An old canyon (long thread)

[Dory2006]

In Piedmont, Missouri there is a place called Lon Sanders Canyon. Apparently in the 1930s to the 50s it was a really nice place. Lon Sanders created it. He put in trails and planters with flowers, and it was beautiful. You could even drive through it. People swam there a lot and even had weddings and stuff there. Anyway, it started going downhill because it was sometimes hard to maintain. The flood of 1993 also moved around big rocks and made it difficult to walk in. You can also no longer walk through it.

Here's my great-grandma, her mother, and other family at the canyon in 1937. It's almost unrecognizable today. I'm not sure even sure what part of the canyon that is.


I've been there many times. today I went with my father and we took our two dogs. I didn't explore the whole park with my camera, just part of it.

To give you an idea of the geography, when you first get to the canyon, you park in the parking lot. Then there's the old road, which has a big boulder at the entrance to keep people from driving through there. On the right is a small trail that goes into the woods. In the middle is the old road, and to the right is a foot bridge. If you take the footbridge, you go on a path which takes you down to one part of the canyon (McKenzie Creek runs through the canyon). This is the way I went. The middle path takes you down the old road. At the end of the road you find the pavement which is what is left of the road. To the left of the road is a trail which leads into the woods. The trail crosses the creek, with a small dam guiding you across on foot. The dam used to be higher, with pipes carrying water through it, but the floods damaged it. The water often runs over the dam. If the water is not running over it you can walk across the dam and there's an old overgrown trail on the other side. Most of the trails in this canyon are overgrown. There are also a few different dams along the canyon, but they're all damaged in some way.

The canyon is still beautiful, but I wish I had seen it in its prime. The neglect and the floods have changed it a lot over the years. Here's some further information about the canyon
seMissourian.com: Blog: Lon Sanders Canyon has rocks, water and foliage
Here's a picture somebody took of water running over the dam
Lon Sanders Canyon | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I didn't go that way, but I'd imagine the water is not running over the dam right now. We haven't had much rain this summer.

Anyway, here's some of my pictures

You cross the bridge and follow the trail, then you reach the stone steps.


The view of the canyon from the steps


The trail goes down again toward the water. Some areas have an old railing made of some type of wire. You see a lot of small stone columns holding the railing. These are around the canyon. Some still have wire and most don't.


At the bottom of the trail looking up (those are my two dogs, who climbed over the same rocks I did, albeit I had to carry them sometimes)


The view looking right

To the left is more little pools and a lot of rocks. You can walk pretty far to the left, and it's an easier path than to the right.

Flat rocks and small boulders



After leaving the trail I mostly went right, and this is the view starting out


A view of the trail from where I was (that little red thing in the middle is my dog. She initially would not come down because she was afraid of my Dad's fishing pole. Later she came down and climbed the rocks with me)


Mimosa



Water flowing


I then turned around and went back to where the trail comes out and went left a few yards


This picture is a little blurry, but there's stone steps here (but you have to hop rocks across the creek to get to the steps). The steps had planters on either side, and posts and a gate at one time.

There used to be a pole here

The gate and steps used to lead to a trail, which is now overgrown


Rocks and old wire

Flowing water



A view to the right (you see the mimosa again)


A view across the creek

Rocks






The trail again. That column no longer has a wire through it


A view down the canyon





Mimosa again


More rocks



The trail is on top of the rocks

Amazing how trees can grow among so many rocks

More








One of the old dams, though not the one I previously mentioned. The dam has a big rock splitting it.




Looking back (left) toward where the trail ends



Looking toward the right


Rocks













An old dam with a cement-filled former pipe


There was a snake here. Just his skin left now


Rocks





Part of an old dam


Looking back toward the trail. This is where I stopped moving forward. I was sweaty and tired and hungry, and dad was almost done fishing (you can faintly see him in the background). He took his fishing pole in the opposite direction I took my camera, but the area I was photographing has fewer pools and is not great for fishing.


Well, that was my adventure. I hope it's interesting to you.

If any of you ever get down to this area to take pictures, this can make a nice little side trip. I also went to Markham Spring for a festival today, but had less time to take pictures. If you do ever get to the canyon just remember to wear good shoes, because it is rugged terrain, especially if you get off the beaten path (which I did). I got my foot soaked when I slipped once, but no harm done. I had a camera case on my hip, so I didn't have to hold the camera while climbing.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. The canyon is hard to explain, and the pictures don't necessarily make it clear how the big the boulders really are. It's a nice place to visit.