The last days of our trip featured an internet black hole for me so another delayed post. Before we left Johnson's Shutins, we spent part of a day at nearby Elephant Rocks State Park. This unusual spot features huge boulders millions of years old that do sort of resemble a parade of elephants. For years, the rock was quarried for streets and buildings in St. Louis. A fairly easy walk takes the visitor around the biggest concentration of stones, with stops by the quarry and an old depot. Many of the trees have wrapped themselves around the boulders.
Then we visited Pilot Knob, Civil War battlefield. In many tourist spots in this pandemic age, visitors centers are either closed or have hours limited to the weekends. But as we milled around, a volunteer came out and gave us a very precise account of the battle. The earthen foundations of Fort Davidson still stand with a small pond in the middle formed when the Federals blew up the ammunition dump before escaping into the night. A Confederate general on the side of the mountain heard the explosion but thought there would be time to check it out in the morning. Bad decision.
On Friday, we hit the winding roads and headed back north to Mark Twain Lake, this time to a campground on the North side--Indian Creek. My site left a little to be desired in the leveling department but was quite secluded in the trees. The next day, we paid the piper for a week of pretty good weather and endured a morning of steady rain. When it finally broke in the afternoon, we decided to get our usual evening campfire in early, and then retired to our respective abodes. All in all, a great week. Now for the laundry.
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