nature

Silver Mines 2023

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St Francis River inside Silver Mines.

Silver Mines is located in the Mark Twain National Forest on the St Francis River in Madison County near Fredericktown, MO. There are 67 campsites, 11 sites with electricity, the rest are primitive. There is a group site that can accommodate up to 75 people. It is normally open from March to the end of October. Amenities include picnic tables, vault toilets, water spigots, campfire rings and lantern posts.

Picture of old mine building. Picture given to me by one of the camp visitors. No idea when picture was taken.

Looking up the St Francis River.
Trail going to the damn and Turkey Creek.
Another section of the trail.

Section of trail.
Early morning looking down river.
Sun setting in Silver Mines.

There are 3 Day Use areas where visitors can park. They are open from 6 am to 10 pm and there is a fee of $5 per vehicle. There is also a covered pavilion that can be reserved. There are also 6 vault toilets located in the park. There is an abundance of wildlife in the park and the fishing is good. The trails are what I would call moderate. There was a 90 year old man that hiked both trails this year.

Doe crossing road at Turkey Creek gate.

This fawn got use to our golf cart and got pretty close.

I took a whole lot of photos that I plan on sharing with everyone. It is truly a photographer’s paradise. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. It is very much appreciated.

Silver Mines dam

Silver Mines a Missouri Gem

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Believe me when I tell you as a campground host in Silver Mines, that you won’t become rich in a monetary sense, but you will leave rich in memories. Part of our job was to lock the gate into the Turkey Creek Day Use Area at 10 pm and unlock it at 6 am. I would leave at 5:30 am to go unlock the gate. I loved that part of my job. The deer became use to our golf cart and would let me get pretty close to them. I also saw some beautiful sunrises.

Bulletin Board at Turkey Day Use area. The pay tube is to the right of it.
River Loop Campground Bulletin Board. There was electric at these sites.
Sunrise on the St Francis River in Silver Mines

Steps on the trail leading to the Summit Campground.
One of the trail signs.

We would police the park for trash every day. I wish I had a penny for every cigarette butt we picked up. We probably picked up a coffee can full a week. Soda cans, beer bottles, Wal Mart bags, fast food wrappers, and even dirty diapers along the road were also a problem. We worked hard to keep the park free of litter.

Water over the old highway D bridge.
Flood water rushing over the rocks, on the St Francis River.

It was a weird year as far as the weather. The first week we were there in March we had a lot of rain causing the river to rise. The river came up pretty fast and then it crested. That was a teaser because a couple of hours later, it started rising again with a vengeance, rising 2 foot an hour. We almost had to move the camper to higher ground, it was close, very close, but at the last minute, it started dropping. The river got over the old highway D bridge 5 times this year.

Thanks for stopping by and reading. It is very much appreciated.

Campground Hosts at Silver Mines

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What does a campground host actually do? I can only answer to what we did at Silver Mines. To be accepted as campground hosts, we had a background check, got fingerprinted and signed a Volunteer Agreement. We read it but we don’t remember what it said, it was back in March, and we never did get a copy of it even though we were told we would get one.

Our duties were to clean firepits and bathrooms, empty the garbage cans, keep the park clean, police campsites, (picking up any litter left by campers), and stock pay envelopes. Campers and day use, users filled out the envelopes, put payment inside the envelopes, sealed them and put them in a tube where forest service employees would come by and collect. This was done on an honor system. As volunteers we weren’t allowed to touch the money. We didn’t nor the forest service know if these people had paid or not.

We were also responsible for posting reservations on the campground site. We couldn’t take reservations, they were done online. Reservations were faxed to us on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then as soon as possible we would post them on the proper campsites.

We also made sure campers abided by the rules. We rode through the park 2 to 3 times a day and the last we did at 10:00 pm to see if everyone was observing the “Quiet Time”. We helped campers find their sites, answer any questions that they might have. We gave out trail information, we hiked all of them to familiarize ourselves with the trails. The trail that goes to the Einstein Mine seems to be the favorite.

On a good note, we did get to meet a lot of good people, make new friends, and see some beautiful sites. There is an abundance of wildlife in the area. Beaver, herons or egrets, racoon, squirrels, and possums and its cousin the armadillo.

Thanks for reading.

Silver Mines Recreation Area

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Around the year 1855, Mr. Beaugholtz, noticed that that boulders of quartz on a hillside overlooking the St. Francis River contained what appeared to be silver bearing galena.  He convinced a man by the name of Lloyd to help him find the quartz vein.  Together they dug several prospect holes, but due to their lack of mining experience, failed to locate the vein.

An experienced miner by the name of William Einstein heard about the quartz boulders and was successful in finding the quartz vein and began prospecting and mapping it for the next 16 years, then he and Samuel Knox bought the property.

He finally decided on a place to begin a shaft on May 5th, 1875.  He hired a group of men to begin digging and the deeper they dug there was an improvement in the ore.  He decided to look for a newer location of the vein closer to the river.  He was successful and found the vein located just a few feet above the elevation of the river.  He then directed his focus to this area.  He began looking for investors and was able to persuade Samuel Knox Jr. and Gerald Allen to join him and Samuel Knox and the Home Silver Mining Company was founded in May of 1878.  It was estimated that it took $175,000 to develop the mine.

Construction of a state of the art three story mill began and 20 acres of land was set aside for the development of a town that was named Silver Mountain and consisted of the Company Office, hotel, school, grocery store, dry goods store, drug store, blacksmith shop, two butcher shops.  Two to three hundred miners were employed and along with their family members created a population estimated to be 800 to 900 people.

The Madison County court approved the Home Silver Mining Company, and a stone dam was constructed a short distance upriver from the mine and was used to produce energy to provide power to the mill.  With all the improvements, the mine began producing 100 tons of ore a day that contained approximately 15 to 90 ounces of silver a day.

August 24th, 1879, the company shipped its first load only to close 4 months later.  In December 1879, Einstein was replaced by Donald Palmer who ordered all equipment removed from the mine.  All unprocessed ore was sold, and the miners were let go.  Within a year and a half, the town was abandoned.  In the time it operated, 70,000 pounds of lead and 3,000 ounces of silver were produced.

There were several people who didn’t want to give up on the mine and several attempts were made to reopen it.  Later, uses for Tungsten were developed and beginning in 1916 several companies attempted to mine Tungsten from it.  All mining operations were halted in 1958.

It was originally named “Einstein Silver Mine” and in 1879 a post office was established and called Einstein Silver Mines and in 1892 the name was changed to Silver Mine.  The town was named after a silver mine located nearby.  In 1955 the post office was closed.

The photograph is of the walking bridge that spans Turkey Creek. It is in Turkey Creek Day Use area.

I have been gone for a while. My wife and I volunteered at Silver Mines as campground hosts. Internet service was minimal to nonexistent. We were there for 8 months. I am going to do some blogs about our adventure and share my photographs. This was an introduction of how Silver Mines came about. More to come.

Silver Mines Recreation Area has an abundance of wildlife and beautiful landscapes. I hope I don’t bore you with the photos.

Snow: You Either Hate It or Love It

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I happen to be one who loves the snow; however, the snow fall here in southeast Missouri doesn’t stay around real long. If I had to deal with it all winter long, like those in the deep north, I may be on the other side of the fence. Even if you are a hater of snow, you have to admit; it is quite beautiful.

NOTICE: All pictures are the property of Double D Acres LLC and cannot be used, reproduced or copied without written permission from Double D Acres LLC.

The Love of Flyfishing

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My friend David Tripp an avid flyfisherman.: The Love of Flyfishing

“If you’ve got short, stubby fingers and wear reading glasses, any relaxation you would normally derive from flyfishing is completely eliminated when you try to tie on a fly.”

Jack Ohman – Fear of Flyishing 1988

I can relate to what Jack Ohman is saying. I wear reading glasses, and have short stubby fingers riddled with arthritis. Bending over and picking up the fly, that I thought I had passed the line through the eyelet on the fly only to find I wasn’t even close, however is good exercise.

Another favorite of mine is when you have spent 20 minutes tieing the line onto the fly, and you tighten the knot down snug. Now you grab your clippers and snip off the extra line on the tag and you also snip the line to the fly! Arghh! Time to sit down, calm your mind and start all over again.

Now one of my favorites. It’s 100 degrees and you have sweat rolling into your eyes and you are attempting to tie on a fly. You work diligently tieing on your fly and with one setback after another, to your amazement you have finally accomplished your mission. You walk to the water and begin to make your cast. In your excitement of finally succeeding, you failed to survey your surroundings to make sure you could make your cast without any interference. Whoop, whoop, BAMB!!! Your fly manages to wrap itself around a limb. To free it you are going to have to break the line and lose your favorite fly (Note: When you lose a fly it is always your favorite). I have seen this happen several times, to the point I have thought about just showing up with a step ladder and for a fee, retrieve their fly. Then I could buy more flies . Awww, the joys of flyfishing and I didn’t even touch on the subject of tieing a tippet to the leader.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to be kind to one another and spread the love.

Don Robinson State Park

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My fiancé and I decided to check out Don Robinson State Park on New Year’s Eve. We arrived around 9 a.m. and it appeared that it was going to be an unusually warm day in January. The park opened January 26,2017 and this was our first visit to the park. Recent rains had left the trail pretty muddy in spots and we found that the trails weren’t marked very well but we didn’t get lost. It turned out to be a very nice day. Good hike.

There are 3 trails located within the park. 1) Sandstone Canyon Trail: Rated – Moderate/ 3.9 miles – Estimated time 1 hour 39 minutes 2) Sandstone Canyon Western Loop: Rated – Easy – length 2.3 miles – Estimated time 56 minutes 3) LaBarque Hills Trail: Rated – Moderate – Length 2.9 miles – Estimated time 1 hour 16 minutes.

Each trail has its own unique views. You can walk along a trail atop a sandstone canyon overlooking the LaBarque Creek. You walk past caves, cliffs and glades, through dry woodlands with oak.

Don Robertson State Park is a public recreation area that consists of a little over 800 acres located in Jefferson County Missouri. The entrance gate opens at 7 a.m. and closes one-half hour after sunset. There are 42 species of fish found in LaBarque Creek. There are nearly 650 species of plants and numerous songbirds can be seen within the park. There is a public bathroom.