Alley Springs, Part 2

We had several days of rainy weather, so we decided to do some sightseeing.  Heading south on Hwy 19, we planned on visiting Fallings Springs, Greer Springs and Cane Bluff on the Eleven Point River.

Through some light rain, we hiked down to Greer Springs, and I found this vine to swing on along the way.  I did this the first time I hiked this trail, too.

The adventurers who didn't melt in the rain.

Lower Greer Springs, 2nd largest spring in the Ozarks, with an output of 360 cu feet of water per second.

Upper Greer Springs, located 100 feet above the lower spring, only provides a fraction of the water flow for the spring.

Greer Mill

Falling Spring Mill

The reason for the name 'Falling Springs'.

Reading about Cane Bluff, it sounded like a scenic place to see.

But the bluff was so overgrown, you couldn't tell it was a bluff.  

The Jacks Fork River is probably the most fun river to kayak out of the Buffalo, White, Currant and Jacks Fork.  Here I found good size crawdad as we were getting out.

Where we stopped for lunch.

Part of the reason the Jacks Fork is so much fun is the obstacles.  The rapids aren't so bad, and the current is not exceptionally fast, but there are always lots of sharp curves to the river and downed trees to avoid, like that above.

We were awaked early Saturday morning by the ranger, telling us to quickly, pack up and get out, the river was rising.  And sure enough, within 24 hours, the campground was underwater.  Below are some pictures from around the area, showing the flooding.

Below the bridge in Eminence.

One of the buildings in our campground.

Notice how the street sign is barely above the water?

No, that is not a creek, that is the trail to Blue Springs.

The take out and boat launch at Two Rivers.  That is a dumpster with only the very top showing in the background.

Rocky Falls usually has only a little bit of water flowing down, and this is a popular place for picnics.  Usually the rocks around the falls are covered with people, but I wouldn't venture out on the rocks today.

The group evacuated the campground and moved down the road about 3 miles to Ozark Rivers Music Camp, where we finished the gathering.  Unfortunately the next gathering at Van Buren, AR, had to be cancelled because of the same flooding along the rivers in the area.