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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A honey crisp afternoon

The weather guessers got it right for today.  The winds were once again whipping around in the 25-30 mph range.  I decided not to move on.  Instead, I unhitched the toad and took a drive over to the Missouri River Basin Lewis & Clark Center.

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Did you notice that National Park Service arrowhead on the entrance statue?  Ha!  It turns out that the only thing that has to do with our National Parks is that statue!  The Center is run by a local non-profit group that has nothing to do with the National Park Service.  I thought that was a little misleading.

74 On the way to Bayou Cocodrie 20131So, the old farts pass didn’t do me any good here.  The center is interesting, and I enjoyed my time viewing the 30 minute movie and the exhibits.  The cost for seniors is $4.50 for those that are interested.  There were quite a few activities for kids to enjoy, but nothing inside inspired me enough to take any photos.  I’ve been to quite a few Lewis & Clark exhibits in my travels, and I would rate this one as mediocre in comparison.  I think the movie was the best thing, and it certainly refreshed my memory about the Corps of Discovery Expedition. 

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The second best part of this visit was the view of the Missouri River outside the back of the center.  I took the trail down to the ‘unobstructed view’ of the United States’ longest river, but found that view much less inviting than this view.  It was closer to the river, but the whole foreground was railroad tracks.  Not very scenic in my estimation. 

I had also hoped to visit the Mayhew cabin today.  It was an historical cabin for its role as a stopping place in the underground railroad back in the days before the Civil War, but alas, it was not open on Tuesdays.  Sad smile  I guess I’ll have to save that for next spring.

Instead, I headed for a couple of orchards.  Did you know that Nebraska City is the place where Arbor Day began?  Well it is, and I wanted to taste some of the fruit of all those trees.  I ended up with a half a peck of Honey Crisp apples, and a small jug of Cherry Jubilee from the orchards of Arbor Day Farm.  Honey crisps are one of my favorite apples, and I’m going to try out some of that cherry jubilee tomorrow morning with my breakfast.  I would have bought one of their fresh apple pies, but they were just too big.  I wish I could have bought just a slice.

I also stopped off in town to get my annual flu shot at Walgreens.  The pharmacist recommended that I get the super-dose for folks over 65, so I did.  It’s covered by Medicare, so I didn’t need to produce any cash.  Next on my agenda will be getting the shingles shot.  Have any of you done that?

The winds are supposed to drop overnight, so I plan on leaving here tomorrow.  I’ll be going through Kansas City, and heading east towards St. Louis.  I have two possible stopping places picked out along the way depending on how it goes.  One is 200 miles, and the other is 270 miles.  If I did the 200 miles, then I’d see if I could stop at Sam and Donna’s the next night.  If I did the 270 miles, Sikeston MO would be within shot for Thursday night.  Decisions, decisions…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy 

32 comments:

  1. The hurrier you go, the behinder you get.
    Stop and smell the roses and pick a few weeds.

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  2. Good friends, or Throwed Rolls. Decisions, decisions. Wanda and I both have taken the shingles vaccine. No bad reactions. Hope it works as advertised.

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  3. ohhh Sam and Donna or throwed rolls... can't do both?

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  4. Never had a flu shot and probably never will. Currently, I still can't afford the shingles shot but do want it since my grandmother died of shingles.

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  5. Well you should be past St. Louis by the time their first World Series game plays there....that starts Wednesday...in Boston for two games....I only say that because once I was driving from AL all the way up past Chicago, Milwaukee and on to the UP...and I managed to get to Milwaukee at the same time as the first pitch of the first game of the World Series. Talk about traffic jam! LOL!

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  6. I guess you didn't have to pick the apples. Good to hunker down in the wind.

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  7. I got the shingles shot a couple of years ago, and nagged Craig to do the same. Eventually he did, but not because I was urging him to. One of his friends came down with them. That convinced him.

    Men!

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  8. Oh yes we have both had the Shingles shot, too many people we know have had them and were miserable for a long long time. Our Doc says you can still get the Shingles but it will be a light case.
    Flu shots are on our list...haven't seen the Nurses out anyplace but Walgreens who doesn't take our Insurance.
    The apples sound good and thanks for the tour of the park:)

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  9. I forgot to ask my Dr. about the shingle shot. With all this going on with my foot and getting better didn't think about much else. I had one flu shot and it was a total disaster had an allergic reaction never again..

    At least you aren't in any hurry to get anywhere and can take your time and travel in less wind.

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  10. Last year I got a shingles vaccine as well as the one for pneumonia. I also got a flu shot but won't be doing that again - just did it last year after being hospitalized for pneumonia and being in such a run down shape. The dr. wasn't sure that my insurance would pay for the shingles shot - evidently it is pretty pricey, but it did pay the full amount. (I think it would have cost me something like $280!) I didn't have any reactions to any of the shots except that one made my arm sore but I can't remember which shot did it.

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  11. Nice! I loved the title of this post :)

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  12. Judy you would be a lot better off taking I-70 east to 65 down to Springfield Mo. then MO 60 across right to Sikeston.Its all 4 lane, and I can wait until your either heading north to Indiana or we head south to meet up, plus you could spend a longer time here with us.You will save a bunch of miles going that way to, Iused to take the bus across 60 so you will have an easy time of it. Jut let us know what you decide. We would love to see you but I can wait for a walking stick. Sam & Donna..

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  13. I too love honey crisp apples. Mike and I have both had the shingles vaccine--I had to pay $$$ for mine as I'm younger :), I think Mike's was covered by Medicare. Nat had shingles and was miserable for probably six months, he said, "that shingles made an old man out of me!" That and the fact he is 91 years old! :)

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  14. Lovely header photo.

    Honey crisps are our favorite also. Can't get them here in Mission.

    Paul had the shingles shot. No side effects at all. My dad, 85, had one too. Again, no side effects.

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  15. I love the header photo. We lived near Omaha for many years and I sure don't remember the area being that pretty. Of course, I was much younger and didn't pay much attention to nature back then.

    I've never heard of honey crisp apples, but when we go get apples before we leave here, I'll look for them.

    Safe travels and I think it's a good idea to watch out for any kind of sports games. We will NOT be going through Atlanta during a football game (hopefully)

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  16. Judy,
    You said: The Center is run by a local non-profit group that has nothing to do with the National Park Service.

    I would be willing to bet that The Center is on National Park land although the non-profit does manage it. Did you ask them if they were closed during the government Slim Down?

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    1. I just love to reply to my own comments and eat a little crow while doing so. I thought I may have put my foot in mouth as I am wont to do so I did what I should have done first. I did some research!

      LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL LAND CONVEYANCE (H.R. 761) did in fact convey the land from the Park Service to a non-profit on July 23, 2007 and then the Senate passed a bill doing so on October 17, 2007. The House Bill did include a Discontinuance of Use provision but as long as it is used as The Center then the Federal Government no longer owns the land.

      The only justification for the Park Service arrowhead to remain at the entrance is that they did originally build it. Misleading but probably justified.

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  17. The only time I like a wind, is if it is a tail wind. But did you ever notice how a tail wind becomes a head wind or side wind. Good to sit out a heavy wind.

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  18. I've never had a flu shot but I did get a Shingles vaccine last year.

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  19. My clinic didn't offer the super dose so I got the regular flu shot. I got the shingles vaccine several years ago; I know I did but don't actually remember it so it must not have resulted in anything more than maybe a sore arm. Sure don't want the shingles itself, though.

    If you make it to Sikeston you can go to Lamberts. One of their meals feeds me for a couple of days the way I do their leftovers. I like their chicken fried steak but it is platter-sized!

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  20. Judy be careful about getting the shingles shot. I did before I checked with my medicare policy and I was billed $242.00. The insurance only paid $100 of the cost. I paid an additional $75 and then found out my policy had paid the rest, but for a while I was scrambling to pay that extra. No problems with the actual shot. sore arm for a couple days. My sister had shingles last year and I do not want them!! Good luck.

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  21. Lovely header photo of the Wide Missouri. We really liked the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls MT, also on the Missouri.

    No shots for me. I'm not sure which is better: "an ounce of prevention" or "if it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

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  22. Glad I read all the comments - I was going to ask how they could use the NPS emblem if they aren't really NPS but Edlfrey cleared that up. You have some pretty sharp commenters. Glad you were able to salvage the day with those delicious sounding apples. You are very good at finding something great every where you go.

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  23. I would take Sam's advice on the travel...You will be able to relax and enjoy their company better another time...I'd go to Lambert's for dinner..sounds like you could eat off of leftovers for a few days..I just LOVE leftovers!

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  24. Like other readers, I will not take another flu shot. I got a pneumonia shot...into the muscle, and my arm was sore for many days...I could not even use it. Will consider the shingles shot as everybody is really pushing it nowadays.

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  25. We have both had the shingles shot with no problems. If you have ever known anyone with shingles, you will know it is worth it. I had the flu once. Since then, I have never missed the annual shot. We stayed at Cottonwood RV in Columbia, MO, earlier this month. A nice, attractive, clean park.

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  26. An apple a day and a flu shot. You've covered all the bases. :c)

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  27. We'll wave as you make the turn at Kansas City! Safe travels!!!

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  28. We agree with Sam's suggestions on the route to Sikeston. If you can avoid St. Louis, do it!

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  29. Honey crisps are my favorite apple also. Every time I look at the Missouri river I always think about Lewis and Clark and how they traveled all that way "up river." What a journey.

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  30. Husband and I both have had the shingles vaccine. He had zero reaction, I had redness and tenderness at the injection site for a week or so. It wasn't bad. It's a good immunization to get, shingles is just awful, and in some people it recurs, so they suffer more than once.
    As far as avoiding St. Louis goes - just do it! Even with GPS we kept missing off ramps. They're very narrow and poorly marked.

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  31. If I had room in my freezer, I would have got the pie and froze individual slices. It might last a month or more.
    I too had the flu vaccine, but not the one for shingles. I never had the chicken pox or measles as a kid.

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