It started raining last night and rained all night long! Tobey and I both slept well, probably from the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof! It had stopped by the time we were ready to leave this morning, but stayed overcast for a good share of the day. We said our goodbyes to Patty and will see her again at Christmas. Thanks again for recommending the catfish dinner last night!!!
We need to get gas before heading south this morning and stopped at the Sam’s Club since we are members. It was only $1.63 per gallon! Woohoo!!
Our first stop was Elephant Rocks State Park. The elephant rocks which were formed from 1.5 BILLION year old granite,are giant boulders that stand end-to-end, like a train of circus elephants!
We took the main asphalt trail which winds through the main area of rocks and features interpretive signs in English and Braille describing things along the 1 mile loop. The park calls it the Braille Trail because it was designed for people with visual and physical disabilities and is the first of its kind in the Missouri state parks. 
Along the trail we passed many rocks that are covered with lichen and moss.
Penny wanted to give rock climbing a try.
There is a small stairway that leads to the area where the elephant rock train is located. You can see a woman in the back of this photo and see how big these really are! The largest of the rocks is called “Dumbo” and is 27 feet tall, 34 feet long, 17 feet wide and weighs over 680 TONS!
Tobey made his way through one of the paths between boulders.
One of the trail spurs leads to a quarry where Sheehan Quarry operated in the 1890s. Some of the trees around the edge of the quarry are starting to show their fall colors.
Tobey remembered coming here with the Boys Scouts when he was younger. Back on the road, we were making our way to Johnson Shut-Ins State Park, another of his younger-years haunts. Narrow roads lined with trees was our route most of the day.
”Shut-in” is a term for a narrow constriction, or gorge, in a stream. The waters of the East Fork of the Black River are “shut-in” by hard volcanic bedrock.
Upstream, the channel is wide. Over time, the water cut back and forth through the valley eroding the soft sedimentary rock. Downstream, the river cascades between steep slopes of ancient mountains, formed from repeated volcanic eruptions almost 1-1/2 billion years ago.
Right now the water level is quite low, but in the spring and summer, it is much higher. There were signs all along the trail if you hear the sirens, to climb at least 200 feet UPHILL!
Near this area is where Tobey remembers his friend, Chris, jumping into the deep waters below. Apparently, Chris would jump straight out and look like he would “belly-flop” into the water, but tucked into a dive at the last minute. I can just imagine their scout master having a heart attack watching their shenanigans!
We took paved trail back roundtrip from the parking lot for just over a mile walk. We did climb down to the water to get a closer look. In the summer this park is packed with folks enjoying the water!
We are staying in Mountain Grove tonight. As we were exiting the highway, Tobey spotted these trees. They looked like one tree from a distance that someone had sliced in half!
No comments:
Post a Comment