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A Few Clouds ~ River stage: 22.19 ft. Rising Monday, May 21, 2012 |
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A somewhat brief history of Jackson railroadsPosted Thursday, May 17, at 10:30 AM Growing up, I was always confused when I saw a sign for the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway in Jackson. The rail line didn't go anywhere near St. Louis or Iron Mountain, so where did the name come from? Now I know that the name is a remnant from a much larger rail system that did, in fact, connect St. Louis and Iron Mountain...
Mudlick Mountain at Sam A. Baker State Park is easily the most frustrating mountain in Missouri. It stands high above the surrounding terrain, but doesn't offer any panoramic views. Like many Missouri summits, the top is generally flat and covered with tall trees. A fire tower sits at the highest point, providing a tantalizing opportunity to climb above the tree line. But the tower is fenced off with big signs warning against climbing it...
I'm sure we've all been in this situation: the nagging voice of the GPS navigation system wants to turn left on a road that is little more than goat path through the woods, and probably hasn't seen a motor vehicle since the Eisenhower administration...
As I've explored in previous blogs, road names can reveal interesting tidbits of history. They can also be a real let-down if they are named for something that used to be there. Just try finding an iron bridge along Iron Bridge Road near Gorham, Illinois. It's long gone...
I wrote recently about "rock formation fatigue" while exploring a canyon near Vienna, Illinois, that offered rock shelters, bluffs, pinnacles, boulders, and waterfalls around every corner. The one thing I didn't see was a natural arch. On a return visit to the same corner of the Shawnee National Forest, however, I found a natural arch within five minutes -- and I wasn't even looking for one...
River to River Trail Society announces spring hiking schedule I received the following announcement from the River to River Trail Society in Illinois. The group will be leading hikes (free and open to the public) to some places I've written about in the past as well other places I've never been. See my previous blogs about The Promised Land, Hogg Bluff, Cove Hollow, and Max Creek...
Oh come on, another rock shelter? That's what I was thinking while hiking along a canyon near Vienna, Illinois. Around every corner, I found yet another rock shelter or tall bluff or waterfall or something. I was really looking for an easy way out of the canyon, but was thwarted by more beautiful scenery. What a dilemma...
Did Charles Dickens visit Cape Girardeau? Now that we've reached the bicentennial of the birth of Charles Dickens, it's been hard to escape the hype for the 19th Century novelist. Columnists have been gushing praise during his anniversary celebration, saying he is "arguably the greatest master of storytelling and writer of dialogue in the English language" or simply "one of the greatest writers of all time."...
I explained in a recent blog the difficulty in tracking down the origins of placenames such as Fruitland, Marble Hill, and Fredericktown. In some cases, the source of a name is clear, but the spelling is not. Take some of the mountains in Madison County. Blue Mountain, a 1,361 ft. summit near Silver Mine, has nothing to do with the color, even though it does take on a blue tint when viewed from a distance...
The last year has been rough for regional bridges. The Mississippi River Bridge at Cairo has been closed for over a year, the Ledbetter Bridge near Paducah was recently restricted to a three-ton weight limit, and the Eggner's Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake was annihilated by a wayward cargo ship...
Remember the day in 2004 when the old Cape Girardeau Traffic Bridge was demolished? The implosion didn't quite go as planned, sending three spans -- instead of one -- into the Mississippi River. Western Kentucky is now home to a similar spectacle, except the loss of their bridge was completely unexpected. The Eggner's Ferry Bridge collapsed after it was struck by an errant cargo ship...
Southeast Missouri is filled with numerous mysteries involving place names. Where did Seventy-Six in Perry County come from? How did a town without any marble get to be known as Marble Hill? Is Fredericktown named for George Frederick Bollinger, Frederick Bates, Frederick the Great, or some other guy named Fred? Why has everybody always pronounced New Madrid, Cairo, Vienna, and other names completely different than their Old World counterparts?...
Here's a riddle: What landmark in Illinois has water on four sides, but is not an island? The answer is Hogg Bluff, an isolated mass of sandstone that is bordered by a beaver lake on three sides and by a creek on the fourth side. A narrow, horseshoe-shaped canyon separates Hogg Bluff from the hills to the north, west, and south. This was probably the ancient route of East Branch Cedar Creek, which now flows on the east side of the bluff...
Last year's flooding has taken its toll at Devil's Island, an island in the Mississippi River just across from McClure, Illinois. When the river was low enough, it was possible to walk to the island across a crumbling concrete causeway. Unfortunately, the crossing has since crumbled even more, collapsing in two places. The south end -- which was already a challenge to reach -- has slumped. Reaching the causeway now requires sliding down a steep and very unstable embankment...
The Shawnee National Forest is full of surprises. This rock shelter, featuring two natural arches, is located only 13 miles from Cape Girardeau -- as the crow flies. One arch is formed by a buttress of rock that appears to support the roof of the rock shelter...
This stretch of Old Highway 3 in Alexander County, Illinois, has seen better days, yet the concrete pavement from the 1930s is still drivable. It's a question I hear all the time: "How do you find these places?" Of course I don't want to give all my secrets away, but in a nutshell, I carefully study a variety of maps, looking for certain tell-tale clues that look interesting. Then I go investigate...
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The webmaster of seMissourian.com and its sister newspapers, James Baughn has lost track of the number of websites he manages. On the side, he maintains even more sites, including Bridgehunter.com, LandmarkHunter.com, TheCapeRock.com, and Humorix.
Hot topics A somewhat brief history of Jackson railroads(  2 ~ 11:25 AM, May 17)
Mudlick Hollow much more interesting than Mudlick Mountain
One Horse Gap is more than the name suggests
A secret place in Wayne County
Follow the not-so-yellow brick road
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