August 18, 2018. “Focus on the journey”. The next spring we visited was Alley Spring and Mill. This is another beautiful place with an interesting history. The spring has a daily average flow of 81 million gallons and was that same beautiful blue color.  Alley Mill was built in 1894 and  was the center of community life.  The school and general store were on the property, as well, and provided the social activities for the area.  The mill was unique because it used a turbine instead of a water wheel and steel rollers instead of grinding stones.  It was also larger than most of the mills in the Jacks Fork River system.  It has all been beautifully preserved and we really enjoyed the visit.  After visiting the mill we hiked the short trail that ran along the river and under the bluff.

After we left Alley Springs we continued on to Round Spring.  This was a little disappointing.  While it was round and had blue water, it was a little underwhelming. This  spring is actually a sinkhole that formed when the rock above the stream eroded away.  The average water flow is 26 million gallons daily, but fluctuates with the amount of rainfall.  There is also a cave here but we didn’t do that tour because we had Jax with us.

Moving on, we drove to Rocky Falls.  This is an example of a shut-in, which is an Ozark term for a river that is naturally confined in a narrow channel. Rocky Creek cascades forty feet over the rocks into a pool of cold, clear water that makes an excellent swimming hole.  The waterfall is beautiful and Jax enjoyed a nice swim.