Farmington, MO - State Parks

I went back to Farmington to visit mom in the hospital but the doctor adjusted her scheduled chemo dates so I was in town a few days prior to round 2.  If it were not for the new hairdo one would be hard pressed to believe that just a few weeks previously she had been hospitalized for a month of in-patient chemotherapy.  Still an energizer bunny.  Utilizing the days before her return to the hospital to explore a few of my old running grounds of the 70’s we headed out on a day trip to Elephant Rocks and Johnson’s Shut-ins State Parks. 

Named for the enormous size of the granite boulders scattered about the forest Elephant Rocks is a great place for a casual hike in the country.  There is a very well maintained trail that loops around the entire park and offers several scenic overlooks as well as access for those that wish to climb to the top of the rocks. 

 

Upon finishing the circuit we headed down the road towards the shut-inns and stopped for lunch in village of Caledonia.  Before eating we stopped in the Old Village Mercantile that is remarkably restored to its previous glory as a general store filled with dozens of barrels of old time candies.  The store has a coffee shop and bakery in addition to its large collection of antiques and quilts.   

It is truly an amazing place that you’d love to spend hours browsing in but we were still headed to another state park.  Johnson’s Shut-Ins is on the Black River and refers to a section of the river that narrows due to massive rock walls and in the river the swift moving current cascades over and around a maze of rocks.   

The first time I ever went to the Shut-Ins was to watch a kayak competition there while I was in high school.  I spent numerous summer days there cliff diving during the summer before I shipped out to boot camp.  In 2005 however, the park was devastated by a catastrophic flood and was not fully operational again until the summer of 2009.  A very nice boardwalk now leads out along the river making for easy access to a beautiful river experience. 

Shortly after our day trip it was back to Saint Louis and the isolation ward for another 30 days of chemo.  Mom was thrilled however, when she received a care package from Jennifer with Moose slippers that Jenn and Dustin picked up in a houseshoe specialty shop at the Mall of America during their relocation drive across the country.