Beautiful Boiling Spring – a Cabin and a Float Trip!

Who said summer is over?  My friend Janna Seiz  and I said it wasn’t so!

We took a hosted trip to Pulaski County Missouri and Boiling Spring Campground.  This was our last hurrah before being good farm wives and helping our husbands in the fields.  There is still a  great weather to enjoy before the snow flies.  In fact as the temperatures cool down, and the leaves change color, some of the best is yet to come.  Pulaski County has some of the prettiest country I’ve come across.  So, you may want to pack your bags for your own girls getaway or romantic weekend!

While in the area we ate our way through the county and antiqued.  We saw a play and attended Cow Days in Dixon.  While in Pulaski County, part of the fun was our stay at beautiful Boiling Spring Campground.

Our Cabin

Boiling Spring Campground also known as BSC Outdoors is nestled along the scenic Gasconade River.  Larry and Gayle Helms provided accommodations for Janna and I during our girls getaway.  We stayed in Cabin # four which while it is the smallest of their four cabins, was  quite spacious.  The cabin was bright and cheery and perfect for the two of us.  With a rent of $80.00 a night this is a huge value for what you get at this beautiful setting in the Missouri Ozarks. “Our number one advantage is this is a family campground.  Party people don’t come here.  We also offer a 3,5 and 8 mile float trip and other float trips by appointment.”

The cabins had everything we needed.  They are  well maintained and are great for about any weather with both heat and air. The cabins are equipped with TV, refrigerator, kitchen stove, microwave, coffee pot, cooking utensils.  There are pots, pans, and silverware, shower and flush toilet. Bed linens are provided for master bed room only, and there is no maid service. That was fine. We swept up and washed our dishes. With just the two of us, it felt like we were off duty for sure! This was the perfect place for a girls getaway for us and would be for a group or family as well!

Larry and Gayle got started with the campground when looking for land thirty years ago.  They found this beautiful piece of property. “The guy that owned it before had put in a boat ramp and a couple of camp sites,” Larry said.  “Twenty-seven years ago we put bathrooms in and started adding campgrounds. Two years ago we added the cabins. They came from a campground in St. Louis.”

Our float trip!

We were excited to take in a 5-mile float trips.  We had the time of our life on Saturday morning when we took a hosted kayak trip, a first for me!  Janna and I both had our own personal kayak.  Larry gave us and another gentleman who went to fish a ride to our drop off.  Before we took off, Larry who is very safety conscious gave us the pep talk.  He is a member of the Missouri Canoe and Floaters Association and adheres to these and Coast Guard guides.

Soon with a push from Larry, we were floating down the beautiful Big Piney River.  We alternately floated and paddled our way down the Big Piney for three miles and then the Gasconade River for two.  It was so pretty.  I was blown away by the beauty of the bluffs and the River.

I can’t recall how often I have driven over a River and seen the winding ribbon of blue below and wished I could float away on it and just play like Huck Finn for a few hours.  We did just that. This is a calm river with a few “rapids” that are quite mild for a novice like me.  Janna who is a canoe expert that goes almost every year said, “This is the perfect river to bring the grandkids to for them to learn on.”

While I would have loved to take a lot of pictures, it was truly freeing to be phone free and camera free for a bit.  My cousin Carrie is also a writer and a blogger.  Recently she said in a Facebook post that she went on a trip with family.  For the first time in a long time, she was “digital free”.  I see what she meant that it is “freeing”.  I was as my son says, “in the moment”.

We floated and once stopped on a gravel bed in the middle of the Big Piney and had a snack and some water, then climbed back into our kayaks and moseyed on down along with the current.  Along the way we passed our fisher friend and others fishing.  We saw some campers, but mostly just nature and quiet. Our float took about two hours.  Larry said some folks take five.  I evidently paddle quite a bit.  I’m not quite as laid back as I like to think I am.

When we came near our arrival spot, some ladies who have a permanent campsite at Boiling Spring called out “You made it”. They had their  chairs submerged halfway in the river and they were enjoying the play of the water and sunshine.

The ladies pointed out the Boiling Spring that the campground is named for.  We kayaked over to see this phenomenon before landing our crafts.  “PBS came and did a video about the water.  They dived in the cavern under the river. The springs pump 30,000 gallons per minute. You can see water bubbling and float over to it across from the boat launch.”

It was so cool we felt the COLD water and saw it bubbling up.  After  the Boiling Spring, we landed our kayaks right at the campground near our car! That is one big advantage.  Once the float is complet, you don’t have to wait, you are there!

Larry said they have 85 canoes, 30 rafts and 80 single person kayaks and 12 2 person kayaks. They also have about 70 tubes. So your float options vary.  Larry works with Boy Scouts and other groups customizing long trips as well. “We start when the weather breaks around April 15th and go to later October of the first of November.”

Log onto http://www.bscoutdoors.com/ or call 877-518-1989 or details.

Thank you Gayle and Larry for a wonderful time!