A wooded boardwalk takes you back to the Water Tower.
The steps up to the 80 foot tall Water Tower are strenuous.
The wooden boardwalk overlooks the "Whispering Dell Sinkhole".
A close up view of the Water Tower which was burned by vandals in 1976.
You cannot go inside the Water Tower but I was able to stick my camera inside to take an interior photo. I believe the Water Tower once had living quarters below for servants.
A common member of the Blue-and-Black swallowtail butterfly family.
Ha Ha Tonka is considered a wonderful example of "Karst" Topography. Karst topography is typified by caves, springs and sinkholes. Above is a picture of Whispering Dell Sinkhole which was formed by a partial cavern collapse.
Signboard along boardwalk explaining the sinkhole. This Missouri State Park is well marked and very informative.
Whispering Dell sinkhole is 150 feet deep.
Another angle of the Water Tower.The Missouri Archives contains an interesting old photo of the Water Tower at:
http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/msaceg&CISOPTR=446&CISOBOX=1&REC=5
1 comment:
I'm a 56year old grandfather in Lincoln,NE. In 1964, when I was 7. my family took a two week camping trip to Lake of the Ozarks. This was before Ha Ha Tonka State Park existed. The "Castle Ruins" was an attraction then as well as now, but it was still on private land. There were no boardwalks or stairways in those days, so you had to just walk up the hill from the road if you wanted a closer look. I remember a sign which read "Enter at your own risk". My Dad had an 8mm Kodak Brownie movie camera, and we all decided to walk up the old wooden spiral stairway to the top of the water tower for a great view of the area. At that time, the rusted out water tank itself was still in place, and you could walk all the way around it. On one side. there was a door with a wooden deck or platform of some kind that you could step out on if you were brave enough. My Dad wanted to get a better shot with the camera, so he went out the door to my Mom's horror. I can still hear her scolding him, and telling him to get back inside. The Castle itself was open (no railings or fences), and we just went in and looked around. We were the only visitors that afternoon, so we had the place to ourselves. The films of our summer trips has been put onto VHS, and I still watch them occasionally to this day. The place looks much more neat and orderly today than it did then.
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