Alley Springs, Part 1

Next stop was Alley Springs Campground, located on the Jacks Fork River.

One morning we all gathered to have a bagged omelet breakfast.  I supplied the eggs and everyone else brought items to add to make omelets.

After placing all the ingredients in a zip lock bag, you place it in boiling water until the eggs are cooked.

Marian has hers all ready.

You couldn't get a better breakfast anywhere.

Across the road from the campground is Alley Springs Mill, which dates back to the late 1800s.

One this day there was enough room between the gates and the water that several of us kidded about trying to kayak through the gates.

But just a few days later, after the flooding, there wasn't much room left at all.

Sadly, because of budget cuts (the sequester), the funds needed to fix the equipment isn't available.  When I was here in 2009 the grinding equipment still operated.

They have live music on the square in front of the courthouse every Saturday night.  We were lucky enough to hear the Baker Family.  The daughter is 11 years old, the base player is 9 years old and the fiddler is 14 years old.  All the children play all the instruments as was demonstrating during one song when they traded instruments during the song itself.  They occasionally even play in Branson.

Many people watch the performance from across the street.

We had dinner at the Ozark Orchard Restaurant, upstairs on the balcony.

After dinner, some of us went downstairs to the Double O Saloon.  Usually they have live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, but this was a weekend off.  But we got the jukebox started and then the bartender and later the owner provided us with money to keep the jukebox going.

 

They are having a contest for a name for their mascot, which is this beaver.

We even got the locals dancing.

Buffalo Point and area

Not everyone made reservations and it was over the Memorial Day weekend.  Luckily, everyone found a place, but it did mean we were scattered all over the campground.  I do have to say, the park rangers worked with us and helped us to find spots to park. 

 Although the group was scattered throughout the campground, a few of us did gather at Max's for a campfire on several occasions.

Along the trail to Indian Rockhouse we spotted this small waterfall.

Our only hike was to Indian Rockhouse, a natural shelter, believed to have been used by Native Americans for thousands of years.

On the way back out, we passed by the Natural Bathtub.  Too bad it wasn't a hot spring fed stream of water.

After the hike we joined several others for lunch at the National Park cafe, which sits on top of a bluff overlooking the Buffalo River.

This group of canoer's were floating down the river and had their canoes all hooked together like a large raft.

We had a large group kayaking and we were scattered up and down the river.  

Lana had a great idea of grilling pizza's.  She made the homemade pizza dough and the rest of us brought the toppings.  Lana and her helpers rolled out small, individual pizza crusts.

If it could be put on a pizza, it was available.  

You start by grilling just the dough on one side, then you take the pizza crust and place all your toppings on the grilled side, returning the pizza to the grill to finish grilling.  It was a big hit.

Everyone got to customize their own pizza, so if you didn't like it, it was your own fault.

Rush, one of the ghost towns in the area, was once a large zinc mining area.  Here is one of the remaining furnaces.

Most of the buildings are falling down and are not stable enough to enter.  Existing between the 1880s and 1940s, during WWI, there were ten mining companies operating 13 mines in the area.

There is still some mining equipment remaining along the trails.

The is the foundation and steps of one of the larger buildings in the area.  I believe this building was one of the last to be abandoned.

Some of the walls and the concrete floors still remain. 

 

As many times as I have been here before, I had never seen this 'boiling spring'.  Found in the middle of the creek which flows into the Buffalo River, this natural springs boils up through the water.

It was Memorial Day and we had a tribute for all our members who have served in the Armed Forces.

One day we drove up to Cotter, a small town on the banks of the White River.  This is a creek which runs into the White River and the kids have a swinging rope where they can swing out over the creek. 

 

The trains were a large part of why Cotter is in existence today.  Because of a lack of roads in the Ozarks, trains became a necessity for supplying goods to the people in the mountains.  The first trains was introduced here in 1903 and required 500-600 employees.  In the building of the trains tracks to Joplin and St. Louis, over 5000 men were employed, requiring housing and all the amenties.  Steam engines required more work and employment remained high until diesels came along in the 1950s.  Although trains still run through this area, the large railroad hub here no longer exists.

The bridge crossing the White River.

The county courthouse in Yellville, built of local sandstone.

This carving of a bear and a turkey lies on the corner, in front of the courthouse.