Ha Ha Tonka Hike

The first cool day that comes along after a long summer heat wave is cause for celebration at our house.  When the rain came last week and brought with it a twenty degree drop in temperature, we decided to abandon the homestead for an afternoon hike in the Ozarks Hills.  

And to us, the most majestic place to hike is at the Ozark's own Ha Ha Tonka State Park. 

I've been visiting Ha Ha Tonka since I was a kid, back in the day when you could still splash around in the mouth of the spring.  What fun that was!  And you talk about cold!!!
Times have changed, and the mouth of the spring is protected now.  But you can still take a quick dip further on downstream, and so we decided to make that spot our final destination.

There are countless trails to choose from, but we decided to start our hike on a trail that I had never been on.  It's near the castle ruins, which are so breathtaking and attention grabbing that it stops me in my tracks no matter how many times I've visited.  And because of that, I never make it to any of the trails nearby.  This time I did my best to walk right past the castle without pausing.  It was hard.  Okay, so I paused for a photo....but only for a second.

My perseverance was rewarded because I made a new discovery just as we started on the trail: 
The castle had greenhouses!  And not just one or two little hoophouses, but an entire complex of carved stone, glazed glass, boiler heated, works of art greenhouses.  Of which nothing remains except rubble.  Still, the gardener in me was fascinated.  In fact, I stood there and studied the information plaque for so long that I didn't even make it any further down the trail!  My family hiked the trail without me, while I traipsed around in the ruins like Indiana Jones in search of the holy grail.  Without the whip.  It was exhilarating, even if I didn't find any treasure. 

I reluctantly tore myself away from the greenhouse ruins when I heard my family coming back up the trail. But I couldn't resist one more shot of the castle as we passed back by.  What a tragic structure, once an extraordinary symbol of turn-of-the-century wealth and luxury, now an empty shell.  Destroyed in an early Autumn fire that raged over half a century ago, it was never to be rebuilt.  The place is simply mesmerizing.  See why I get stuck there?

But, determined not to get left behind again, I turned my back and walked away.  On down the trail we went.  And what a trail it was.  Parts of it are a piece of cake to follow, like this nicely paved, flat walkway...

...which morphs into a slightly more challenging set of rustic steps.  This is where the heavy breathing started.

When the trail changed into something even more challenging to navigate, I was beginning to re-think this trek.  That's a drop-off there on the other side of the tree.  Just thought you should know.   Cue the big sighs and amp up the huffing and puffing.

Believe it or not, I managed to pick my way along the trail.   And I actually found some interesting things on the way.  Like this grinding stone from the old grist mill. 

And a hollow log...yep, hollow.

And a millipede, I think.  I didn't really count all his legs.

And I can't resist a shot of the wildflowers. 

And then there's this.  A balancing rock.  Quite an incredible feat of nature, but it made me so nervous that I quickly scurried on by....you never know when that thing could fall. 
I worry about things like that. 

And then finally we reached our destination.  We wasted no time jumping in--after that hike, you wouldn't either!  I must say, the frigid waters were quite invigorating, and it was just the re-charge we needed to start back down the trail.  Although this time, we were soaking wet!