We began our day around 7am with coffee and oatmeal. We donned our hiking gear and headed off. Our first stop was at Rocky Falls, a gorgeous waterfall requiring only a short walk. We got some great pics and video at Rocky Falls and even were able to climb around the falls a little. There were some beautiful flowers to take pictures of and the falls itself was a great outing – would highly recommend!
After seeing Rocky Falls we decided to hike to the Klepzig Mill. The Klepzig Mill is a 3.1 mile hike from Rocky Falls or you can drive about a mile down the road and only hike 1.6 miles to the mill. Since we had a good bit of stuff to do we decided to take this route and only hike 3.2 miles round trip. The hike was moderate – some muddy spots but no problem with our hiking boots on. Great scenic route with some good pics. The mill and an old building were really cool as was the river there at the mill. We ate cheese, crackers, and summer sausage for lunch by the river and enjoyed walking around. Several people were getting in the water at the river but most of these parked ½ mile from the mill by going a different route – we needed to keep our feet dry for our 1.6 mile hike back to the car!
We hiked back out to the road and crossed a low water road area to get back to our car. We then drove to Blue Springs – but, there is a distinction I will make in the Blue Springs in case you are reading this and want to go! Blue Springs on the Current River is really cool – it is the tallest spring in Missouri and is actually deeper than the Statue of Liberty is tall! We went to this spring and it was super cool! We, however, didn’t notice the difference on the map and went to the Blue Spring on the Jacks Fork River first – this is a cool spring but just not quite so deep and spectacular! You aren’t supposed to wade in any of the springs but especially not one 300-something feet deep! There were people walking across the first Blue Spring we went to and we realized quickly we were not at the right one! But, it was pretty nevertheless!
After leaving the first Blue Spring, we went to Alley Springs. Alley Springs has a beautiful 1.5 mile hike around the spring that leads to an overlook. We got awesome pictures at the overlook and thoroughly enjoyed that short trail. The first quarter mile is definitely the most treacherous – UPHILL! But after that the trail evens out and is beautiful! The overlook is awesome and provided a great video and photos. We toured the mill, visited the small school there, and then visited the store at the Alley Spring. All provided a great trip.
We went to the Blue Spring on the Current River next. This spring was gorgeous – a ½ mile hike was definitely worth seeing the gorgeous deep spring. The spring was very clear and blue but they say it’s even clearer most of the time when there has not been so much rain. We hiked around to the left side up to an overlook to get even more great pics.
After Blue Spring on the Current River we were exhausted and headed back to camp! We got back in time to put our feet in the river – COLD – for just a couple minutes and then we found – THE SHOWERS!!! – and totally enjoyed a nice warm shower at the campground!
For supper tonight, we had a boxed couscous and chicken meal, some sautéed vegetables (from a bag of frozen veggies), and some Artisan bread. We then played the Worst Case Scenario game for some great camping laughs!
Bedtime was again around 9pm – we were sad, thinking of heading home tomorrow!