Ysarex
Been spending a lot of time on here!
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2011
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Did some traveling yesterday. Here's a photo of Rusty Zeller pushing up some empties past Tower Rock.
Tower Rock (right behind the boat) is the smallest State Park (conservation area) in the country. There is a picnic table on top but the rock is only accessible by boat (very dangerous and very stupid) or during the occasional years when the Mississippi is extremely low and you can walk across from the MO side (still stupid). (Don't know who put the picnic table up there.)
Tower Rock also goes by various non-official names that contain reference to the Devil due to it's roll in the local area's history. Here's GPS coordinates: 37.631706, -89.514702
The river at that point is moving very fast reaching current speeds of nearly 9 miles per hour during high water. Right behind the rock is a huge treacherous whirlpool and scour hole.
Today is April 9th and the anniversary of John Davis and Penelope Pike's wedding (1839). They decided to get married on top of the rock and unfortunately spent their short honeymoon in that whirlpool. Local legend suggests they're still there at the bottom of the scour hole as their ghosts visit the rock occasionally. The entire wedding party went down with the boat, save one fortunate soul, when the boat was caught in the whirlpool.
Speaking of the Devil, Tower Rock is also the site of the now vanished town of Wittenberg from whence Martin Stephan was banished into exile in Illinois. Now that's a story!
Joe
Tower Rock (right behind the boat) is the smallest State Park (conservation area) in the country. There is a picnic table on top but the rock is only accessible by boat (very dangerous and very stupid) or during the occasional years when the Mississippi is extremely low and you can walk across from the MO side (still stupid). (Don't know who put the picnic table up there.)
Tower Rock also goes by various non-official names that contain reference to the Devil due to it's roll in the local area's history. Here's GPS coordinates: 37.631706, -89.514702
The river at that point is moving very fast reaching current speeds of nearly 9 miles per hour during high water. Right behind the rock is a huge treacherous whirlpool and scour hole.
Today is April 9th and the anniversary of John Davis and Penelope Pike's wedding (1839). They decided to get married on top of the rock and unfortunately spent their short honeymoon in that whirlpool. Local legend suggests they're still there at the bottom of the scour hole as their ghosts visit the rock occasionally. The entire wedding party went down with the boat, save one fortunate soul, when the boat was caught in the whirlpool.
Speaking of the Devil, Tower Rock is also the site of the now vanished town of Wittenberg from whence Martin Stephan was banished into exile in Illinois. Now that's a story!
Joe