Chain of elephants

It was a 90-mile trip one way to Elephant Rocks, which is southwest of St. Louis. But it was such a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, so I didn't mind the drive one bit. At one point I saw something white flash in the sky. I looked up and saw the belly of a red-tailed hawk as it swiftly dropped down to the grassy median just ahead of me and scooped up a meal in its beak and flew off again. It was awesome!

A few miles away from the park as I drove on this state road, I found a three-toed box turtle crossing the road. I stopped the car in the middle of the road, jumped out, gently picked up the turtle, ran to the side of the road, placed the turtle in the grass, jumped back in the car, and just as I was driving at full speed again, the car behind me caught up. Perfect timing. But I am disappointed that there was no place for me to pull off and photograph the turtle.

Quarry

I arrived at Elephant Rocks State Park. I saw a lot of large boulders to the east, and began searching them for herps. There were so many hiding places I was certain I'd find some great snakes or something. But this area was also popular for visitors to play and barbecue, so I think there must have been too much human traffic for most herps' liking. Then I saw this sign: "No swimming." Swimming? Even if I wanted to... all I could see around me were rocks and boulders towering high above. But there must be water somewhere.

So I walked past the sign, over more rocks, and more rocks, and suddenly the rocks just ended and directly below me was a quarry, and just the most beautiful view I have seen in a long time! The water was clean and clear, the surroundings reflected off the water and made for a brilliant sight to behold. I looked directly below me in the water and saw a red-eared slider swimming lazily about in the water.

Red-eared Slider

I had fun climbing all over the rocks surrounding the quarry and went to the other side where I could actually walk along the water's edge. That's where I saw at least half a dozen southern leopard frogs hopping along the bank there. I could have stayed there all day, it was just amazing.

I continued on the main paved trail, occasionally leaving the path on to smaller trails in search of animals. I saw a northern fence lizard among some rocks but it moved so fast I wasn't able to photograph it. The paved trail had several markers with interpretive text to describe the rock formations.

So I didn't see a lot of herps, and I believe I saw only one bird (a mourning dove), but it was well worth the trip.

Photos

I climbed all over the rocks here	Opposite side of quarry	This is where I found the frogs	Southern Leopard Frog	Can't see the elephants here	View from the top
Second quarry	I hiked down to the water

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