Independence, Marysville, and beyond

   Day 3 (has it only been 3 days on the road? Seems like a lot more) follows us as we finish up this morning in Independence, travel north and cross the Missouri again (I think this makes 4 times so far), stop in several towns along the way to Marysville and then on down to our B&B in Waterville.

   First an aside from St. Louis, the one place Carolyn wanted to visit was the Arch, and I wanted to see it also, but thought it might just be a tourist trap. It was everything Carolyn wanted, and I enjoyed it immensely. The views and the way the whole park was situated made it an enjoyable time, and I'm glad my wife insisted on going there.

   Today we finished up in Independence.

   Taking in the Truman Courthouse and Independence Square. We bombed out on the Truman Library as it was under renovation and will not reopen till 2020.

   Then the National Frontier Trails Museum.

   Then the car was our resting spot as we travelled up to St. Joseph and then west on US 36.

   Several County Seats were calling to us as we drove along, so we stopped..

   In Hiawatha, Kansas for the Brown County seat of government

   In Seneca where unfortunately the old courthouse from the mid 1800s had been destroyed by a tornado in the 1970s.

   In Marysville where we received a double blessing:

   A great older courthouse from 1891, which now houses the Marshall County Museum. This was full of Oregon Trail artifacts and records. The picture shows how they had to get the wagons across a river (in this case the Big Blue). They unhitched the team, caulked up the wagon and then floated it across by means of a line attached on each shore. The cattle or oxen or mules swam. If the river was low enough they forded it, but as they had to leave in the late spring so as to get across the mountains before winter, a lot of the time it was too high to ford.

   Then on to our overnight spot in Waterville at the B&B. A 100 year old house which we had all to ourselves.

   Goodnight Day 3...You were good.

Arch-Capitol-Truman

Day 2 of Don and Carolyn's Great Adventure

   Spent the first night in motel a short 5 minute walk from the Arch.

   After a free breakfast, we partially loaded our car for the trip out of the city, then walked to the Arch for our previously purchased tram ride to the top.

   This was a pretty cool operation: A tram ran to the top every 10 minutes from the museum level of the main building. The capacity of one tram was 40 persons (8 tram cars each seating 5 persons).

   Carolyn and I had a car all to ourselves. Several other cars carried less than 5 on this run.

   A 4 minute ride to the top, "as long as you wanted to" time at the observation windows there, then a 3 minute ride back down, where they loaded up again and rose back up, all of this from 9:10 in the morning till 4:30 in the afternoon.

   We had a great view back toward St. Louis with the Old Courthouse right in front as we faced west, and the Mississippi River and country to the east in our sights.

   As we stood in the top of the Arch, someone called the group's attention to an event that had just happened. A proposal had been made by a young man to his intended, and she had said "Yes". Much laughter and congratulations followed and everyone, including the prospective bride, I'm sure will remember that unique day..(Young man in blue shirt and girl with long brown hair, both smiling)

   Coming back to earth, we walked up to the Old Courthouse. A quick history: Original built in 1828,  another newer courthouse was built in 1850 but used the eastern wing of the 1828 one, then later the eastern portion was replaced by a new part and the present day building served until 1930. It is run by the National Park Service along with the Arch Gateway grounds.

   The famous Supreme Court case in the 1850s began its legal journey here in this spot, known to us as the Dred Scott case. A sculpture of Dred and Harriett Scott stands in front.

   We had to check out of the hotel by noon and retrieve our car for Wednesday's road portion of our adventure.

   Our next stop, Jefferson City, to see the capitol of Missouri, which was unfortunately being renovated as you can tell. Earlier pictures of this magnificent structure show it in a better light, but when out on the road, you take what you can get.

   On to Independence, where we will visit with President Harry Truman, and chart the beginnings of the Oregon Trail tomorrow.

   Stay tuned.

Seniors Scoot Safely

   Up at 6:30 and out the door by 8:20, over to I-24 and heading north and west.

   Lunch in Kentucky at a picnic table (build by inmates at a KY prison) in a rest area near the TN and KY line.

   Got to St. Louis around 4PM and walked down from the motel to the Arch area. Beautiful Day but hot.

   Arch is impressive and the whole park around it opens up in all directions so that pics are easy to see and shoot.

   Looking back to the west away from the Arch is the Old Courthouse, another impressive building.

   After a long day in the car, It was good to stretch our legs a bit, only a 5 minute walk, and we plan to go back in the morning and ride to the top. Might even take a picture or two. Or even take my better lens and camera.

   Bedtime for old people

   An aside: 1-24 may be the only interstate highway route that we have ridden from end to end. Beginning at the split by Eastgate and ending in Illinois at the junction of I-24 and I-57.

Heads Up.....Adventure Ahead

   This is an official notification that the Carolyn-Don Senior Adventure is set to begin sometime soon.

   Now most of you may know that since we were married on 1/19/19, we have been on an extended honeymoon Adventure, sharing our lives together.

   We have spent time at our kids, all of them, and over the last couple of weeks we leased our condo in St. Simons and cleaned it out, bringing all the stuff to Chattanooga.

   Now that we have at least two of everything in our house, we are planning a driving adventure into the West.

   Chattanooga to Wyoming and then return through South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

   Around 2 1/2 weeks we figure. Plenty of time to talk, listen to good music, and see new scenery.

   Perhaps even take a few pictures, preferably in small towns or rural areas.

   Scenery and Courthouses, a good combination.

What Dog?

   Back in the past, when I decided one day to write a blog, it was a life change for me so I called it "Walking a New Path",  as it indeed turned out to be.

   That title is just as appropriate today as I sit here amidst a myriad of taped up boxes and ones yet to be filled with a previous life's stuff.

   Packing up an old life is a bittersweet time. This condo that we lived in for 20+ years provided Mayre and I with a base for many happy adventures and new friends in our lives. It is a place filled with memories, many of which brought forth tangible items that will fill these cardboard containers and will continue to reside in my mind as well as in a new place in Chattanooga.

   But like these boxes, time moves on, changes come, new adventures await.

   We are leasing our unit at Grandview to some friends, and they have graciously decided to furnish one bedroom for travelers, including us, so this place, thankfully,will still be in our future.

   So while Carolyn and I will spend most of our time in Chattanooga, living life together, unpacking boxes, reliving our pasts, this place on The Island will hear new voices, and furnish a venue for new memories for old friends.

   Questions abound as to what is to happen now on this new pathway.

   But the one we most want answered is:

   Who let the dog out?

Certainty of Dread

   It happens to us sometimes, the dreading of something that will certainly happen to us, or to our peaceful and ordered lives.

   Case in Point:

   After months of not being able to ride my bike, for various reasons over the past couple of years, I decided to bring my bike back to Chattanooga where we were spending most of our time.

   Buying a bike rack that would fit the back of Carolyn's SUV, we succeeded in getting it here, and I  enjoyed riding the neighborhoods around Harrison, trying to get some exercise into my daily schedule.

   The other day, at the beginning of my ride, attempting to shift down to a "let's get up this hill" gear, my chain missed the small sprocket on the front set and lodged between the frame and the chain ring. It was wedged in so tightly that I could not move it at all. Stuck was what it was, and fortunately it happened near the house so I could walk it home.

   After much poking and levering and searching for a way or some tool that would help me get that reluctant chain back on the chain ring, I gave up and went to the yellow pages to find a bike shop near me.

   I found one that sold my brand. It was near downtown in a new section near the river, and it had expensive repair written all over it.

   Nothing to do but bite the bullet and find a person to get me back on track with my exercise program, so I loaded the bike in the pickup, and made sure there was room on the credit card for a pricey fix to take care of my problem.

   I like to ride, and some things on the bike I know enough about to fix, but most of the time I find myself at the mercy of the bike technician. They tell me what will fix the problem, and I hand over the plastic. If they suggest something that will make the bike perform better, since it is over 10 years old, I go ahead and fix that also.

   I dreaded to take it in to the shop, but there was no choice. I could not use it in its condition.

   I did not know the area of the shop, only that it was on the north side of the river near downtown. The Waze app would take me to the address, so I found it with no trouble.

   The Trek store was busy with folks looking at new bikes, so I made my way to the middle of the store, to the repair section where I was met by Stephen who asked if I needed any help getting the bike in. After assuring him that I could do that, I went out and took it out of the truck and deposited the non-functioning piece equipment in the repair area, fully expecting to leave it right there for some days.

   The problem took Stephen a little time to remedy, but he got it loose and resettled on the right ring.

   Then when he asked if there was anything else that did not seem right, I braced for the inevitable "you really could use....." sales pitch .

   But what I got was:

      "These brakes could use a little adjustment, I'll just tweak them now."

      "Let's clean up this chain and let it move easier.."

      "Your brake pads will need replacing soon, but we can do that the next time you bring it in."

   After a pretty thorough going over and cleaning, he said that was all he saw, and began putting stuff in the computer to prepare the bill.

   Uh Oh, here it comes.

   After the repair and the going over of the systems on the bike, he gave me a bill for $25.

   An Andrew Jackson and an Abe Lincoln was all.

   My dread vanished. All I had worried about came to naught.

   I was happy, and Stephen had a customer that would not dread coming back.

   Trying hard not to appear too gleeful, I paid the bill and took my bike home, smiling all the way.

   Now that is the kind of commercial experience I like to have.

      No surprises..

      No big sales pitch to do more..

      Just  a smiling person on the other side of the counter who is happy to do an honest job and make sure all my needs were covered.

   Then the next day, when I went to ride my newly fixed bike, I realized he had also brought the tires up to riding shape with the correct amount of PSI (pounds per square inch) in each.

   An Unfounded Dread and Proud to be Wrong

   and Ready for Le Tour in 2020

 

Sunflowers to Sequoia

   Sometime in the past I wrote a post about "What do the Common Folk Do?", based on the song in the musical Camelot.

   Well, us common folk take short car trips, looking at the world through the camera lens most times with an eye to showing nature and sometimes situations that escape us if we move through God's world too fast.

   Take this morning, after a leisurely Saturday pancake breakfast, a tradition in the Carolyn kitchen, she spotted a note on Fb that the Sunflower farm would be open this morning. Maybe if we go early, we can beat the crowd.

   So, out to the truck, up highway 58 to Mahan Gap Rd., north on Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd. about a mile, and pull into the parking on the east side of the road.

Sometimes it is necessary to use the truck for more than just to and from transportation.

   Thirty or so acres of sunflowers in bloom:

   Amazing to see so many

   Some folks, maybe commoners too, use the yellow backdrop to have a photo-op with their dog.

   Some moms dress up the girls for a yellow and white shot, with the little boy as the contrast.

   The flower stalks are over the heads of the viewers.

   For the most part, the flowers are not harvested. Most of the acreage is leased out to a dove hunting group, and the flowers are allowed to just drop their seeds on the ground to await the dove season. The sunflowers planted here do not develop the seeds that are used in sunflower oil and other products, so there is not much, if any, commercial value.

   The farm produces strawberries in the Spring and pumpkins in the Fall as their main crops.

   The place is worth a visit, and it is free. It is amazing to see all these sunflowers facing toward the sun as it rises in the east.

   But the day was not finished.

   My charming wife suggested we drive down Birchwood Pike on our way home. This roads skirts the main channel of the Tennessee River and is directly across the water from the Sequoia Nuclear Plant.

   From Sunflowers, God's work in nature, to Sequoia, man's use of God's resources we seem to cover the wide spectrum of this day's adventure.

   And check the ingenuity of using a step ladder as a dock ladder. Good thinking.

   Oops, there is one more shot that I need to comment on.

   The whole field, when grown, seems pretty level, but very now and then one plant shoots up above the pack. I'm not sure, but I believe that this rogue plant is not a sunflower at all, but a periscope, painted to resemble the flowers and used for spying on all the people around. The perfect spy tool with a 360 degree field of vision as it mimics the real flowers following the sun.

   Perhaps these acres of yellow are not so mundane and innocent as they appear.....

   Big Brother?