Grand Gulf State Park, Thayer, Missouri

Straddling the Missouri and Arkansas border, Grand Gulf State Park, located in Thayer, Missouri, offers natural beauty and aesthetic wonder distinct from the state’s 82 other state parks.

“You could see a lot of things all in this one park,” park maintenance worker Ann Price said. “We have a pirating stream, we have a sink hole, a major collapsed cave system and a natural bridge that spans 200 feet with a 75-foot opening that you can all view in one place.”
The park’s 322 acres of spectacular sites formed as the result of years of geological turbulence. An estimated 10,000 years of erosion resulted in the three-quarter-mile-long canyon visible from bluffs that are 130 feet high. Water continually cracks the rock at pressure points in the surrounding limestone and dolomite bedrock, creating multiple cave formations.

In the summer months, the dried-out hollow of the Grand Gulf contains large remnants of collapsed boulders, which occupy the canyon floor, masked by climbing foliage.

Having lived in West Plains since childhood, outdoor enthusiast Bryan S. Ledford said he knows the surrounding area well and has researched its history extensively.
“Grand Gulf was originally a cave system where a couple of caves came together and met,” Ledford said. “The roof was weakened over time because of the underground streams, and eventually the caves collapsed to give us the crevices that we now see.”

Dickson Mounds Museum, Lewistown, Illinois 

Eager-eyed schoolchildren tug at their parents’ wrists, pulling them toward the large, cavernous doors of the building waiting ahead. Youngsters and adults alike enter the quiet Illinois museum overlooking the Illinois River valley, about to explore a civilization more than 1,000 years old. 

Michael Wiant, Dickson Mounds Museum Director, said about 33,000 people visited last year, nearly 6,000 of whom were schoolchildren from the region surrounding Lewistown, Illinois, located 60 miles northwest of Springfield, Illinois. 

“People come from all over the country,” he said. “The majority of visitors are from Illinois. Europeans in particular seem to have a long fondness for the study of Native Americans, and we’ve seen visitors from Germany, Scandinavia, Norway and many other foreign nations.”

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is home to 30 adults and nine children. The town square is alive with vibrant murals and brightly painted homes with names such as Thistledown, Skyhouse and Ironweed.

Dancing Rabbit only owns two cars and a truck, which are used in cooperation with all members of the ecovillage. The community has developed strong relationships with local organic farmers and neighbors, such as Sandhill Farm, that provide the residents with food. In exchange, they often help during harvest seasons or in other capacities.

It is difficult to say who the official founders of the community are because so many individuals contributed to the ideas, bylaws and concept development for the ecovillage. Starting as the dream of a group of people at Berkeley living in a home called Skyhouse, Dancing Rabbit was established in 1997 when six people moved onto the 280 acres in Rutledge. Two of the original inhabitants still live there.

Anderson Japanese Gardens, Rockford, Illinois

Tucked away amidst the bustling metropolis of Rockford, Illinois, are the 12 acres of lush vegetation and tranquility that comprise the Anderson Japanese Gardens. 

Unlike in traditional botanical gardens, visitors will not find themselves peering at strategically placed cards with unpronounceable Latin and English names. Anderson Gardens offers something entirely different. The goal of the gardens is not to enlighten individuals simply about plants but about the necessity of perseverance, purity, respect and tranquility.

THE HISTORY

John Anderson, the gardens’ founder, discovered his love and appreciation of Japanese culture after visiting Japan on a business trip in 1966. Then, in Portland, Oregon, during a layover he asked a taxi driver about interesting sights in the area and found himself at Washington Park Gardens, which contains the Portland Japanese Garden. He was in awe of its beauty and tranquility and began plans to convert his 14-acre property in Rockford, Illinois, into something of comparable serenity.