Booger Hollow

Finally we had started getting enough rain to get waterfalls flowing again! It was even raining that day as I drove out towards the Ozarks. I turned north onto Hwy. 7 from Russellville, and the tops of the mountains were covered with thick fog. I tried to find a good spot to take pictures, and ended up at the Moccasin Gap Recreation Area. I got a few pictures (and didn't see any moccasins for people wearing clothes from the Gap).



From there I passed by the ruins of the old Booger Hollow Trading Post. This used to be one of the landmarks along Hwy. 7, but it's abandoned now. The parking lot is now filled with overgrown weeds, and the buildings are in various stages of decay.



The Booger Hollow Trading Post opened in 1961, and signs along Hwy. 7 would beckon travelers to stop at the quirky attraction with the population of "7....countin' one coon dog." The store sold stuff like soap, jams and a wide selection of hillbilly-themed souvenirs and doodads. It had a restaurant, the Boogerhollow Chuckwagon Cage, where hungry travelers could dine on a "boogerburger."



But Booger Hollow permanently closed in 2004. Some of the buildings are gone now, including the two-story outhouse (where the upper level was closed "until we git the plummin' figgered out"). The remaining buildings are fenced off, far removed from the passing traffic along Hwy. 7. It was eerily quiet when I was there, the only sound was from a dog that appeared out of the fog and stood in the middle of the road to bark at me.

Buffalo National River - Parker-Hickman Farmstead

The next morning I woke up before sunrise again and headed back to the Buffalo River. This time it was to visit the old Parker-Hickman Farmstead at Erbie. It was still raining as I drove north from Jasper, but the rain slacked by the time I made it to the old homestead.



The cabin was built by the Parker family in the 1840s, and is the oldest building within the boundaries of the Buffalo National River. It was built just a few years after Arkansas became a state, and the old place has seen a lot of history. During the Civil War, there was a small skirmish nearby involving guerrilla fighters and the old Parker house was used as a field hospital.



The cabin and the property were then purchased by the Hickman family, who lived there until 1978. In 1982, the National Park Service acquired the cabin and the surrounding farm. You can take a peek inside the cabin, which is in remarkably good shape considering how old the structure is. In one room, you can see the layers of wallpaper and newspaper on the walls that was used as insulation back in the olden days.





The farmstead also contains several other historic buildings, including several barns. This one was built in the 1912:



Which sits next to a smaller barn, which was built in the 1920s:





And also there are these two old buildings - they were used as a machine shop and a chicken coop. They were both built in the 1950s.



From here a road heads off through the trees, leading to a small cemetery.



And behind the old cabin is a small outhouse, which was built in the 1930s. The outhouse, or privy, was built as part of a Works Progress Administration program during the Great Depression. Rural farmers across the US could apply for a WPA privy, with the intention that it would help cut down on diseases like cholera or typhoid that was caused by contaminated water supplies or from flies. Between 1933 and 1945, over 2.3 million privies like this one were built across the country. The Hickman family were later reported as saying that the outhouse was the only federal assistance they received during the Depression.



It's incredible to me that this house has managed to survive, and is still standing after all these years. It is really hard to imagine the people who lived here, building a house deep in a forest in the middle of the frontier back in the days before electricity. Could they have ever imagined that their old house would still be here after almost two centuries? Or that tourists in the future would travel there and take a picture of their outhouse?

Buffalo National River - Boxley Valley

The ongoing government shutdown didn't seem to impact the Buffalo National River much during our visit last weekend. Unlike previous shutdowns, the access roads to the river were open. The campgrounds and bathrooms were also open (but the Visitor Centers at Tyler Bend and Buffalo Point are closed). Hopefully the rangers and other NPS staff up there are getting paid, or the shutdown will end soon and they will get paid for the last few weeks.

Maybe it was because of the shutdown (or the rainy weekend), but the park didn't seem all that crowded. We did end up seeing a crowd of people as we drove into the historic Boxley Valley. There was a line of cars parked near the Ponca access point, with a bunch of people taking pictures with their phones (and a few real cameras). Which meant one thing - there were elk out there! We pulled over so the kids could see the elk, and I joined the scrum to get a few pictures too. There was one large bull elk walking around, seemingly oblivious to the people nearby.



The elk lazily walked through the field, and the throng of people would all hurry to change position along the nearby road. It was almost comical, the slow-moving elk on one side of the fence and the people on the other side creating a small traffic jam as they all moved their cars further down the road to get a better shot. We left the elkarazzi behind and drove deeper in the historic Boxley Valley. Our next stop was along this little dirt road, which leads to the old Beechwoods Church and cemetery.



And a shot of the old church (built 1915).



It started to rain again as we drove across the valley. We stopped by this old barn (built in the 1920s), and the kids happily ran inside to explore. It was also a good place to sit and watch the rain.



The next stop was a spot along the Buffalo River. The raindrops created ripples across the water, as fog drifted along the tops of the nearby mountains.





The fall colors seemed to get more vibrant as the day progressed, probably thanks to the steady rain. It was a good day to be out and about around the Buffalo.

Still Standing

You can't help but wonder why certain places have been left empty and abandoned. Why did people leave this home behind, why did they shut that door for the last time? When this old house was built, the road nearby must have been a rough dirt road. Over the roads that road was paved, and is now a busy four-lane highway. The roar of traffic echoes against the quiet old house.

Dust In The Wind

You see houses like this all across the Ozark Mountains. Built decades ago, but now empty and abandoned. The metal roof has turned orange with rust, the wooden siding turned gray by time and weather. The people moved out long ago, for whatever reason. Now a few different critters have snuck in to claim the space for themselves.



The old house sits along an unpaved road, close enough that the dust that is kicked up by passing cars or trucks have coated the porch with a thick layer of dirt and grime. An old chair also sits on the porch, one that perhaps used to be the favorite spot of an old granny who would sit and watch the cars or time pass by. They are gone but the chair remains, covered with a layer of dust like a blanket.





After taking a few pictures I headed back to the car and drove off, kicking off more dust that silently drifted over and settled on the old house.

Living On The Edge

It's kinda weird to be envious of a tree, but I'm a bit jealous of this old Ashe's Juniper tree. It has managed to snag an amazing spot along a bluff, about 250 feet above the Buffalo River. Its roots have dug into the limestone bluff. Its trunks curve and twist, stretching out towards the river. Perhaps it is straining to get a better view of the river, which on this visit had a decent amount of water in it despite the lack of rain this summer. I wish I could always have a view like this, especially on those days when I have to go into the office and have a view of a cubicle walls.

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.

Fern Falls

After getting a late lunch at the Ozark Cafe we then headed over to Fern Falls, which is a scenic little waterfall just off of Hwy. 7. The hike isn't too long, but after all the rain it was mostly underwater. There was so much water on the trail that it was like hiking through a creek.

And if there was that much water on the trail, it was safe to assume there would be a lot of water at the falls. And there was - it was practically flooded. We followed the trail as it turned and ran beneath the falls, where a bunch of ferns were growing (hence the name Fern Falls).



The falls are 42 feet-tall, and they were pouring over the bluff with a roar.



For a bit of a comparison, this is what the falls looked like the last time I was here:



The last time I was here was in the winter, so it was cool to see all the ferns growing around the falls. Here's one more shot of the eponymous ferns, with a prime location right below the waterfall.



And one last shot of Fern Falls, taken from the top:

Down To The River

We headed down the mountain into Boxley Valley. I resisted the urge to stop at every old barn to get pictures, since I was just here a few weeks ago. But we did make one quick stop at the old springhouse, which had a bit of water tumbling down beside it.



And then we headed to the Steele Creek access along the Buffalo. After really heavy rains, there are two waterfalls that pour over Roark Bluff. They are about 200 feet tall, and are among the tallest waterfalls in the state (when they're going). I tried to get a few pictures, but the polarizing filter was wet. I took it off the lens to try to dry it, but my shirt was still completely soaked after our hike that I accomplished nothing but just smearing the water around on the glass. As I was fumbling with the filter, it slipped from my fingers and dropped with a little *plonk* into the muddy and murky waters of the river. Whoops.

Marty's Falls

It absolutely stormed over Memorial Day weekend, which isn't great if you're planning a cookout but is awesome if you like waterfalls. Luckily I was able to get up to the Ozarks on Sunday to meet up with my friend Zack, and a little group of us headed off to see a few waterfalls. The first one is called Marty's Falls, which sits just within the boundaries of the Smith Creek Nature Preserve near the Buffalo National River. It had been raining all day, but when we started the hike it started to storm. There was heavy rain, and some lightning and thunder that sounded uncomfortably close. Of course I forgot a rain jacket so I was thoroughly soaked by the time we reached the falls.

There is a nice little shelter under the bluff, behind the falls. Which came in handy because we actually used it to take shelter while the storm raged on.



And the shelter was large enough that there was plenty of room to take pictures from several different angles without having to worry about the camera getting drenched.



The falls are named after Marty Roenigk, who along with his wife donated this land to the Nature Conservancy (QuiVala Elise falls is named after her).



Just down the stream was another waterfall, which seemed to be flowing out from under a huge rock.



As far as I know, these falls are unnamed. But I think they should be called McFly Falls, in honor of another famous Marty.



We were going to hike along Smith Creek while we were there, but the creek became flooded after the storms. So we headed out to visit a few other waterfalls instead...

Hammerschmidt Falls

The last stop was Hammerschmidt Falls, a scenic waterfall that sits just within the boundaries of the Buffalo National River. The falls are reached by a fairly short and easy hike. I made it there and was pleasantly surprised to see the falls surrounded by a thick fog.



The 43 foot-tall waterfall is named after John Paul Hammerschmidt, the former politician who helped push through legislation that created the Buffalo National River (and not named after John Jacob JingleHammer Schmidt, like I assumed).



I did take a lot of pictures here, unable to resist the temptations of waterfalls and fog.



The creek flows down the hillside and then runs through Indian Creek canyon, which is one of the most beautiful and treacherous places within the Buffalo National River. There are some amazing waterfalls there, but it is a rough and difficult hike (people have died there recently, so really only expert hikers should attempt).



And one last shot from Hammerschmidt Falls, as fog drifted through the trees beyond the waterfall.



I hiked out, and changed out of my wet hiking shoes at the car since it was time to drive home. But I made one final stop, to get a quick shot of an old barn near Jasper. The barn stood out against the hill behind it, which was nearly hidden by fog.