Small Town Independence Day Celebration

This is the beginning of my third year living here in the Ozarks but this is the first year I went into town for the Independence Day Celebrations. These are some of the photos I took of the parade and the fireworks show in the small town were I live, much smaller than the ones in California but that's part of the charm of small town living… Hope you enjoy them.

My YouTube Videos: 

The Parade https://youtu.be/zQ7hdRM04ks

Fireworks https://youtu.be/SVaN6soNjK4

Noblett Lake Recreation Area

Dustin and I visited Noblett Lake Recreation Area today, it's very pretty there and has a lot of day use areas.

Originally constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps on the shore of a 26 acre lake, is a particularly scenic spot that offers picnicking, fishing, bird watching, canoeing and electric motor boating. The picnic pavilion is set in a forest of oak and pine trees, on the Salem Plateau.

Primitive camping is available below Noblett Dam and at the old loop known as Sugar Hill across from Noblett trailhead.

My YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/yKcysR24ayk

Two Year And Still Loving It...

This Morning I Realized That It Has Been Two Years Since I Move To The Ozarks And I'm Still Enjoying Every Day. 

I Put Together A Short Video Of Some Of The Things I've Experienced In The Last Year With Family And Friends.

https://youtu.be/DBy1F1Qp9Ko

Alley Springs - Alley Mill - Story's Creek School

Visiting Another Place Of Interest

The story of Alley is a tale of nature, people, and a century-old mill sitting at the heart of a beautiful Ozark scene. Weather this is an annual trip you've made since your childhood, or your first, take time to soak up the splendid scenery and get acquainted with Alley's lively past.

Cold, clear waters rise from deep within Alley Springs at an average daily flow of 81 million gallons. The spring basin is funnel-shaped with a depth of 32 feet. Tiny snails and colorful minnows live among clusters of watercress. Mink, muskrat, and banded water snakes may be observed swimming in the spring.

A short hiking trail along the spring displays a thriving abundance of life. Slick rock walls are adorned with hanging gardens of columbine and lush ferns.

A mill was vital to community life, where grain was ground to provide daily bread. The present building was constructed in 1894 by George Washington McCaskill as a merchant mill and was equipped with modern machinery that utilized steel rollers for grinding.

Check out Dustin's channel, he has a video about Alley Springs/Mill.

Dustin's Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRy60xf6eBA0YBEYTt2hV9w

Dustin's Alley Springs Video - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0PoWo7WaNI

My Alley Springs Video -

https://youtu.be/2gTMeATiwYg

The Blue Hole

This very short walk takes you from North Fork Campground to the beautiful Blue Spring. The Trail parallels the North Fork of the White River and travels into the Devil’s Backbone Wilderness. Among the trees, cardinals and other birds sweep from one branch to another. Flowering dogwood and redbud catch sunshine from the gaps between branches and leaves and display brilliant spring colors. Blue Spring on North Fork River is in an oval shape, about 30 feet in diameter. It averages 7 million gallons per day of cold, clear blue water. The pool is colorful and the setting dramatic - on three sides, the stone wall made of cherty Gasconade dolomite surrounds the spring and represents the karst topography of the Ozarks.

Check Out My YouTube Video... https://youtu.be/c3W30AKOF_I

Hodgson Water Mill

Hodgson Water Mill, in Ozark County. 

Built in 1861 to harness the power of a massive spring flowing into Bryant Creek and rebuilt in 1897, the tall, three-story frame building nestles against a bluff of the Bryant. Though the mill no longer grinds grain, it still houses the old milling machinery. (The nationally distributed line of stone-ground bakery products bearing the Hodgson name is now produced at a modern mill in nearby Gainesville.)

The spring still spews nearly 3,000,000 gallons of clear, cold water a day. Besides the mill, it once powered a cotton gin, a lumber mill, and a clothing factory. In pre-REA days, the power of the water also generated electricity for all the mill-site enterprises. And, once upon a time, thanks to the constant 58 degree temperature of the spring, the mill was a popular site for neighborhood dances.

Issuing from the bluff under the mill building, the spring is still picturesque. It nourishes native ferns and mosses clinging to crevices in the sheer rock wall. Some of the water is diverted to the mill pond, where watercress and other marine plants thrive. Inside the mill building, an opening to a cave in the face of the bluff provides natural air conditioning.

A modern day facility in nearby Gainesville, MO is still producing and distributing the all natural stone ground flours of the past under the Hodgson Mill name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6y_QpLgU3w

Tuesday Morning

I haven't been posting here for awhile, I have been working a lot on a Vlog and have been posting video on YouTube... here's a link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXxLjkW81M4