to the river and dunking him a few times. However, I didn’t want to traumatize the little fella anymore so Wade and I cleaned him up— luckily it wasn’t horrible.
With some apple juice, he recovered quickly and was ready to hit the trail. We decided to give him a few extra minutes and clean up his car seat as best we could.
While we were doing that Aunt PJ made her move to claim the baby so I couldn’t hike with her in my carrier like I normally do. So I just took photos and tortured everyone.
This was the perfect day hike. The trail meanders along the river with little incline. From the parking area to the spring proper is a 0.25-mile trail with views of the river, spring branch, and the Ozark forests I’ve missed so much.
After several moments of wandering the trail, exploring the banks, and chasing butterflies (if you have a toddler, otherwise your experience will vary) you come to the viewing area.
Now let me paint you a picture— you come on a cloudy overcast day and the spring might look turquoise but on a nice sunny day? The blue will blow you away.
It was referred to as the “spring of the summer sky.” And, in my opinion, it lives up to the hype. This color is due to a combination of the minerals in the water, the clarity, the sky, and the depth.
The depth has always fascinated me. It is the deepest spring in Missouri and to give you an idea of that— you can put the Statue of Liberty in and the torch would touch the top or be poking through depending on drought conditions. 310 feet on average.
My dad used to tell a story about back in the logging days when a logger was using mules up above the spring on the bluff. Apparently, the logs slid off the bluff— pulling the mule and brand-new rigging (harness) into the drink. The logger watched the mule get smaller and smaller before suddenly swimming for the surface. Somehow the mule managed to shake off the harness and swim back up.
I don’t know if the story is true, but it sounds good. I always meant to ask one of the dive teams that do scientific studies in the springs in the park if they ever found buckles, logs, or any other proof but decided to leave it in the realm of mystery.
Speaking of the bluff there is an offshoot trail that takes you up above the spring— I would recommend checking this part out in the fall or winter because the forest chokes out the view with the leaves.
Side note time:
Sadly, due to the delicate nature of the spring ecosystem, you cannot enter the spring. That goes for any spring in the park. You can touch the water but don’t go wading in or swimming. If you want to experience the cold sensation go down to where the spring branch flows into the river and jump in. It won’t be “as” cold as the source but it will still be in the fifties.
PJ and I were so thrilled to show our families this place. We would have liked to have shown them a few other places but we decided we wanted them to come back again. We figured if we took them to all the cool places the first go round it wouldn’t be special and they might not want to come back…
We did take them to the river the next day and did a little mini float with Hunter while PJ soaked up the sun and baby cuddles on the bank.
Next time I want to take them on the Ozark Trail and hike from either Van Buren or up north down to Rocky Creek/Rocky Falls area. Maybe I can convince them to do a short backpacking trip with me! Though it might be easier to convince them to do a multi-day float trip on the Current.
Thanks for tagging along!
BJ,
Keep wandering
P.S. My sister and husband are too much alike– he does the same thing in photos. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t do it as well.
The Wannabe Backpacker 