Cape Girardeau, MO, Library
Indian legend said that Chief Reelfoot of the Chickasaws fell madly in love with Laughing Eyes, a Choctaw Princess; however, because of a deformed foot which made him reel when he walked he was refused her hand in marriage.
Chief Reelfoot and his braves raided the Choctaws and abducted her. While they were celebrating their success with their drums, the Indian gods became angry and caused much bigger "thunder" by causing the land to rise and fall by as much as 16 feet. It filled with water and the Chief is in a watery grave at the bottom of Reelfoot Lake.
The trees you see here at Reelfoot Lake State Park are Bald Cypress trees, which can survive even though their roots are under water while other trees die or drown. While I thought the cypress knees helped the trees gain oxygen, that is unproven, but they may help buttress or stabilize the tree in soft soil.
One of the plaques said to think of Reelfoot Lake as a flooded forest. That is certainly true where the water is not as deep as here at the southern end of the lake, but the waves here in the afternoon are fairly substantial.
[Photos Taken: 12-13 Aug]
Zooming in on the nearly-submerged tree I also caught a glimpse of a new army helicopter with the code name of Dragonfly. :-)>
A closeup of the knees of a cypress tree
If you look closely, you'll see a squirrel perched on a branch facing me. His tail is errect just to the right side of the tree. The ladies on the park staff buy corn and other edibles for him and his buddies. In fact, had I not been standing near the door, one of them would have entered the park office.
An early-morning look at the southern end of Reelfoot Lake before the winds began blowing.
A family of ducks swims by. Note that the ducklings are almost as big as their parents. There was a female duck sitting on some eggs in one of the planter boxes at the park office.
Four ducklings had hatched by the day I was there.
Created during the New Madrid Quakes in the winter of 1811/1812, Reelfoot Lake is 5mi wide x 14mi long and home to numerous birds, mammals, and fish including both the Golden and Bald Eagles. [For more on the quake which created this lake see the links below.]
Another videw of Reelfoot Lake -- this time from the west side.
One final shot of Reelfoot Lake looking generally north.
[Return to the top of the page]
Links:
- Wikipedia article on the 1811-12 New Madrid, MO earthquakes
- USGS Report on the 1811-12 New Madrid Earthquakes with photos
- New Madrid, MO, "take" on the quake
Routes:
W 20 Aug Actual Route: I-55 Rest Area - Taum Sauk Mtn, MO - Centerville - Ellington - Poplar Bluff W/M
Th 21 Aug Actual Route: Poplar Bluff, MO, W/M - Corning, AR - Pocahontas, AR, W/M
F 22 Aug Actual Route: Pocahontas, AR, W/M - Cave City - Batesville W/M
Sa 23 Aug Actual Route: Batesville W/M - Greenbriar - Conway W/M
Su 24 Aug Actual Route: Conway W/M - Lib - Russellville - Dardanelle - Cave L USFS CG
M 25 Aug Actual Route: Cave L USFS CG - Magazine Mtn S.P. - Danville Lib - Ola - AR7 bd
T 26 Aug Actual Route: AR7 bd - Hot Sprs NP CG
W 27 Aug Actual Route: Hot Sprs NP CG - Glenwood Lib - Kirby - Crater of Diamonds S.P.
Th 28 Aug Actual Route: Crater of Diamonds S.P. - Murfreesbora, AR, Lib - Hope W/M
F 29 Aug Route: Hope W/M - Magnolia, AR, Lib - Springhill, LA, W/M
Finding Campgrounds:
- RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
- Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
- Free campsites website
- Info on finding BLM Campgrounds
No comments:
Post a Comment