tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post493369219617737536..comments2024-03-28T00:19:18.074-05:00Comments on The Opulent Opossum: Painted Rock Conservation AreaJulianna Schroederhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11277727700915648607noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-81544852903744621112021-03-19T14:08:15.483-05:002021-03-19T14:08:15.483-05:00I agree that Bloody Island is probably just a glor...I agree that Bloody Island is probably just a glorified sandbar and what the lumber industry calls trash trees. I do love those platforms out there overlooking the river.<br /><br />Thank you for your comment, John.<br />JulieJulianna Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11277727700915648607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-79070854932778192512021-03-07T22:12:21.664-06:002021-03-07T22:12:21.664-06:00Ah Painted Rock, source of many a pleasant teenage...Ah Painted Rock, source of many a pleasant teenage memory. Bloody Island is one of those places I wish was accessible by the mainland (but it can be visited by boat, I've met someone who lives in a house down on the Osage River and this summer I'll likely get to explore it with him) but like most river islands it's probably just a bunch of quicksand and vegetation and not much else. I have driven down to the community of Osage Bend and sometimes on a clear day in the winter when the vegetation's cleared away I swear you can sometimes see specks of red on the rocks from clear across the way. Really neat area.<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />JohnJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17581312012060030733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-31239618200436562132021-01-25T23:45:46.665-06:002021-01-25T23:45:46.665-06:00Hi, Steve, and thank you for your comment. You may...Hi, Steve, and thank you for your comment. You may certainly quote my words. Please simply tell your readers the name of my blog and provide a link to it. Thanks again! Maybe I'll see you out there sometime. I've been really getting into lichens recently, and there are tons of nifty specimens out at Painted Rock.Julianna Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11277727700915648607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-35079005869319534462021-01-23T07:39:04.413-06:002021-01-23T07:39:04.413-06:00I recently visited Painted Rock for the first time...I recently visited Painted Rock for the first time and was delighted to discover it! Then found your blog post, which gives a great overview. I hope you don't mind if I quote from it in my own blog post about this wonderful location. Steve Wiegensteinhttp://www.stevewiegenstein.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-68332515321076267492013-01-16T12:10:59.388-06:002013-01-16T12:10:59.388-06:00Hi, Tom, what I said in my post above hasn't c...Hi, Tom, what I said in my post above hasn't changed: I've never seen the pictographs at Painted Rock Conservation Area, and I don't really know where they are. Apparently they are:<br /><br />1. Hard to get to without boats and ladders and maybe even rappelling equipment;<br /><br />2. Fading and hard to see; and<br /><br />3. Fragile to the extent that the MDC does not want people trampling, hunting for, and possibly defacing them.<br /><br />Also, per my post above, here is the only recent commentary and pictures I've seen of them (though my research is admittedly shallow):<br /><br />http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/paintedRock.html<br /><br />The fellow who created the page did actually visit the site in Nov. 2007; photos of the pictographs appear on his web page.<br /><br />I highly recommend his website; it satisfied my own curiosity about what the pictographs look like. (Honestly: I used to live in the Southwest, and hey, if this is what the Painted Rock pictographs look like with colors *enhanced,* then it's not much to get excited over. It's just nice to know they're there, even if they're fading.)<br /><br />For more information on the pictographs, I recommend you contact the fellow who created that webpage. He's a professor of anthropology at St. Louis Community College: Dr. Michael J. Fuller. E-mail (per his college website, http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/) is mfuller@stlcc.edu. His phone is (314) 984-7987.<br /><br />Re. the "Indian house"--perhaps that refers to the looted, craterlike burial cairn near the Bloody Island overlook--?<br /><br />Re. the "spires"--there are some pretty prominent cliffs along the river, and I suppose people called some of them "spires"--but it's nothing like the hoodoos in the Southwest. (Maybe there used to be pointier formations that have since fallen down?) To get views of the bluffs, either ride a boat in the Osage River, or drive the loop of East Bend Road on the other side of the river, accessed by taking Hwy W to the tiny, picturesque town of Osage Bend.<br /><br />There's at least one trail at Painted Rock CA that leads down to the river's edge, and due to the curve of the river you can get some nice bluff views.<br /><br />Whether to see the pictographs or not, the place is scenic on large and small scales. I hope you enjoy your trip!Julianna Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11277727700915648607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-29699702071188590222013-01-16T04:21:46.295-06:002013-01-16T04:21:46.295-06:00I enjoyed reading about Painted Rock. I live in Il...I enjoyed reading about Painted Rock. I live in Illinois and plan to visit when it's warm enough to enjoy. I was recently reading an archeological report from 1907. It mentioned an Indian "house" located on a bluff one mile from Painted Rock. Also, there are reports of Indian hand prints in the area. Would anyone be able to direct me to those? One last thing. The area was called the "Spires" during the last half of the 19th century. Are there spire like rock formations nearby? Thanks. I'm hoping to find out as much as I can before making the long drive over.<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-82116418393718175252012-08-26T13:02:27.173-05:002012-08-26T13:02:27.173-05:00UPDATE RE. BLOODY ISLAND LORE: I've been to Pa...UPDATE RE. BLOODY ISLAND LORE: I've been to Painted Rock recently and got a copy of the interpretive trail guide. Here's what it says about "Station #3," which is Bloody Island Overlook:<br /><br />"Many stories and legends describe the area. In some cases, it's hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction. The most repeated story is about buried treasure on or near the area, but the story has several versions. One is that an army payroll was buried on the island during the Civil War. Another story, from the book _Stories from Painted Rock Bluff,_ describes the adventures of a young Spaniard, who, in order to marry his sweetheart in St. Louis, went west to make his fortune and did. His party was returning, loaded with gold, when they encountered Indian trouble while camped at the junction of the Osage and Maries rivers. They fled up the Osage by canoe. Shortly after passing a bluff with many paintings on it, the party pulled into the river bank and hid the gold and themselves. Later, leaving the gold, they made a dash down the Osage to the Missouri River. However, all were killed or fatally injured. One Indian guide lived long enough to pass on the directions to the treasure. Using these directions, many have searched unsuccessfully over the years, apparently even before the story was published."<br /><br />This quote is from "Osage Bluff Scenic Trail: Painted Rock Conservation Area" (Jefferson City: Missouri Department of Conservation, n.d.).Julianna Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11277727700915648607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-83456052066813644022012-06-20T15:21:55.766-05:002012-06-20T15:21:55.766-05:00How did Bloody Island get its name? Aw heck, I can...How did Bloody Island get its name? Aw heck, I can't remember, and I can't find the brochure I used to have that interprets the Osage Bluff Scenic Trail at Painted Rock. (Maybe I purged it last time I went through my office like a white tornado...)<br /><br />The MDC regularly stocks the trailhead kiosk at Painted Rock with copies of a trailguide, a little booklet with explanations at various points along the trail. I'm sure it discusses the origin of the "Bloody Island" name.<br /><br />I *think* that it has something to do with gold, smuggling, Civil War, Indians, and/or Spaniards--but if memory serves, it's all legendary, with much more "color" to it than veracity. (Maybe that's why I didn't commit it to memory, it if amounted to a pack of myths!)<br /><br />If you find out, I hope you'll post a comment here summarizing the story.<br /><br />And next time I'm out there hiking, I'll see if I can verify the place-name origin.<br /><br />Sorry if this response is lame beyond belief!<br /><br />JulieJulianna Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11277727700915648607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-12274197034070202272012-06-04T14:28:38.819-05:002012-06-04T14:28:38.819-05:00I was just wondering how did Bloody Island get its...I was just wondering how did Bloody Island get its name?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245225178580170753.post-76222076870362467292009-11-18T17:02:33.130-06:002009-11-18T17:02:33.130-06:00This definitely looks like another place to add to...This definitely looks like another place to add to my list of sites to visit.JaneLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12094350796664434362noreply@blogger.com