Spring Fever is an illness poets, artists, and singers have described for centuries. Symptoms may include goose bumps, tingling on the back of the neck, a racing heart, flushed cheeks, restlessness, daydreaming, and a strong appetite for love. Spring fever is that wonderfully delicious disease we fall prey to that creates irrational thoughts and distractions at work and in the classroom.
Most experts agree the body's reserves of serotonin (the happiness hormone), whose production depends on daylight, get depleted over the long winter months, making it especially easy for melatonin (the sleep hormone) to take hold. Most mammals give into winter's effects and hibernate. Unfortunately, humans have obligations that force them to stay active during winter. So, it's all very rational after all...
But, forget all that; the trees are ready to burst—time to find out what Spring is all about—a time for reflection. It's time to Get Out There!
Ellington
Ellington is a city in Reynolds County on Highway 21, south of Ironton. Its population is just over 1,000. Pyrite, mined nearby, is one of the most exotic minerals in the world: a couple of ounces from Reynolds County will sell for up to $100 in the New York marketplace.
The best thing about Ellington is its location, which is just a stone's throw from the Current and Black Rivers, Sam A. Baker State Park, Clearwater Lake, Rocky Falls, and some of the biggest springs in the country. Ahhh. The springs. I can literally spend the entire day at one of these bad boys just photographing the reflections on the water.
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Reflections on water is Nature's art.
Alley Spring is the seventh largest Spring in Missouri.
Alley Spring
Alley Spring is the seventh largest Spring in Missouri. The Spring is said to be 155 feet deep, with veins reaching more than 3000 feet below. Just outside the natural area is Alley Spring Gristmill, built in 1894. Today, it houses a small history museum. The cool waters flow from Alley Spring for a half-mile before entering the Jacks Fork River. A nicely paved walk encircles this incredibly beautiful Spring.
Round Spring
Like a Mexican Cenote, the Round Spring is a caved-in cave. Round Spring was a Missouri State Park from 1932 until 1964 when the people of Missouri donated it to the National Park Service to become one of the star attractions of the new Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Round Spring has been the center of human activity in the area for about 10,000 years. Like Alley and Big Spring, it was a gift from Missouri to the nation. You're welcome! Round Spring is one of my favorites.
Round Spring has been the center of human activity in the area for about 10,000 years.
Blue Spring
Called "Spring of the Summer Sky" by Native Americans, Blue Spring is on the Current River and is one of the most breathtaking places on the planet - in my opinion, anyway. The Spring is over 310 feet deep, one of the deepest in the United States. Giving it a vivid blue color. A short trail reaches the Spring. Swimming in the Spring is strictly prohibited. Blue Spring's unusual depth and skylight reflect in the pool, adding a blue intensity. It is said that the Native American name for this Spring is Spring of the Summer Sky. I have been to Blue Spring several times and have yet to see another human there. Can you figure that one out?
...is one of the most breathtaking places on the planet - in my opinion, anyway.
Big Spring
The name says it all. Big Spring is big. I had no idea that we had anything this fantastic in the state. The amount of water that gushes up from its depths is mind-boggling. The staggering roar of the water is incredible. The closer you get to this big treasure, the more fantastic it is. Big Spring is the largest Spring in Missouri, and it's even thought to be the biggest in North America. It pumps out some 286 million gallons of cool spring water daily at a cool 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Studies have shown that the water carries a load of dissolved limestone equivalent to 70 tons daily! This dissolved rock makes the Spring its color and also carves out a vast underground conduit. Should the Spring ever go dry, a huge cave will be the result. It literally creates the Current River.
The amount of water that gushes up from its depths is mind-boggling.
...part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways—a gift from Missouri to America.
Big Spring was one of Missouri's first state parks. It was a state park from 1924 until 1969, when the people of Missouri donated it, along with Alley and Round Spring State Parks, to the National Park Service to become part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways—a gift from Missouri to America.
...a time for reflection.
There you have it. Get Out There! Paint something. Join something. Take that class. Coin a phrase. Do some reflecting. Do anything. What one person can do, another can do. That sunken sofa will be fine without you. Crawl out and live your dream—time's a wastin' and running out!
pics & words t. smugala
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