Winter Romance & Pink Rock Hike
- Thomas Smugala
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
There is a place, just a stone's throw over the hill, that you can visit with always amazing, amazing views. This place doesn't give a hoot about the season, the time of day, or the weather. Rain, bright sun, snow…this place couldn't care less and to prove its point, Pink Rocks dares you to make a bad picture—it just can't happen there. We gathered some gear, waited until the weather was wintry, and headed out to hike at Pink Rocks, the Casor River Shut-ins at Amidon Memorial Conservation Area, south of Fredericktown. I love a good winter hike.
All the wonderful parks and rivers that surround us—the 573 is a postcard world and one of the most beautiful parts of the country, especially when it comes to the awesome, crystal-clear, spring-fed water rushing all around us—Meet Pink Rocks. Pink Rocks didn't care about snow flurries, neither did our young nature lovers, Evie and Alex.
Meet Evie Ford and Alex Buerck
Pink Rocks just swings like it doesn't care.
...awesome, crystal-clear, spring-fed water rushing all around us...
Meet our winter explorers, Evie Ford and Alex Buerck. A young couple with plans. Not big, unattainable plans, just solid plans for the future. They like it here, and they like each other very much—nothing greater than young love. In a time when most people their age are focused on gaining one million followers, this couple is following a different path—a winter's hike alone at Pick Rocks, yup, you can do that here. Â
You can always tell when something is true.
Evie Ford
Alex and I first met in our freshman year in history class. I plan to attend college to become a teacher or to get into business. I like how outgoing and talkative Alex is and how thoughtful he is. My favorite part of this time of year is seeing the world change outside, especially when it snows.
Hard to keep the snow flakes out of the firey red hair.
Alex Buerck
I plan to attend college next fall to study construction management. I like how kind and funny Evie is and how she's always smiling and keeping me smiling. My favorite part of this time of the year is watching the snow fall and the deer move around.
The Castor River Shut-Ins is Missouri's only known pink granite shut-ins.
Pink Rock has multiple natural water slides carved into the slippery rocks, smoothed over the centuries by the rushing water.
Winter Romance
by Thomas Smugala
In Missouri's heart, clear waters flow,
From springs that breathe life and love can glow.
Crystal clear streams whisper through valleys and hills, Â
Their melodies cutting echoes through nature's still.
Cool, pure waters from ancient earth springs,
Offering romance with the gifts they bring.
The 5 7 3, where life and nature gleam,
with Springs-fed waters, crystal clear streams.
No one can resist to tangle up that beautiful red mop.
Shut-ins occur where a broader stream is "shut in" to a narrow canyon-like valley.
Making pictures for memories. Pink Rocks didn't care.
So many people are just plain unaware of the natural playgrounds running rampant in the hills of Southeast Missouri.
A light snow cover and overcast—Pink Rocks didn't care.
Pink Rocks doesn't care when you visit!
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Our spring-fed waters are clear without smell—pure from deep earth.
The Castor River Shut-Ins are Missouri's only known pink granite shut-ins. This picturesque pinkish granite is from the Breadtray formation, an igneous rock formation that is 1.5 billion years old. Most of the exposed igneous rocks of the St. Francois Mountains region are rhyolite rather than granite. Igneous rocks are formed from volcanic activity. Granite is a coarse-grained igneous rock formed when magma cooled underground and later became exposed. By contrast, rhyolite is formed when magma is cooled above ground. Shut-ins occur where a broader stream is "shut in" to a narrow canyon-like valley. Shut-ins typically happen in Missouri, where streams flow through softer sedimentary bedrock, such as dolomite or sandstone, and then encounter more resistant igneous rock.
Get Out There! Create something. Learn something new. Take a hike. DIY your shower. Do something. Do anything. What one person can do, another can do. That sunken sofa will be fine without you.Â
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