Elephant Rocks State Park

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in St.Louis!  Our son Daniel and his wife Amanda flew into St.Louis Monday evening, and our oldest son Mike flew in from San Diego on Wednesday.  It pays to have roots when we want to host family!  Our last home on wheels never could fit in that many people comfortably.  Or even serve a Thanksgiving meal for a dozen people.

Our son Dan requested that we take a trip to Farmington to visit extended family, and while there to do some hiking.  His wife Amanda had not seen southeastern Missouri and he was desirous to show it to her.  We chose Elephant Rocks and Pickle Springs.  The picture above gives you an idea of Elephant Rocks- big boulders of granite lying around.  It was a cool overcast day- perfect for hiking.

The landform is called a "tor", described by the park's brochure as a pile of weathered residual granite rock boulders sitting atop bedrock mass of the same rock.  And, as you may notice in the picture above, those giant boulders in the park are standing end-to-end like a giant train of circus elephants.

I am not sure that the biggest one is pictured above, but the largest one is 27 feet tall,has a length of 34 feet and weights 680 tons.

This park not only attracts geologists, but also history buffs interested in the quarry activity in the area.  Pictured above are the ruins of a 1890s engine house which serviced trains for the Sheahan Quarries private railroad.  By 1902 railroad cars were being operated regularly, shipping red Missouri granite throughout the country.  Other nearby quarries furnished finished facing stone for the Eads Bridge piers in St.Louis as well as stone for Anheuser Busch brewery, and the turned columns on the front porch of the Governor's mansion in Jefferson City.

And the giant boulders are just plain fun to walk around, between, and under and over- for children and adults.  It may just happen too, if you get to wandering a lot and not paying attention to where you are, that the only way to return to the main trail is through what is known as "fat man's squeeze"!

My next posting will be regarding our hike in Pickle Springs- another beautiful park in southeastern Missouri.