Jeffreys Cliffs & Rockport, Indiana

Meg saw pictures of Morgan's Cave online and found that it was fairly close to us - so we had to check it out...

It is located in Jeffreys Cliffs Park in Hancock County.  This is a map that they have near the parking area.

It was my 64th birthday.  Started it with a song by Paul McCartney and went from there.

In a short distance down well-maintained trails there are towering sandstone cliffs.

This is the entrance to the overhang that they call Morgan's Cave.  For scale, I'm climbing the rubble in the center of the picture.

From my perch on the top of the rubble pile, the walls tower upward at least 80 feet or more. 

The place is HUGE!

We finished the loop trail with Morgan's Cave and went for the loop trail to Tobacco Cave.  We encountered a series of steps and ladders that went up a sandstone cliff that had just been installed by a local Boy Scout troop.

This plaque was on the upper portion of the loop.

The way down was much easier.

It's just not a proper birthday without finding a cave to explore...

After a Chicago Pizza in Tell City, we went to Rockport to find the cliff that we'd seen on Adventures with Roger, a YouTube channel that I'm subscribed to...

Naturally, my eye goes to the hand-carved steps into the sandstone cliff.

We hung out long enough to watch a couple towboats go by.  From here, you can see the new cable stay bridge that is just upriver.  We checked out Lincoln Village (which was closed) and did a little fossil hunting at Cannelton before the daylight gave out.  All-in-all it was one of my most memorable birthdays!

 

Eagle Sculpture Delivered

Friday March 14, Meg used her crane truck to deliver my Eagle commission to its final location at a private residence about 20 miles from the studio. 

The sculpture was commissioned by my long-term friend, John Hardin, who I've known since 6th grade (We were each other's Best Man).  The sculpture was sited where he grew up - at his parent's home.

The Eagle has a Rattlesnake in its claws.  

That would be enough to make a Goose nervous.

I think it goes well with the Bedford stone house.

It took me about 3 months to carve the piece.  

Lots and lots of detail...

...and the back view.

 

Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas

The last side adventure on my trip to Denver was to the post rock region near Lucas, KS.

Early settlers used tall, quarried blocks of stone for fence post as trees were few and far between.

 Samuel P. Dinsmoor built his home using this stone. Later, he started adding concrete sculptures and called the place "Garden of Eden.  He was 64 when he started all this; I'm 63, so it gives me pause and makes me re-think my priorities.  Wouldn't it be fun to devote my last years on a large dream on my own property the way this guy did.

He built his house from the local limestone by quarrying out long beams and laying them up like a log cabin.  He also built the balcony and all the railings out of concrete.

Here, you can see that he used the dove-tail style of notching.  How did a guy, over 64 years old and 5'-2", handle all these heavy stones?  He must have built a derrick in the center of the house to lay them up.  Many are too heavy for a bunch of guys to have man-handled.

He also built a mausoleum for himself and his wife in a similar style.  He lies inside with a glass-topped coffin so that visitors can see him (he died in 1932... and yes, a little worse for wear...).

I paid for the tour and went inside.  This was his radio.

He made many of his own furnishings like this chess table...

...and this odd piece.

Outside, there are about 200 concrete sculptures all over the property, like this political commentary about Labor.

There's lots of religious references, too.

Not sure what this is...

...but I know what this is.

A lot of these sculptures had electric lights, so it would have had a visual impact after dark. This was in remote Kansas between 1904 and 1932, so electric lights would have been a new thing.

The main point that really came home to me was how he influenced so many people.  Being very eccentric seemed to free up everyone around him.  What this picture shows is a large installation of stone objects that a neighbor made.  There are "mountains" of stones that were collected all over the U.S as well as carved stone "houses" and replica buildings.

That influence has spread all over the tiny town of Lucas.  Here is a giant concrete roll of toilet paper that becomes the sidewalk to lead visitors to...

...an incredibly ornate public bathroom.

Another view.

There's more art everywhere in the town - and I mean EVERYWHERE!  ...and it all happened because one guy decided to be different. It was really inspiring to see that Samual Dinsmoor still has an effect almost 100 years later.   Art begets Art.  It needs a little push to get rolling, but once it gets started, there's no stopping it.  If it becomes ok to do something cool, it seems many people will join in. 

 

Brookville, Kansas and Mushroom Rock State Park

On the 2nd day of my trip to Denver, I took a detour off the freeway at Salina, KS and headed toward Mushroom Rock State Park.

On the way there, I passed through the small town of Brookville.  I started noticing these old stone barns.

Some of the old houses were also made from the dark brown sandstone....

...and more houses...

...and the biggest one...

I finally found the park down a couple gravel roads off the main road.

It's a 5 acre site with huge stone formations.  Otherworldly - but the windmill in the distance reminds me I'm still in Kansas...

This formation is crazy!

People have carved their names all over the base.  (...and one time, it'll be one too many...)

Beautiful ... like a petrified spaceship

Awesome!  (And these pictures don't do justice...)

 

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park

I was 1 of 4 finalist for a public art opportunity in the Denver Area (which I didn't get).  I was paid a small stipend to present my proposal in person.  So, I decided to make a small vacation out of the trip (as I hadn't been anywhere in a long time except maybe the grocery).

After an 8 hour drive west, I left the freeway at Columbia, Missouri and found Rock Bridge Park.  I took the first parking area and went for a 2 mile hike (which felt good after driving all day).  I was disappointed as there was nothing like the pictures that I'd seen on google.  It looked like some of the trails near my house in Yellowbank Wildlife Area.

I tried a 2nd parking area and met a group of young people (probably from the nearby U of M).  They showed me this map and pointed to the place I wanted to see.

This is called "Devil's Ice Box".

It's a portion of a collapsed cave with a shallow stream flowing through it.

There's a low stone dam at the top end of the cave.

This is the view looking back the way that I came.

There's a couple real short passages on either side in the center of the cave.

As I climbed over the dam, my eye was caught by the chisel mark patterns on the old stones.

This is the view from the other side.

As I headed back, I saw these stairs...

going up and up...

...until I was way up above the cave entrance.  It was an enjoyable experience - a fun place to explore (and free!).