Johnson Shut-Ins and Elephant Rock

In the early morning hours of Dec. 14, 2005, the AmerenUE Taum Sauk Reservoir, perched on the top of Profitt Mountain overlooking the park, breached, releasing 1.3 billion gallons of water that swept through the valley.

Four years later, millions in settlement money from the power company has been used to resurrect the shattered park. Visitors to the grand re-opening ceremony on May 22, 2010 found the handsome new stone-and-timber Black River Center that tells the whole story, beginning with the volcanic formation of the surrounding St. Francois Mountains.

(excerpt from Missouri State Park @ http://stories.mostateparks.com/2010/04/5-years-later-johnsons-shut-ins)

Here are some beautiful pics of this restored area...

The kids literally "chillin" in the water...

A couple more photo ops...

And one crazy dude jumping off the cliff in a restricted area...

A short drive and trip out to Elephant Rock...

All this= 3 very tired kids on the drive home