It’s been forever since my family did a mini-vacation together so we finally decided to go wild and take a Saturday trip to Blanchard Springs in the Ozark National Forest.

Its been at least 10 years since we visited the Blanchard Springs caverns. The caverns formed when rainwater soaked into the ground for millions of years, going through cracks in the limestone bedrock to dissolve the stone and slowly widen the cracks. The water remained underground until surface erosion carved valleys allowing the water to escape.

For our day trip, we took the Dripstone Trail before heading outside to explore the base of the Blanchard Springs mountain. Finally we headed to Batesville to eat dinner at Josie’s. The restaurant is next to the White River Hydroelectric Project Lock and Dam No. 1, which is really low right now meaning. The low water didn’t dull the evening though — we got to see a gorgeous sunset while watching goofy people get stuck in the sand. 🙂

Here’s some pictures from our trip (minus the stuck trucks.)