I just got back from enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day in the park with my son. We went to Columbia, MO, to Rock Bridge State Park. It's a beautiful place, complete with picnic areas, hiking trails, and the Devil's Icebox a cave that's closed to the public for the most part. You now have to go on a special tour, which they only give in the spring and fall. We'll definitely have to check that out.
Anyway, we hiked almost the entire length of the trail, and even got as far as the entrance to the cave. Took some awesome pics, which I can't wait to get developed and posted on here!
The only downside of the whole experience was that I have this terrible cold and so I wasn't able to walk very far at a time without having to stop and take a breather. But, every time we stopped I took 4 or 5 photos, so it wasn't wasted time.
I want to go back sometime soon before all the leaves fall and when I'm feeling 100%, so I can actually enjoy the experience and maybe explore the cave that IS open to the public Connor's Cave. You need hard hats and flashlights though. It's pitch black except for a few skylight like openings in the roof here and there.
The caves actually extend for miles all around that area, even under parts of 163 highway. Some parts of the Devil's Icebox have collapsed due to the limestone deteriorating and about 7 miles in, it's completely flooded, so no one really knows how far the caves go after that.
In addition to the caves, there are some awesome hiking and biking trails, and you can bring your pets, as long as they are leashed. Some of the trails have boardwalks, and parts of the boardwalk are closed for repair right now, which kinda sucks because there's a little waterfall along the boardwalk that would be a beautiful photo spot, if you could get to it. Hopefully they'll have the repairs done soon so we can walk what parts of the trail we missed.
There are some areas where you can get off the boardwalk and hike some nature trails that take you along the creek. These are sometimes steep and would be slippery if it were raining, but are well worth your time to explore.
If you are thinking of checking out the park, my advice would be wear comfortable shoes with good soles for climbing, and carry a bottle of water. And don't forget those cameras!
I'll be posting those picks on my page as soon as I can get my film developed....I have a couple I took with my digital, but they're not real good quality. I'll have those up later today, maybe. But right now, I'm gonna take a nap. I'm beat!
