673. Galena, Stone County (MO020)

Talk about a little town in the middle of nowhere!  Fun fact: Galena covers three-quarters of a square mile in area, making it physically smaller than Paint Rock but not as small as Mentone.  The courthouse is perfectly fine, a small courthouse for a small community.  It actually threw me off for a moment because the flagpole is in back, which is fairly uncommon.  When the building has its name over the lintel, though, that’s a pretty good sign it’s the front. 

I’m not going to lie; I did get some chuckles from the city bank/coffee shop across the street.  I’m not remotely immune to accounting humor.

Galena doesn’t contain any actual physical caches.  For a moment, I thought that might be a problem, and I’d have to go backtrack on some of those crazy country roads to fulfill that need.  Luckily, neither of the Missouri county challenges (and yes, there are two) have any cache restrictions (other than Locationless), and there were a few EarthCaches nearby.  I went to the local park and took a walk out onto the Y-Bridge over the James River.  I learned a little about sediment flow and its effect on the river over the years.  A few years back, there was a sediment buildup so bad that it caused the water level to rise all the way up to the bridge!  I looked for the required information and stared at the river, lazily cutting its way through the hills.  With my answer sent, I was done and ready to face the final destination for this trip …