And the journey begins. I left Minnesota just over a week ago and, honestly, I don’t miss the cold at all!! Though the variety of weather I experienced the month I was there was a typical Minnesota winter/spring – about 19 below when I arrived to nearly 50 degrees about three weeks later, to a snow storm about 4 days before I left. Weather was neurotic!
My first destination was Missouri, where I spent a few days with my high school friend, Laurie. She has a small homestead in the Ozarks in southern Missouri near the Arkansas border where she raises goats and chickens. Her home is a sweet cabin that she is working on completing as time and finances dictate. Our days started with fresh eggs for breakfast and were filled with companionship, chores and exploring, while our evenings were filled with beautiful sunsets and quiet discussions about life and faith.
While running errands, Laurie took me to two different Amish stores to meet the owners and pick up various necessities for both animals and people at the homestead. One of the stores had shelves of tinctures, herbs and other health related items that appeal to me. And the dried papaya was wonderful!
Our exploring included visiting both Mammoth Springs State Park just across the Arkansas border, and Grand Gulf State Park in Missouri. Mammoth Springs is one of the largest springs in the world, flowing about 9 million gallons of water per hour. The boil is huge, and the water is teal, which I assume is from the minerals and nitrogen in the water. There is a walking path around the spring’s 10-acre lake that runs southward over the remnants of a hydroelectric plant as the Spring River.
Grand Gulf State Park is totally different! I guess Missouri is “The Cave State”, which I had no idea. Grand Gulf is a collapsed cave system about 3/4-mile long and more than 130 feet deep. There is a 250-feet-long natural bridge, which is one of the longest natural bridges in Missouri. The hiking paths and boardwalks around the area give great views of the canyon, and some wind through the Ozark woodlands.
Leaving Laurie’s, I visited three more sites in Missouri – Greer Spring, Falling Spring, and Big Spring. I’ll admit, the hike to Greer Spring was amazing! Being in the woods and hiking in the Ozarks is wonderful! I know, I should be able to come up with better descriptive words than “amazing” and “wonderful”! I’ll work on that. Anyway, it was good for me to get out in the woods and explore the different springs. I guess Big Spring also is one of the largest springs in the U.S. It is located in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
Hiking trail to Greer Spring.
Greer Spring
Falling Spring
Falling Spring Mill
Big Spring