VERY Cool, Literally. Freshwater Spring

We were trying out our new fancy-schmancy backpacks at Ha Ha Tonka State Park in Missouri. There were so many great things to look at! A ruined castle, a balancing boulder, interesting geological features. Lots of weird little lizards with bright blue tails or with geometical designs like Escher loved so much (the artist who did the optical illusions) .


But it was in the 90's for the whole day. At one point I was feeling affected. ... My head, my tummy..Then we heard people swimming! No swimsuit? Oh, well! There was one place that looked rather refreshing, judging by the crazed whooping coming from the swimmers entering the water.

There was a fresh spring with turquiose colored water gushing into the Lake of the Ozarks. It was shockingly cold. How could it be so cold without ice floating on it? I splashed it on my arms and face. Jeremy waded right in, trying unsuccesfully to avoid making faces. I went into the warmer lake first. Jeremy wanted me to hurry and get in so I wouldn't miss seeing the snake in the water. Later, I gathered courage to plunge into the spring. What a wonderful, aching relief. The the force of the spring's current rips you outwards and around a bend to the warm, tan water of the Lake of the Ozarks. You are then conveniently back on the shore. The kids were going round and round, turquiose cold to tan warm. By the second time I went around the cold water felt pretty good and the warm water felt like a steaming jacuzzi turned up too high. Jeremy and I both tasted the spring water, but didn't swallow. I'm still feeling fine today, thanks. Our wet clothes kept us cool the rest of the day.

Creatures we saw:
Skinks with blue tails
Geckos
Hummingbirds, green ones, and red-throated ones
Rabbits
Squirrels
Dragonflies with huge black wings
Hawk
Finches
Butterflies, esp. big green one with long tails
Snake
Turtles
Fish


http://www.ozarkbackpacking.com/hahatonkapics.htm
http://www.odd.net/ozarks/parks/haha.htm
http://community.webshots.com/album/167810550JDrdAL

Backpacking will be our new hobby, it seems. We have started collecting the gear. We've got 2 packs and a whistle now. Once we recover from the initial expense, it's a really cheap way to vacation and see the country.