Day 223: 8/12/11- Ringing Rocks Park

Day 223: 8/12/11
New Thing: Ringing Rocks Park 

Inspiration: My Confirmation Class
Cost: $0
Time: Two Hours                                
Bottom Line: An eerily beautiful place.

Reflection: Today, I took my Confirmation Class out to Ringing Rocks Park. Here is a great description of this strange place by Michael T. Cianchetta:

Located in the same county where General George Washington embarked on his famed Delaware River crossing, this geologic formation appears to defy science and reason. Seekers of the eerie and mysterious travel to this location to experience a peculiar quality that these rocks possess – they “ring” like bells when struck with a hammer. It is this phenomenon that has scientists baffled...

Ringing Rocks Park, situated near the small Delaware River community of Upper Black Eddy, contains the largest boulder field in Pennsylvania that possesses this “ringing” quality. Although the park is approximately 128 acres in size and densely covered in woods, the seven-acre section of boulders piled ten feet high is the primary attraction for visitors who arrive at the park armed with hammers. The park also boasts Bucks County’s largest waterfall, various picnic facilities, and endless displays of wildflowers...

Beyond the visual, however, resides the true mystique surrounding the boulder field. Native American stories passed through the generations to the first White settlers in the mid-1700s suggest that the field possesses an eerie aura. Animals were said to have steered clear of the rocks, and plant life was described as being completely absent from the surface. The seemingly cursed nature of the boulder field was only further supported by claims of the rocks’ “ringing” properties. 

Today, these descriptions bear a close resemblance to reality. According to authors and explorers Matt Lake, Mark Moran, and Mark Sceurman, not only do the rocks “resound with a clear tone, like that of a blacksmith’s anvil,” they also appear to lack any evidence of substantial plant and animal life. Furthermore, while some rocks emit a hollow bell-like sound when struck with a hammer or rock, the other two-thirds of the rocks make no such sound at all, simply emitting a dull thud. This inconsistency perplexes scientists, especially since the “live” rocks are virtually indistinguishable from the “dead” ones. Additionally, although most boulder fields are the product of a mountainside collapse and reside at the bottom of a hill, this boulder field rests at the top of a hill. Without any indicators that a glacier could have formed the field, Ringing Rocks Park’s formation is another topic shrouded in mystery. 

We were all very intrigued by this mysterious place.  The rocks that "sung" were beautiful to listen to and the were all different. We ran around the whole place with our hammers trying to find the perfect rock. Although this place seems devoid of all life, we decided to hold our prayer session right on the rocks.

The whole session was devoted to praying with the body. We used the book "Praying with the Body" by Roy DeLeon which takes different Psalms and adds yoga-like movements to each line. The group seemed to like it and it was great to do this in such an amazing place.

I highly recommend checking this place out! It is unlike anywhere else I have been.