Sunday 4-28-24 Muggy Day & Big Spring Campground

 

Hot Humid Day

The rain was gone but the forecast indicates it is coming back later today and it's suppose to stick around tomorrow. The humidity is very high. 

I got out of bed at 7:00 and made mini waffles for breakfast. Then we put things away and secure because we're moving on. We weren't in any hurry because we were only going 60 miles to Big Spring Campground, it is in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways Missouri.

Before leaving Greenville Larry filled the fresh water tank and dumped the black and gray tanks. He didn't have to move the Minnie because everything was at the site. This was very convenient, except our site had some standing water because of yesterday's rain. 

The drive was mainly a four lane divided highway. Larry had a choice between two routes, he decided to take the four lane highway, most times we prefer the two lane highways but this would have been a tight curvy two lane highway with no shoulders. The drive was very nice. When we got to Van Buren we were only seven miles from the campground we stopped and filled the Minnie with fuel. While there Larry bought a couple of donuts. They were ok but not excellent. They were the normal convenient store donuts. 

The last seven miles was a curvy two lane road through Mark Twain National Forest. It was a beautiful drive. The entrance gate was a very nice building built by the CCC. No one was at the gate but they did have a brochure on the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, three campgrounds (Big Spring, Alley Spring and Round Spring) and the hiking trails in the area. We decided on Big Spring Campground because they have a RV loop with power. 

 

The entrance wall that's on both side of the entrance road

 

Check-in booth

We arrived at the campground at 10:15 and only five sites were occupied, three of those folks left soon after we arrived. We decided on the site and parked the Minnie in a site we liked. The only way to pay for a site is via a website. Fortunately there is cell service so Larry went online and made the reservation for two nights. After the confirmation came through Larry plugged us in. 

 

Camping at Big Spring
 

We relaxed until it was time for lunch. We had a pasta salad. 

After lunch we went for a walk around the park to get familiar with it and where the trailheads are. There are multiple places to access the trail that goes along the banks of the Current River. We walked the trail by the river to the main road and from there we walked the road to the Big Spring. It's gorgeous and amazing. There's a trail, that goes up the mountainside via rock stairs made by the CCC and a switch back. We hope to hike this trail in the next day or so. We did hike the trail on the bottom to the main road and took the river trail back to the Minnie. It was a nice walk. We ended up walking 3 miles. 

 

The caves Big Spring formed

 

Standing at Big Spring

Big Spring is the largest spring in Missouri and one of the largest springs in the world with a daily average flow of 286 million gallons. The spring remains between 55 and 58 degrees year round and has a gorgeous aquamarine hue thanks to the minerals. 

When we got back we relaxed with a book. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and the Event, which was Event: Experts Only Mini of 5 games. It took me 1 hour, 39 minutes and 13 seconds, which put me in 15th place in my group.

After dinner I walked around the campground for an hour to get my steps. I ended up doing 16,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group for the week. For the week I did 106,587 steps.