With a Spring in Our Step –Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky 6/2

Last night seemed like we were taking part in a National Geographic show. Lying in bed we could see the fireflies dancing about while hearing the rushing sound of the Current River in the background. The insects were buzzing and periodically a screech howl would hoot. The owl kept coming closer and closer until the eerie sounds of a coyote, which was very nearby, made such a racket the hoot owl was chased away. Before we left the park this morning we decided to do a hike to the spring at the headwaters of the Current River. We hiked through some pretty woods, but must have missed the trail somewhere because we never did find it. We had a lot of territory to cover today so we decided to push on. Our main outing of the day was to explore the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The two most impressive stops of the day were Alley Mill and Blue Spring. The mill is a three story red building right next to the turquoise waters of Alley Spring. Much of the original equipment, a turbine instead of a water wheel, and rollers rather than grinding stones, is still operational. When the mill is fully staffed they fire it up twice a day for a couple of minutes. Apparently it’s quite noisy. Much to Ned’s disappointment, they were two staff members short today so he didn’t get to see it in motion. The other amazing stop was Blue Spring. Driving down a dirt road and then a short hike was this jewel. It’s Missouri’s deepest spring at 310 feet and produces 87 million gallons of water daily – wow! True to its name, it’s a beautiful brilliant blue. We had the butterflies, damselflies, surrounding cliffs and blue spring all to ourselves. It was a tough decision which of these two places would make the pic of the day. We settled on Alley Mill simply because of the great color contrast. (All the pics are on my facebook page). We eventually headed east, very briefly driving thru Illinois into Kentucky. It was quite a thrill to drive the bridge over the Mighty Mississippi and then over the Ohio River. We’ve crossed the Mississippi on past trips, but I can’t help but be impressed each time with this massive river and see all the barges. We were originally going to camp at a State Park on the Mississippi, but decided instead to go a little further and camp at “Land Between the Lakes”, the lakes being Kentucky and Barkley. We are camped in a National Forest Area right on the lake. We also have the campground pretty much to ourselves. From our campsite this evening, we munched on chips, salsa and margaritas while watching a gorgeous sunset over the lake. The lake water seems quite warm and perhaps will take an early morning swim before setting out. I’m also looking forward to checking out the Visitor’s Center and learning more about the history of this Land Between the Lakes.