RiverBender Blog: I Went to Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park
As I write this on Monday morning, my entire body is sore. I am sunburnt and every article of clothing hurts where it touches me. I just replaced the water jug on the office water cooler, and my arms trembled, still aching from the weekend. But best believe I had a lot of fun.
Let me back up.
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On Saturday morning, the alarm went off bright and early at 6:30 a.m. Bleary-eyed and half-asleep, I pulled on my swimsuit and packed a bag of towels, chips, clothes and water shoes. And then I began the hour drive to my friend’s house, where we were set to meet up so we could take a road trip down to Johnson’s Shut-Ins.
I had never been to the shut-ins before, but I had heard a lot about them. Johnson’s Shut-Ins is a state park in Missouri where you can swim and climb on rocks. That’s pretty much all I knew going into it. My friends had all been before, and they shared that it was a super fun time, a must-do trip in the summer.
I was on board. A day in the sun with my buddies? Sign me up.
Our first stop was the coffee shop, and then we were off on the two-hour road trip down south, sipping our iced coffees and blaring rock n roll music. As we exited the Prairie State, the terrain grew hilly, with bluffs towering above the highway and miles of trees in front of us. “Welcome to the Jungle” played on the radio. And then, all of a sudden, we were there.
The park opens into a picnic area and campsite, where dozens of families were milling around. We parked the car and scarfed down half of our picnic lunch, counting on the calories and the caffeine to give us the energy we needed for a day of swimming and climbing over rocks.
And then we started the half-mile walk down to the shut-ins, and then, all of a sudden, the path opened up to a beautiful scene — the East Fork Black River. Clear water bubbled between the rocks jutting up from the river. Hills of trees rolled over the horizon. And hundreds of kids and families played in the water, with shrieks of joy echoing through the air.
My friends and I exchanged a look. This was going to be a fun day.
Before long, we were scrambling over rocks and splashing through the river. It was so hot outside, and the water provided a welcome relief.
My friends and I watched someone jump off a cliff and agreed we’d all give it a shot. We pulled ourselves up and stared down at the water below. We could see the rocks hiding under the water; we could clear them, but we’d need to jump out, pushing ourselves hard off the cliff and catching some air before hitting the water. It was a little nerve-wracking.
But we’re 25-year-olds who still feel 17 and a little immortal. I held my nose and jumped.
This was fun, but I admit, I can tell I’m getting older. As we watched kids running over the rocks, I felt myself holding my breath, certain someone would fall. I cautiously stumbled over the rocks and tried my best to stay upright.
I might still feel like I’m in my teens, but I definitely have the body of someone in their mid-twenties, and I knew I wouldn’t bounce up as readily as I once did should I happen to fall.
And, of course, that’s exactly what happened. I slipped and went tumbling down, banging my knees hard on a rock.
“I’m fine!” I called out to my friends, who stared at me with a mixture of “Are you okay?” and “We knew this would happen” energy. I sat on my rock and assessed the damage; my knee had already started to swell. God, I’m aging.
We had a great trip, even though we returned home Saturday night exhausted, hungry and sunburnt. And now, two days later, I’m STILL sore, not only from the fall but from the exertion of swimming and pulling myself over rocks.
The shut-ins give and they take. But I had a great time, and I’m definitely going back. We live in a beautiful part of the country, and I’m grateful for the chance to explore another little corner of it.
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