WILD HORSES
While on the last field survey trip, made a stop at Round Springs Park. At that park numerous signs were posted warning people not to feed the wild horses. This is a relatively new herd and not the herd associated with Eminence MO, and the Jacks Fork River. Was told there was yet even a 3rd wild horse herd in the Two Rivers Ozark area.
I did not see any wild horses during this trip. Still, you knew the horses had been there. Their droppings were all over the trail circling the springs and also common at the Sinking Creek Campground.
Watch Your Step!
Photo Captions
1) Posting
2) Round Springs
3) Sinking Creek Campground
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WILD HORSE UPDATE
Was told 3rd wild horse herd is in Echo Bluff. This is a new Missouri State Park located along Sinking Creek in Shannon County, MO. Nearby is another relatively new state park named the Current River State Park. Have not camped at either one. Will have to try them out and let you all know how they stack up as parks.
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GHOST TOWN
WILDERNESS, MISSOURI
This location has to be classified as a ghost town. Located at the dead-end of State Highway K, its sole functioning community structure is the Freewill Baptist church.
The town was founded in 1881. It had a post office from 1882 through 1954. The WPA constructed a stone one room school house in the town in 1939.
After the school closed, the building was used as a community center for a number of years. Today the building occupies the center of town but nothing else sits abandoned.
Be respectful of the property, people still live here. The church also has a cemetery.
Photo 1) Wilderness school/community center
Photo 2) Oldest standing business building in town (formerly general store).
Photo 3) Store/gas station, now private residence.
Photo 4) Wilderness Cemetery
Photo 5) Wilderness Freewill Baptist Church
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PAST DISCOVERIES
These photos show the archaeological site of La Quemada, “the Burnt City”. The black and white photos are from June 1967. I’m the short one of the trio, age 10 and this is the 1st pyramid I climbed. In the second black and white photo is my brother Scott and my dad - laying between them are four round stones. They are perfect disks. They looked like cheese wheels. At that time all text about Mesoamerica claimed the Ancient-Americans had no knowledge of the wheel, yet I was looking at four. A local who just appeared claimed that the four stones were used as altars for human sacrifice.
As you can tell from the photos, the site was in a wild state, not developed or restored at all. It was a few miles on a dirt track in the family convertible to reach it. During our visit there, mom used her fingers to flick a poisonous scorpion off the interior of one of the car doors. Also, lots of snakes and tarantulas yet Scott and I wore shorts and loafers!
Since our visit, the place has been researched and partially restored. There is a parking lot and visitor center with a museum. Much of the sites’ history is still unknown. They still don’t even know who lived there. At the time of my visit, local farmers were removing stones from the site for use in construction at their farms.
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