November 7th - 8th, 2025 - A Long Awaited Missouri - Arkansas Road Trip

My Blog Reflection

Civilization if a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men.

Jane Addams

November 7, 2025:

Early this morning we headed out for a two-day road trip with Bob and Ronnie Hershey. Bob spent a lot of time planning a trip to visit all the major springs on this side of the state. Our route took us from Montauk State Park in Dent County, Missouri, to Mammoth Springs, Arkansas. 

The first leg was a 3.5 hour drive to get from Perryville to Montauk. The weather was beautiful so it was a nice drive. Montauk Spring forms the headwater of the Current River. 

It was fabulous to see. Here are some pictures. The blue color is from mineral deposits in the water and so beautiful to behold.

The water flowing away for the Current River.

Our next stop was at Big Spring. The blue color is from suspended limestone and calcium in the water.

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Kelly pausing for a photo on the walk back to the spring and cave area.

It is just so amazing that this water just flows out from the limestone bluff.

Our next stop was Welch Spring. It was about a quarter to half mile hike back to the spring along the river. Our first hike of the day. It was a scenic and beautiful walk along the river. 

We talked to the guy fishing. He said he almost always catches some in this area. He just walked in the water in his blue jeans. His legs had to get cold.

In the middle of the following pictures you can see the ruins of a hospital that was built here about a hundred years ago. Tuberculosis patients came here to drink the spring water and to breathe in the moisture from the spring. We believe there had to be a bridge across the spring at that time because the only other access would have been down the Current River by canoe.

I'm terrible at taking selfies and looking into the sun doesn't help but here is proof we were there. LOL

This spring was stunning.

The water flowing from the spring to the Current River.

From there we drove to Round Spring. It is the "round as a silver dollar" sinkhole that gives the spring its name.

You can easily see where the water comes out of the limestone bluff. The deep blue color was everywhere.

The water flowing away from the spring.

Our next stop was Alley Spring. Kelly and I had been here probably close to fifty years ago. At the headwater of the spring is a mill which was closed.

Again the blue water over the deep area where the spring comes out.

A nearby limestone wall eaten away by the elements.

The mill gates were open partially.

Ronnie and Kelly made for a great picture with the beautiful blue water in the background.

The river as it flows away from the spring.

It is disappointing that the pictures do not due the springs justice. They are truly magnificent to see. It is like looking at a picture of the Grand Canyon versus being there. It is just not the same experience.

We were losing daylight by the time we reached our next stop - Blue Spring. AS it turned out it was my favorite spring of all due to its amazing blue color over the sinkhole and bubbling areas.

I will let the pictures be the guide. As we walked back to the spring you could see the blue color.

Unfortunately the evening reflection of the bluff on the water did not allow for the pictures to capture the depth of the clear water. I didn't see a sign indicating the depth but it was clearly quite deep.

The reflection of the bluff didn't allow for a look deep into the spring. We could see through the reflection but couldn't see the bottom. Crazy.

As darkness descended on us we drove back to Van Buren, Missouri, to find a motel room and a restaurant for supper. We had only had a snack all day so we were ready for a hearty meal.

Van Buren only has a population of around 800. It is a huge river canoeing destination in the summer but pretty dead this time of year. There are two hotels in Van Buren and "The Landing" was by far our best choice. This is the main building where we checked-in. It is a new building because the previous one burned down a couple of years ago. We could have stayed in this building but opted to stay in their new free-standing building nearby. Our room was large and very nice indeed.

 

After checking in, and before going to our rooms, we headed to "The Blue Heron Restaurant" on campus. We hadn't eaten all day and were ready for a nice meal. We were not disappointed. The food was great as well as the atmosphere. 

November 8, 2025:

After a good night's sleep we were up at 7:00 a.m. and headed for breakfast at a restaurant in town that Bob knew about. The menu choices were different but we all enjoyed our choices. I had a small order of biscuits and gravy. The gravy was made with beef rather than pork. Something different for sure.

Our first stop of the day was at "Falling Spring". From the highway we drove two miles down a dirt road to reach the spring. On that drive we were astounded at the amount of damage in the forest due to a tornado that we learned went through last spring. The tornado path was at least two miles wide and the devastation to the forest was heartbreaking.

It is called "Falling Spring" because the spring gushes out of the limestone bluff.

Next to the bluff, almost a hundred years ago, a mill was built using the spring water flow to turn a large water wheel. At this mill corn was ground and a saw mill was set up to make shingles, boards, and firewood. What we saw was the second of two mills built there.

It made me wonder how they got all of the large gears to this place in the mill in the middle of nowhere. The gears had to have been cast in St. Louis, or some similar city nearby, and brought to this place by wagons. It is hard to tell how long that trip would have taken. It was a slow trip in a car!

The second water wheel was metal and probably built from a kit bought and put together on site. Those people had to have some engineering talent to construct a mill and make all of the gears and water wheel work as needed.

The spring water made a nice pool as it flowed away. So scenic and peaceful.

As we headed back to the highway we spotted a National Forest sign off the road back in the woods a little way. I got out to investigate and found that it marked the "New Liberty Trail", which was the location of a work camp back in the day. The tornado virtually destroyed the trail and signs but I could see concrete foundations throughout the area. All quite fascinating. This map shows the various buildings at the camp which used to exist at this site.



Small placards described some of the buildings.

I gathered that it was some form of training/work camp at one time, again in the middle of NOWHERE.

Our next stop was at "Greer Spring". 

When we arrived the sign indicated it was a mile down to the spring, which is the headwater of the Eleven Points River. It said it took an hour to two hours to make the trip. We debated and decided that we had come this far, why not take this trail on a beautiful fall afternoon? I should have read this sign more closely. It was not only a mile trail to the spring, it was also a 250 feet change in elevation, i.e. 25 stories. 

The trail was a little treacherous for us old folks because of all the roots and rocks you had to navigate around when walking. The trip down wasn't bad but the trip back up, I will admit, was a killer. We walked almost the entire mile down before we even heard water running. Here are some pictures when we got to the spring.

Bob couldn't walk the trail so just Ronnie, Kelly, and I went down. The size of the spring was quite impressive and we greatly enjoyed seeing it. Our enthusiasm waned, however, when we got ready to head back. It seemed like no matter how far we walked, we never got close to the top. Kelly counted seven switch backs on the trail. Benches were only provided in two places to sit and rest. However, we had to stop multiple times to catch our breath and get our heart rates down. We just sat on whatever large rock or log was available nearby. We aren't accustomed to walking up twenty-five stories. In hindsight I would not have made this trek, although there is some satisfaction in having done it and lived to talk about it.

After reaching the car, drinking some water, and enjoying a snack, we headed to our last stop - Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. It is arguably the largest spring of them all. It is located in a state park in the middle of the town. Observing this spring was much easier - a flat concrete sidewalk encircled the entire area.

7.89 gallons spring flow per hour that morning. Not the highest but nothing to sneeze at. The springs bubble up in a number of areas throughout the 10-acre lake.

A nice overlook is provided just outside the Visitors Center with placards describing the spring. At one time it generated electricity but no longer.

A sidewalk is provided around the entire lake so you can walk and see the various areas where the water bubbles up from below ground. 

This is the area where the water flows out of the lake and feeds the Spring River.

 

My travel mates on a bridge overlook taking it all in.

It is just so hard to imagine that all this water has bubbled up out of the ground 24/7 for who knows how long.

 

The trip was at its end. It was time for a nice lunch before making the long drive back home. Bob took us to his favorite restaurant in the area - "Fred's Fish House", located on the town's main drag just a few blocks from the spring. It is a small, unassuming place which cooked outstanding fish for decades. 

Of course, being a "fish house" we had to get the fried catfish. Kelly and I both love fried catfish. This is a SMALL platter of catfish strips, french fries, slaw, and hush puppies. It was all delicious. Kelly and I each ordered a small platter but neither of us could eat it all. We brought a bunch home for another meal.

It was about 7:00 p.m. when we got home. I noticed that my neck was sore. It dawned on me that this was from looking down at the traill for an hour and a half the day before to make sure I put my feet in a safe spot as I walked. I never experienced that before.

It was a great trip with great friends over two beautiful fall days. What more could you want?