The Emerson Bridge: Five years later
Posted Thursday, December 11, 2008 @ 12:15 pm

This Saturday will mark the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. It doesn't seem like five years, but the ribbon was cut on Dec. 13, 2003.

Needless to say, crossing the new bridge is a completely different experience than crossing the old traffic bridge. Rumors circulated that the old rusting hulk was held together with duct tape and bailing wire. That's not quite true: it was actually held together with chains. And it was missing some parts:

Let's say you had the opportunity to build your own state park. Maybe you'd like to have the elephant-sized boulders from Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri. And no park would be complete without the cascades and slick rocks from Johnsons Shut-ins. Let's not forget about the crazy bluffs and box canyons from Giant City State Park in Illinois.

Here are the answers for the Welcome to Deer Season Quiz for both readers that are interested:

Here we are, just hours from opening day of firearms deer season, the real holiday season for many Missourians. Alas, this also means that the woods are pretty much off-limits to hiking, unless you like the taste of lead. This, of course, puts a real crimp in this blog.