BBQ, Waterfalls, and Coffee

Sunday, June 6, 2021

BBQ, Waterfalls, and Coffee

Circumventing Springfield to get to Arkansas for a bit of hiking and relaxation.

Heading south again, a minor detour took us through the the small town of Fair Grove. It had never seemed significant enough to stop in previously. Horror stories abound related to the zeal of the Public Safety in administering justice to those traveling too far over the limits of speed. Our party did not fall into that category, so it seemed safe enough to pause for a moment and have a look around.

A simple note on a rather interesting sign at a local gas depot led to discover of the Wommack Mill, which was built in 1883 and operated through the late 1960's. The stream seems unlikely able to support such activity and long, and the site does not do much of anything these days, beyond host a reunion, but it is an interesting old relic from days gone by.

Pushing southward, a quick detour aided in avoiding the greater Springfield metropolitan area. Winding two-lane highways quickly unfolded in front of the vehicle. There is not much to see out this way. Folks are living their lives, doing a little fishing here and there along Brushy Creek, and wishing each other luck and love in their travels.

Avoiding Springfield had little to do with the mess of traffic in that town, leaning more towards a simple journey across Bull Shoals Lake on the The Christmas Barge. This is undoubtedly one of the best parts of this particular route. The lake was higher than usual with all the rains and many of the surrounding recreation areas were flooded beyond recognition. The ferry continued is task with undying loyalty though.

Yellville offered up a relatively new BBQ Spot spot, meeting and exceeding expectations. It is not entirely certain that this establishment is new. It did not appear as much from the outside, but it seems the staff may have mentioned they were somewhat new and were being featured in some coming feature news story or another. They were delicious, well worth the stop, and noted for future reference.

One thing led to another, and as quick as the sign appeared, a detour to Rush Historic District led to some minor exploration of the surrounding site. The navigator came ill-equipped for climbing the trail up to the abandoned mines, but insisted anyway. It was likely just as hot as on the last visit and with the weekend looming, many more visitors loitering about.

Arriving at the final destination, the following day was filled catching up with good friends, good conversation, and a bit of hiking about some of the favorite spots. Mossy Bluff National Nature Trail is probably one of the best places to start. There had been quite a bit of rain in prior days, so flowing water was not difficult to locate.

A stop at Bridal Veil and Cornelius waterfalls found those both running well, with quite a contingent of other folks out and about. Cornelius is beginning to become a little too popular but fortunately, Bridal Veil remains somewhat elusive to most travelers A new curiosity was found near that cascade too, a small memorial to a little one lost.

Topping off the evening, a stroll through the forest surrounding Sugarloaf Mountain helped dinner settle in. It also worked most of it off, as the navigator got an itch to climb the southern summit route. The climb was not too difficult. The few extra pounds and post-meal lethargy made it a little more challenging than usual.

The return trip the following day proved mostly uneventful. Steel gray skies and random periods of heavy rain deterred any notions of detouring from the primary route. The only stop of interest turned out to be the freshly painted coffee shop at the top of Devil's Backbone near Marshall. It seems the owners took advantage of the time off from the masked hysteria to make the quaint little spot all the more quaint.