Roaring River State Park, etc

I'll start with the ETC..... I have been really busy since Darryl left on Monday to return to Denver but decided to just take the time to do a blog posting. My desk was piled high with stuff to do after having been gone for most of 2 weeks. I finished the Quarterly in Springfield, IL but we had a Skill Building Class last Monday and I was up early getting stuff done for it. Then there was a committee meeting after the class and that added a few more things to my To Do List. Yesterday felt like a day at the office where I was at my desk working all day. Today will be another "work day."  But I am getting a lot done!  I leave for Denver a week from tomorrow so still have a lot to get done before I leave.

Yesterday I got an email that really made me feel good!  It was from a Historical Society west of here in De Soto, KS that asked me to come and do the presentation to them that I did here back in June on "Writing Your Family History."  Apparently someone from their group heard about it or was here when I did it in June. I am honored!  Now to work out the dates...

Roaring River State Park: The park is about 15 miles south of Cassville, MO, down in the Ozarks. I have heard about it all my life because my Granny used to tell me stories about it. Granny came from Kentucky in a covered wagon when she was 9-12 years old and they settled in the Cassville area. She said back then, they could hear the roar of the waterfall in the park from miles away. The last time I was there was in the mid-1960 when Darryl and I were there.  I set on the shore and read a book while he fished. It was neat to revisit the place but it was nothing like we remembered!  We though our memory was playing tricks until we ran across some old pictures in a display that showed it the way we remembered it. Back then, there was nothing there except the river and a few trout hatchery ponds. Now there are many more hatchery ponds and a conference center and store have been built.

The river start here - in a limestone cavern under a big bluff. Since it was dry, there was only a small amount of water coming down from the waterfall but is a major falls when there is a lot of water after rains. There is a natural spring 224 feet deep back in the cavern that supplies 20.4 million gallons of cold water a day. This spring is the source of the river that flows 4 miles into Table Rock Lake. The spring also feeds the trout hatchery ponds with the cold water that trout need. 

A closer look at the cavern and the little water coming down from above. The water is very clear. 

These trout were swimming around in the pool right below where I was standing when taking the above pictures of the cavern.  They were 12-24" long. 

When we were there last, the river just flowed flat wit some natural deep spots for the fish. Now they have built these pools with little falls all along the river. The river is restocked daily. You can literally see the fish swimming around in the water ignoring the fisherman. 

There was a really big storm there the night we were there with a huge amount of rain. The next morning there was a mist on the river that would float around in different areas on the river. We were walking along the river taking pictures and saw this person as the mist came and went. 

As we got closer, we realized it was a woman that was fishing. In some places along the river, you can't wade into the water but she was fishing in a "catch and release" area so could wade out into the river. It was absolutely a beautiful scene!

Besides the rooms in the conference center, they have remodeled this building with rooms for tourist. The lodge was originally built in 1934 to house CCC workers who built the original trout ponds, bathrooms, etc around the area. It looks right on on the river. 

All and all, it was a really fun trip.