Pink Rocks / Amidon Conservation Area

Among Eastern Missouri's most popular outdoor features are its rocky rapids through elephant-sized boulders called "shut-ins" -- and the best known is Johnson's Shut-Ins, but the most awesome is the Pink Rocks shut-ins on the Castor River at Amidon Conservation Area, about 8 miles east of Fredericktown, MO, which I visited with the hiking group today. Traces of iron in the ancient stone created the pink boulders and cliffs that DON'T ERODE, and pure chilly water rushes between them, with quiet pools downstream for dips and bass fishing. Formerly a teenage hangout, the Pink Rocks have been reclaimed so visitors can fish, refresh themselves, and picnic right on the boulders. Above, a fellow hiker, post-hike, enjoys herself in the shut-ins on this gorgeous June day, the final day of June 2013; and below's a view of the massive pink cliffs (look for the people. See them?). More info about Amidon Conservation Area here. Eastern Missouri's geology, south of about Hillsboro, MO, has a volcanic origin which created veins of copper, lead, silver, lime, silica, and barite--and its "Lead Belt" supported mining businesses from the 1700s to the present day. It's some of the oldest exposed rock on earth. I tell ya, Missouri has everything.