Thursday, April 28

We woke up this morning to the sound of birds chirping and water from the creek moving past our RV camping spot. We stayed overnight in Ellington, Missouri which is nothing more than a map-dot town in southeastern Missouri close to some of the state’s best outdoor recreation and dozens of freshwater springs. Public lands in this area of the state are protected by the Mark Twain National Forest and the Ozark National Scenic Riverway.

Andi found us a campsite at Four Creeks Campground about 10 minutes outside the town of Ellington. The property is a horse farm with several creeks flowing through it. I think we might’ve been the only people camped there for the night beside the owner of the property. We loved the peacefulness of being in nature again and the pasture of horses grazing outside our camper window.

This morning, we had some regular life business to take care of before we could adventure.. Andi took the Jeep into Ellington to work at a local breakfast diner while Tory, Aden and I stayed back at the RV and did school.

Andi returned around 11:00am, just as we were finishing up school work. We decided to eat lunch here, and then take the Jeep off-roading through the Mark Twain National Forest land. The owner of Four Creeks Campground recommended a few trails to ride, but said we could pretty much drive anywhere as this area isn’t very populated. We’d have to agree with that! We didn’t see another person during our entire drive.

I think Tory likes adventuring in the Jeep…ha!

Our family loves to ride trails and until the Jeep, we’ve always done so in off-road vehicles. Those vehicles are a blast, of course, but I have to say I’m loving the creature comforts of the Jeep! Comfortable heated seats, a radio to listen to music and we stayed clean and dry during our ride.

The forest area around Ellington was beautiful — a mix of hardwood trees and prairie grass. We were pleasantly surprised how well the trails were maintained.

After an hour of driving the Jeep through the woods, Andi and I decided to check out a nearby freshwater spring called Blue Spring which feeds into the Current River. Blue Spring is the 8th largest and the deepest freshwater spring in Missouri at 350 ft. deep. For a mental visual, if you put the Statue of Liberty in Blue Spring, only her torch would be sticking out of the water. Its cool turquoise/emerald color is made so by the presence of limestone particles in the water.

We walked the half-mile trail to get to the spring, admiring the pretty wildflowers growing alongside the path. It was an easy, flat path to get there. The afternoon weather threatened rain, but it seemed to be holding off for now.

Blue Spring was absolutely beautiful. Because it’s the deepest spring in the state, and its water is known to have the most color variation. At times, the water looked aqua blue, and at other spots more of an emerald color depending on the depth. Rainfall can also affect its color.

We saw one 4-person group from Kentucky and Tennessee on the trail as we walked back to the parking area. People really are so friendly! They wanted to know all about the kids’ homeschooling, wow’d by the idea that Tory and Aden were learning about freshwater springs today instead of being in a classroom. The group also shared a few recommendations for our next camping destination in Kentucky.

Poor Aden tripped over a rock shortly thereafter and really fell hard on his side. He cried the rest of the walk out of the woods, so Andi and I took that as our cue to move onto the next activity.

Next, we’d planned to check out nearby Rocky Falls but it had started to rain by the time we made it back to the car. Also, Aden complained that his hip hurt from falling and didn’t seem that interested in another hike. Instead, we drove to the small town of Eminence to find an afternoon treat.

It was clear by the many canoe rental shops dotting Main Street that Eminence is a recreation haven for people in the summertime. With so many freshwater springs, creeks and rivers in this area of southern Missouri, I can see why! On a Thursday afternoon in the spring though, Eminence was more on the sleepy side with most of the action happening at the local Dairy Shack. High school baseball players, kids and adults lined up for ice cream, shakes and burgers. This place is most definitely a local favorite.

Andi and I decided to feed Tory and Aden an early (easy) dinner here, so we ordered two kids meals and a side of fried pickles to share. I wish the weather had been nicer — the air had that cold, clammy feeling — but luckily the outdoor tables were tucked underneath a big awning.

For our dinner, Andi and I decided to pick up a piece of meat from the local grocery store to grill, but their selection was pretty sub-par. We returned to our campsite with a small steak which Andi grilled outside for us in the rain. The rest of us relaxed inside the RV listening to the rain drum on the roof for most of the evening.

Next stop on our RV adventure is the state of Kentucky. We’re planning to stay at the Land Between the Lakes recreation area tomorrow night.