Thursday, June 19, 2025
Dark And Stormy Night
Some storms were about to hit, so I decided to run out with my metal tripod and see if I could try to get some lightning pictures. I rushed over to Riverfront Park in North Little Rock, and set up under the new I-30 bridge. But of course, the storm system sort of fizzled. There was no lightning, but there were some cool clouds in the sky for a few minutes.
Monday, June 16, 2025
Falling Spring Mill
Our next stop was Falling Spring Mill, which sits within the Mark Twain National Forest. As we drove down the bumpy dirt road to the mill, we were shocked at all of the downed trees along the way. What happened?
It was a tornado. A few months ago a tornado tore through the forest. It took out the trees and then passed right through the little day-use area at the mill. A century-old cabin was almost entirely destroyed, it's roof torn off and laying in a twisted heap among the downed trees that have not yet been cleaned up. Luckily the Falling Spring Mill managed to mostly survive the tornado, it only lost its roof but the building is still intact.
I set my camera bag down on a picnic table to change out lenses, and then went to get a few pictures. About 500,000 gallons of water pour out of the spring every day, which empties out of a hole in the side of the bluff and makes a nice little waterfall.
Next to it is the mill, which was built in 1927.
We weren't alone while we were there, we were joined by a swarm of gnats and mosquitoes. Every time I stopped to get pictures, I would be beset by bugs. It must have looked like the dust cloud that follows around Charlie Brown's friend Pigpen (except it was annoying little bugs instead of dirt).
So I tossed the tripod and the camera in the back of the car, and then we headed out to our next destination - Alley Mill. The mill and its spring are very scenic and photogenic, and are located about a 40 minute drive away.
Careful readers of this blog might have noticed that I mentioned at the beginning that I set my camera bag down on a picnic table. So we arrived at Alley Mill, and I went to get the bag out of the back of the car and I was hit with a painful and sudden realization. It wasn't there. I left it behind at Falling Spring Mill.
Panic set in. That bag has lots of camera equipment in it. And it was just sitting out, ready for someone to just happen along and take it. Since we were already at Alley Mill, we took a quick look around. I was distracted and not really thinking straight, worried about the missing bag. I tried to take a few pictures but my heart wasn't in it, I was eager to get back to the car and go and retrieve the bag. But Alley Mill is a beautiful spot, the mill was built in 1894. It sits by a picturesque spring that discharges about 81 million gallons of water per day.
For better pictures of the Alley Mill and Spring, please take a look HERE and HERE.
We turned around and drove all the way back to Falling Spring Mill, back down the bumpy dirt road. We pulled into the parking area and, thank goodness, saw the camera bag still sitting there innocently on the picnic table. Luckily no one else must have driven down to the mill in the two hours we were gone (or the gnats didn't carry it away), since everything was all accounted for inside.
It was a chaotic end to our road trip. After that we drove to my Aunt's house, and then the next day Jonah and I drove back home (after making sure that the camera bag was packed and with us on the way back).
It was a tornado. A few months ago a tornado tore through the forest. It took out the trees and then passed right through the little day-use area at the mill. A century-old cabin was almost entirely destroyed, it's roof torn off and laying in a twisted heap among the downed trees that have not yet been cleaned up. Luckily the Falling Spring Mill managed to mostly survive the tornado, it only lost its roof but the building is still intact.
I set my camera bag down on a picnic table to change out lenses, and then went to get a few pictures. About 500,000 gallons of water pour out of the spring every day, which empties out of a hole in the side of the bluff and makes a nice little waterfall.
Next to it is the mill, which was built in 1927.
We weren't alone while we were there, we were joined by a swarm of gnats and mosquitoes. Every time I stopped to get pictures, I would be beset by bugs. It must have looked like the dust cloud that follows around Charlie Brown's friend Pigpen (except it was annoying little bugs instead of dirt).
So I tossed the tripod and the camera in the back of the car, and then we headed out to our next destination - Alley Mill. The mill and its spring are very scenic and photogenic, and are located about a 40 minute drive away.
Careful readers of this blog might have noticed that I mentioned at the beginning that I set my camera bag down on a picnic table. So we arrived at Alley Mill, and I went to get the bag out of the back of the car and I was hit with a painful and sudden realization. It wasn't there. I left it behind at Falling Spring Mill.
Panic set in. That bag has lots of camera equipment in it. And it was just sitting out, ready for someone to just happen along and take it. Since we were already at Alley Mill, we took a quick look around. I was distracted and not really thinking straight, worried about the missing bag. I tried to take a few pictures but my heart wasn't in it, I was eager to get back to the car and go and retrieve the bag. But Alley Mill is a beautiful spot, the mill was built in 1894. It sits by a picturesque spring that discharges about 81 million gallons of water per day.
For better pictures of the Alley Mill and Spring, please take a look HERE and HERE.
We turned around and drove all the way back to Falling Spring Mill, back down the bumpy dirt road. We pulled into the parking area and, thank goodness, saw the camera bag still sitting there innocently on the picnic table. Luckily no one else must have driven down to the mill in the two hours we were gone (or the gnats didn't carry it away), since everything was all accounted for inside.
It was a chaotic end to our road trip. After that we drove to my Aunt's house, and then the next day Jonah and I drove back home (after making sure that the camera bag was packed and with us on the way back).
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Big Spring
There are springs located all across the Ozark Mountains, and it is quite easy to find which one is the largest. That would be the one called Big Spring, and as the name suggests it is quite large. It's not only the largest spring in the Ozarks, or in Missouri. It's one of the largest springs in the world.
About 293 million gallons of water pour out of Big Spring every day (for a comparison, only about one million gallons of water pours out of the 47 springs at Hot Springs National Park every day). The springs erupt from the base of a limestone bluff and instantly create a river.
The spring water has a bluish tint to it, thanks to particles of dissolved limestone and dolomite.
The spring is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which protects parts of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers. It is a really neat park to visit, especially in the Fall.
About 293 million gallons of water pour out of Big Spring every day (for a comparison, only about one million gallons of water pours out of the 47 springs at Hot Springs National Park every day). The springs erupt from the base of a limestone bluff and instantly create a river.
The spring water has a bluish tint to it, thanks to particles of dissolved limestone and dolomite.
The spring is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which protects parts of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers. It is a really neat park to visit, especially in the Fall.
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Cairo
The route for our drive home took us through the small town of Cairo, Illinois. Cairo was incorporated in the 1850s, and sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. But like many of the towns along the Mississippi River that were built for the steamboat era, Cairo seems to have been bypassed and left adrift in the current of modern times.
Cairo was once a prominent town along the river. In the novel Huckleberry Finn, it is the destination that Jim and Huck are trying to reach (which they miss and then *spoiler alert* accidentally end up in Arkansas). During the Civil War, Cairo was an important Union supply base and training center. After the war, the town's location along the river turned it into a railroad and river traffic hub. There was also legal gambling and prostitution, which gave the town an untamed culture that was compared to New Orleans.
But a swirling combination of factors combined to lead to the towns steady downturn. The religious community was able to ban gambling and prostitution. Then the decrease of the river and railroad industry began as the town was bypassed by new bridges to the south. But one of the largest reasons for Cairo's decline has been linked to racism. Racial turmoil, and an economic boycott in the 1960s and 1970s (when many white business owners chose to close their businesses rather than hire Black people) lead to a steep decline in the town's population. The town's population peaked at around 15,000 people in 1920. Now, the population is around 1,700 people.
We drove into town, under a decorative arch welcoming us into "Historic Downtown Cairo." But most of the old buildings that once lined these streets are gone, replaced with grass-filled lots. But there are still some interesting old buildings still standing, which give a glimpse of what the town must have once looked like. This is the old Cairo Board of Trade Building, which was built in 1912.
The building held retail and office space. It is now completely abandoned, but it still exudes a quiet and solemn beauty through the boarded up windows and broken facade.
Next door is this old Italianate-style house that was built in the 19th century.
The front door of the house was completely hidden by overgrown vines.
And a few more pictures from the front of the Board of Trade Building:
On the next block over is the old Gem Theater. It was first built in 1910, but underwent massive renovations after fires in 1924 and 1934. It was a live performance theater and then was used as a movie theater. It closed in 1978, and despite efforts to revitalize it has been left abandoned and empty.
The side of the building has been almost engulfed by vines and vegetation.
We found a way to take a quick peek inside, which seemed to show that it was still in somewhat decent shape.
Next door to the Gem Theater was this building, which once held the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
And this is the view of the back of the Board of Trade Building, covered in vines.
And one last picture from Cairo. These commercial buildings were constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are almost the only buildings remaining on Commercial Street, which was once the main road in the downtown historic district. They are now empty and abandoned, a shell of what they once were.
There was much more to see here, and I wished we had more time to look around. But we had a full day of driving ahead of us and we needed to get back on the road. So we then left Cairo and Illinois, and crossed over the river into Missouri...
Cairo was once a prominent town along the river. In the novel Huckleberry Finn, it is the destination that Jim and Huck are trying to reach (which they miss and then *spoiler alert* accidentally end up in Arkansas). During the Civil War, Cairo was an important Union supply base and training center. After the war, the town's location along the river turned it into a railroad and river traffic hub. There was also legal gambling and prostitution, which gave the town an untamed culture that was compared to New Orleans.
But a swirling combination of factors combined to lead to the towns steady downturn. The religious community was able to ban gambling and prostitution. Then the decrease of the river and railroad industry began as the town was bypassed by new bridges to the south. But one of the largest reasons for Cairo's decline has been linked to racism. Racial turmoil, and an economic boycott in the 1960s and 1970s (when many white business owners chose to close their businesses rather than hire Black people) lead to a steep decline in the town's population. The town's population peaked at around 15,000 people in 1920. Now, the population is around 1,700 people.
We drove into town, under a decorative arch welcoming us into "Historic Downtown Cairo." But most of the old buildings that once lined these streets are gone, replaced with grass-filled lots. But there are still some interesting old buildings still standing, which give a glimpse of what the town must have once looked like. This is the old Cairo Board of Trade Building, which was built in 1912.
The building held retail and office space. It is now completely abandoned, but it still exudes a quiet and solemn beauty through the boarded up windows and broken facade.
Next door is this old Italianate-style house that was built in the 19th century.
The front door of the house was completely hidden by overgrown vines.
And a few more pictures from the front of the Board of Trade Building:
On the next block over is the old Gem Theater. It was first built in 1910, but underwent massive renovations after fires in 1924 and 1934. It was a live performance theater and then was used as a movie theater. It closed in 1978, and despite efforts to revitalize it has been left abandoned and empty.
The side of the building has been almost engulfed by vines and vegetation.
We found a way to take a quick peek inside, which seemed to show that it was still in somewhat decent shape.
Next door to the Gem Theater was this building, which once held the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
And this is the view of the back of the Board of Trade Building, covered in vines.
And one last picture from Cairo. These commercial buildings were constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are almost the only buildings remaining on Commercial Street, which was once the main road in the downtown historic district. They are now empty and abandoned, a shell of what they once were.
There was much more to see here, and I wished we had more time to look around. But we had a full day of driving ahead of us and we needed to get back on the road. So we then left Cairo and Illinois, and crossed over the river into Missouri...
Friday, June 13, 2025
Horse Cave & Cave City
We stayed at an Airbnb in the small town of Horse Cave, located about 30 minutes from Mammoth Cave (a distance we were very familiar with after our mad dash to the Visitor Center to catch our last tour). Horse Cave is a small but quaint town, and the place we stayed that was on the edge of town. Literally - on one side of us were houses, and the other side was a vast field.
The area around Mammoth Cave is littered with caves, including one right in the middle of Horse Cave.
Just down the road is the small town of Cave City, which has long been the gateway town for visitors to Mammoth Cave. There are a lot of old motels here, including Wigwam Village No. 2.
This old motel was built in 1932, and features 15 teepee shaped cabins. They are centered around a larger teepee that once served as a restaurant.
This is one of seven Wigwam Villages that were built across the country. The first was just up the road in Horse Cave (which has since been torn down). There were others in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida (which have also since been torn down). There are two Wigwam Villages still standing, both along Route 66. One is in San Bernadino, CA, and the other in Holbrook, AZ.
And just down the road there was this weathered old motel sign for the aptly named Cave Land Motel:
The area around Mammoth Cave is littered with caves, including one right in the middle of Horse Cave.
Just down the road is the small town of Cave City, which has long been the gateway town for visitors to Mammoth Cave. There are a lot of old motels here, including Wigwam Village No. 2.
This old motel was built in 1932, and features 15 teepee shaped cabins. They are centered around a larger teepee that once served as a restaurant.
This is one of seven Wigwam Villages that were built across the country. The first was just up the road in Horse Cave (which has since been torn down). There were others in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida (which have also since been torn down). There are two Wigwam Villages still standing, both along Route 66. One is in San Bernadino, CA, and the other in Holbrook, AZ.
And just down the road there was this weathered old motel sign for the aptly named Cave Land Motel:
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Mammoth Cave National Park - Frozen Niagara Tour
The next morning we were to do our third and final tour at Mammoth Cave. We were just chilling and relaxing after breakfast when my nephew JT said "oh we should probably get going." We checked the time and with a shock saw that our tour started in 30 minutes. And it was a 30 minute drive to the Visitor Center.
So we rushed to the park, driving as fast as possible on the rural roads. The tour we were going on that morning was the Frozen Niagara tour, and unlike the other tours this one requires a short ride on a bus to a different access point to the cave. When we finally arrived at the Visitor Center parking lot, we saw the last few members of our tour group boarding the bus. We hopped out of the car and ran, just as the bus started to drive away. We frantically waved, and amazingly the bus stopped for us. I hated being one of those people who was so late that we had to stop the bus, but I was thankful that we were able to jump on at the literal last second.
Mammoth Cave is known for its immense size, and not for cave formations. But one of the few places where formations like stalagmites and stalactites have formed is along the Frozen Niagara tour. It is one of the most popular tours in the park, and for good reason. It was definitely the most interesting tour that we did. Also it was a smaller tour group, so it didn't fell like you were being herded along with the crowd.
The tour soon empties out into a wide room filled with all sorts of formations, and even a little waterfall pouring out of a hole in the ceiling.
Then the tour follows a set of stairs that runs alongside and then beneath the tour's namesake formation - Frozen Niagara. The formation is named because it looks like a waterfall, frozen in stone. The formation is 43 feet wide and 70 feet tall, and is thought that it has been growing slowly for 800,000 years.
The stairs descend lower into the Drapery Room, where if you look up you see hundreds of delicate formations.
We then headed back up, and I turned around to get a view of looking back at the metal stairs as they run past Frozen Niagara.
Then the tour goes over a grated walkway that hangs 80 feet above a small natural pond called Crystal Lake. I'm sure the tour guides here have heard lots of Friday the 13th jokes here over the years.
As we made our way out, the tour guide stopped and asked "do you feel like you're being watched right now?" And then she shined a light on a bunch of cave crickets on the ceiling, just inches above our heads. It turns out that we had been walking right by and under hundreds of cave crickets the entire time. They looked like little aliens running around.
And then the tour ended. We made sure to make it back to the bus before it started driving away this time.
So we rushed to the park, driving as fast as possible on the rural roads. The tour we were going on that morning was the Frozen Niagara tour, and unlike the other tours this one requires a short ride on a bus to a different access point to the cave. When we finally arrived at the Visitor Center parking lot, we saw the last few members of our tour group boarding the bus. We hopped out of the car and ran, just as the bus started to drive away. We frantically waved, and amazingly the bus stopped for us. I hated being one of those people who was so late that we had to stop the bus, but I was thankful that we were able to jump on at the literal last second.
Mammoth Cave is known for its immense size, and not for cave formations. But one of the few places where formations like stalagmites and stalactites have formed is along the Frozen Niagara tour. It is one of the most popular tours in the park, and for good reason. It was definitely the most interesting tour that we did. Also it was a smaller tour group, so it didn't fell like you were being herded along with the crowd.
The tour soon empties out into a wide room filled with all sorts of formations, and even a little waterfall pouring out of a hole in the ceiling.
Then the tour follows a set of stairs that runs alongside and then beneath the tour's namesake formation - Frozen Niagara. The formation is named because it looks like a waterfall, frozen in stone. The formation is 43 feet wide and 70 feet tall, and is thought that it has been growing slowly for 800,000 years.
The stairs descend lower into the Drapery Room, where if you look up you see hundreds of delicate formations.
We then headed back up, and I turned around to get a view of looking back at the metal stairs as they run past Frozen Niagara.
Then the tour goes over a grated walkway that hangs 80 feet above a small natural pond called Crystal Lake. I'm sure the tour guides here have heard lots of Friday the 13th jokes here over the years.
As we made our way out, the tour guide stopped and asked "do you feel like you're being watched right now?" And then she shined a light on a bunch of cave crickets on the ceiling, just inches above our heads. It turns out that we had been walking right by and under hundreds of cave crickets the entire time. They looked like little aliens running around.
And then the tour ended. We made sure to make it back to the bus before it started driving away this time.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Mammoth Cave National Park - Historic Tour
After we finished our hike, we headed out to find a place for lunch. We followed the signs for a picnic area, and ended up driving down a bumpy dirt road for several miles deep into the woods. We eventually made it to the picnic area, which was a secluded spot along the Green River (well secluded from people, there were hundreds of cicadas there screaming at us).
We still had some time to kill until the next tour, so we drove a bit more through the park. The landscape above ground features lots of deep woods and rolling hills. There are also a few historic churches, including the Joppa Missionary Baptist Church. The congregation first met in a log cabin built in the 1860s, the current church was built around 1900.
The church walls are being braced by metal beams, which is good since the church probably would have collapsed without them. Looking inside is a little disorienting since the walls all have a slant to them.
Then it was finally time for our next tour, and we headed back to the Visitor Center. We were doing the Historic Tour, which also starts out at the Natural Entrance to the cave like our previous tour. But unlike that tour, which was self-guided, this tour was with a large group of about 100 people. It's hard enough to take pictures inside the cave, but it's even harder when you're stuck in a large group of people. And also, the guides were busy trying to herd people along the path, which made it hard to stop and take the camera out.
The features inside the cave all have names. The first large room that you enter on both the Historic and Discovery tour is named the Rotunda. Then you follow a paved path through a tunnel-like passageway that is called Broadway Avenue, because early visitors to the cave thought it resembled the urban canyon of Broadway in New York City. Next the tour entered a room called the Methodist Church, because in the 1830s there were church services held here (the preacher would take up lanterns to ensure people would stay for the entire service). The tour then stopped in an area called Booth's Amphitheater, which was named after a 19th century actor named Edwin Booth who visited the cave once and reportedly recited Hamlet in this room (Edwin Booth is known more now for his brother John Wilkes Booth, which must be awkward since Abraham Lincoln was born here in Kentucky). We stopped to listen to the tour guide talk for a few minutes, next to a few leaching vats that were used to mine saltpeter during the War of 1812.
Then the tour heads deeper into the cave, and then stopped again at a feature called the Giant's Coffin. This is a 1,000 ton boulder that is 48 feet long and 20 feet high.
Many early visitors to the cave carved their names on the rock, and it is covered with graffiti from the 1800s. The tour guides pointed out that any markings made before the cave was protected as a National Park is considered historic graffiti, anything carved afterwards is considered a felony.
And then the tour went deeper and deeper into the cave:
And then the tour reached Dante's Gateway, a section of the cave where the you take a ladder down a narrow and steep passageway (watch your head!). Then you pass over the Bottomless Pit, which I tried to get pictures of but they were too blurry. From there the tour goes through a few more low passageways until you reach a spot called Fat Man's Misery, which is where the path narrows down to a tight squeeze through the rocks that is only just wide enough for one person to go through at a time. Right after that is another section called Tall Man's Misery, where the path goes through a section only a few feet high. It was a fun section to traverse, but slow going with the crowd.
And then later the tour ends at Mammoth Dome, a 190 foot-tall vertical shaft. You get a really good look at it as you climb up a tower of 140 metal stairs.
After that the tour ends and you exit through the Natural Entrance, returned to the bright world above ground.
We still had some time to kill until the next tour, so we drove a bit more through the park. The landscape above ground features lots of deep woods and rolling hills. There are also a few historic churches, including the Joppa Missionary Baptist Church. The congregation first met in a log cabin built in the 1860s, the current church was built around 1900.
The church walls are being braced by metal beams, which is good since the church probably would have collapsed without them. Looking inside is a little disorienting since the walls all have a slant to them.
Then it was finally time for our next tour, and we headed back to the Visitor Center. We were doing the Historic Tour, which also starts out at the Natural Entrance to the cave like our previous tour. But unlike that tour, which was self-guided, this tour was with a large group of about 100 people. It's hard enough to take pictures inside the cave, but it's even harder when you're stuck in a large group of people. And also, the guides were busy trying to herd people along the path, which made it hard to stop and take the camera out.
The features inside the cave all have names. The first large room that you enter on both the Historic and Discovery tour is named the Rotunda. Then you follow a paved path through a tunnel-like passageway that is called Broadway Avenue, because early visitors to the cave thought it resembled the urban canyon of Broadway in New York City. Next the tour entered a room called the Methodist Church, because in the 1830s there were church services held here (the preacher would take up lanterns to ensure people would stay for the entire service). The tour then stopped in an area called Booth's Amphitheater, which was named after a 19th century actor named Edwin Booth who visited the cave once and reportedly recited Hamlet in this room (Edwin Booth is known more now for his brother John Wilkes Booth, which must be awkward since Abraham Lincoln was born here in Kentucky). We stopped to listen to the tour guide talk for a few minutes, next to a few leaching vats that were used to mine saltpeter during the War of 1812.
Then the tour heads deeper into the cave, and then stopped again at a feature called the Giant's Coffin. This is a 1,000 ton boulder that is 48 feet long and 20 feet high.
Many early visitors to the cave carved their names on the rock, and it is covered with graffiti from the 1800s. The tour guides pointed out that any markings made before the cave was protected as a National Park is considered historic graffiti, anything carved afterwards is considered a felony.
And then the tour went deeper and deeper into the cave:
And then the tour reached Dante's Gateway, a section of the cave where the you take a ladder down a narrow and steep passageway (watch your head!). Then you pass over the Bottomless Pit, which I tried to get pictures of but they were too blurry. From there the tour goes through a few more low passageways until you reach a spot called Fat Man's Misery, which is where the path narrows down to a tight squeeze through the rocks that is only just wide enough for one person to go through at a time. Right after that is another section called Tall Man's Misery, where the path goes through a section only a few feet high. It was a fun section to traverse, but slow going with the crowd.
And then later the tour ends at Mammoth Dome, a 190 foot-tall vertical shaft. You get a really good look at it as you climb up a tower of 140 metal stairs.
After that the tour ends and you exit through the Natural Entrance, returned to the bright world above ground.
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