2021 Oct 15, National Mushroom Hike at Joe Wheeler

 Today at 10AM took a hike on the Jimmy Sims Birding Trail with a group of people led by Sam Woodroof park ranger for Joe Wheeler. 

We saw Chanterelles, Jelly, Puffballs, and mushrooms. Mushrooms are flesh-fruiting bodies of fungi and a variety of species. 

Mushroom Hike 

Mushrooms

On the birding trail, we could hear a woodpecker but could never spot him. The trail ended at the overlook but several of us walked a little further across a couple of creeks. It was a great day for hiking. 

We saw some blooming Indian Heliotrope, an annual hirsute plant that is a common weed in waste places and settled areas. Widely used in native medicines.

Indian Heliotrope

Once we got back to the boating dock area everyone disbursed. 

I walked down to the edge of the River at the docks and that is where I saw a couple of gray herons, & a Muscovy duck.

Muscovy Duck 

🚗 2012 ~Aug 14-15, Days 2-3 Trip thru the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee

Day 3: Tuesday, August 14, 2012  

We checked out at 8:45 A.M. Comfort Inns.

Comfort Inn serves a continental breakfast so we ate scrambled eggs covered in gravy, round sausage, donuts, orange juice and orange cranberry juice. 

We had our bags packed before breakfast; we collect our luggage and check out at 8:45 A.M. 

We stopped to ride the Ducks but the first load had already left.

We rode downtown to the train depot to ride the train but it did not leave until 11:30 A.M. 

We rode back to the tourist area of the old town, where we walk around and stopping at 

Wal-Green’s to buy hubby a razor, which cost $10.95.  

 Bas Pro Shop in Branson Mo

We walked to Bas Pro Shop that was along Lake Taneycomo and across the street from the train depot.

There we bought a block of chocolate fudge $3.00, bag cashews covered in cinnamon $3.99 and diet drinks $1.59 for a total of $9.34.

We sat down in front of the fish tank to eat our snack.

We finished our snack, walked outside and down by Lake Taneycomo. 

Lake Taneycomo. 

Lake Taneycomo

Then we walked back and purchased tickets for the Scenic Train Ride. 

(It was anything but scenic.) Purchased four postcards @ twenty-five cents each and one bell @1.00 spent $2.19 cash.

Tickets cost adult $25.25

Tax $3.18

Total $28.43 each = $56.86

Tuesday at 11:30 A.M. ticket numbers 101 & 100.

The best part of the train ride was the people sitting across from us they were a hoot!

Scenic Train Ride🚂🚂🚂

Scenic Train Ride

Scenic Train Ride

Montana Mikes Steakhouse is where we ate lunch.

I ordered a salad, sirloin steak, sweet potato, and ice tea.

Hubby ordered a Buffalo Burger with fried onion rings, and to drink a diet Pepsi.

We spent around $18.00 plus tip. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 

We purchased tickets for the Duck ride at 3:00 P.M., tickets numbers 00075, 74 

Total cost was $43.46.

Everyone had their pictures made before boarding the DUCK.

Riding the Duck 

My hubby and I sat in the front seats. 

Captain Jed was our host and he was a hoot.

He had us laughing the whole time as well as being informative about the ride. 

We rode the Duck across Table Rock Dam and up through the woods passing some retired ducks, a half truck, an Otter (T46 Amphibious Cargo Truck), a Crash Truck (G-7133 Airfield Emergency Truck), a Scorpion, (M56 Self Propelled Gun), a Store with a sign that read (Bologna, pickled eggs, pork n beans, Hubby pumped gas), an old home site. 

As we were about to embark into the lake our Captain Jed said, “Be prepared to get wet” as in we went. 

We saw docked the Showboat Branson Belle she was in for repairs. 

Showboat Branson Belle

We floated along in the water; Captain Jed let all the children aboard drive the duck.  

He kept right up with his storytelling.  

Out of the water we came, we went from propeller to wheels, back on the road again. 

We again crossed Table Rock Dam and headed back into Branson.

I was taking pictures the whole time.  

We purchased the pictures that we had taken before boarding the DUCK, which cost us @21.73.

We ride on highway 13 through Missouri going through Kimberling City, which is also along the Table Rock Lake.  

We stopped at Conco 11907 State Hwy 13 Kimberling City Mo at 5:09 P.M. for gas. 

We use pump 3 to 15.216 gallons gas at 3.549 per gallon cost $54.00.

 Kimberling City

We rode over some steep and curved roads along the Arkansas and Missouri line, passing through Roaring River State Park.

We arrived in Rogers just before dark and stopped at Chick-fil-a cost $10.50. 

We checked in at Country Inns and Suites 4304 West Walnut St Rogers Ar 72756-telephone number 479-633-0055 rooms 208. 

We rode to Target in Rogers, Arkansas where we purchased some Nail polish remover and headache powder (for Hubby)we spent $7.61.

We stopped at Best Buy store number 1148 where we purchased an 8gb SD card for my Nikon Camera. 

We charged $27.24 for our Best Buy Card. 

We went back to the hotel, to our room, put on our swimsuits and set in the hot tub. 

Before we went to get into the hot hubby went to check out the poolroom.

While he was there, two women were enraged because a bearded man had dropped his shorts and put on his swimsuit in front of them. 

The man was still in the pool when we came down, he did not say much; he just sat in the pool.

Our stay in the hot was brief and the pool was too cold for a swim so we returned to our room and went to bed.

Day 4: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 

We checked out of hotel at 8:57am.

After a good nights sleep, a shower, we pack our bags and walked downstairs for breakfast. 

We split a waffle.

Hubby also ate sausage gravy and muffin.  

I added whip cream, & blueberries to mine along with a piece of sausage.

We rode over to the Museum of Native American Art Museum 202 SW 0 Bentonville Arkansas, which opened at 9:00 A.M. and were there until 10:22am.

I bought three postcards at the Museum of Native American Art  @ 2.00each for total of  $6.54 

Museum of Native American Art Museum

Museum of Native American Art Museum

We rode to the Peel Museum, the curator was by herself, and she could not start the tour until 11 A.M. 

We walked around in the gift shop, and then we went outside to take pictures of the grounds.

Peel Museum Gift Shop

Peel Museum

Peel Museum

The curator said there was road work ahead so she gives us different directions to the Crystal Bridge Museum.

We thanked curator and left at 10:49 A.M.  

We arrive at the Crystal Bridge Museum around 11:09 and left a little after 12:00 P.M. 

Crystal Bridge Museum

Crystal Bridge Museum

We did not stop for lunch for we had leftovers so I finished off the chicken fingers and fudge that we had bought at the Bass Pro Shops.

We had finished off all the sodas that we had brought.

We stopped in Carlisle Exxon 1515 Bankhead Carlisle Arkansas for gas at pump five prices per gallon 3.629 for 14.329 gallons for a total of $52.00.

The drive home took us about eight hours.

I took several pictures with my iPhone on our trip home. 

We rode through Little Rock Arkansas, to Memphis, TN.

Traveling to Memphis, TN  

Traveling to Memphis, TN  

We stopped at Joe’s Crab Shack for supper.  

I ordered a Caesar salad.

Hubby ordered Joe’s crab legs bucket, our total cost was $39.24 

Joe’s Crab Shack 

Joe’s Crab Shack 

Joe’s Crab Shack 

Hubby was very disappointed with his meal.

In his bucket were two claws, two potatoes, and a small corn. 

When we arrived home, hubby sent Joe’s a complaint email and they apologized and sent him a $30 gift card with no expiration date on it to compensate his meal.

1-Crab, Dungeness $24.49

2-Tea $4.79, 

1-Caesar salad $2.99 

Total Cost $39.24.

We were both still hungry and stopped in at Corinth, MS, Express Shop #6 filled up with gas at pump 7 price per gallon 3.569 total fuel cost $31.00 for 8.678 gallons. 

We also purchase a soda and peanut butter crackers we spent $5.00 at 8:03 P.M. 

We are just a couple hours from home. 

We arrive home around 10:00 P.M. only to find that we had no electricity. 

There had been an electrical storm hitting our garage causing three breakers to stop working.

Lighting had hit our house and ran inside to our router, Vonage telephone, and our Internet. 

The food in the freezer of our refrigerator had thawed so I had to throw it away.

The trip was wonderful but the homecoming was awful.

My next trip will be to Hartford, Ct. Sept 11-25, 2012 

🚌🚌🚌🚌The Bus ride and the Driver

With one bus, a token, and a senior bus pass, the family walked out the door of the Ronald McDonald House.

They walked down to Thirty-ninth and Chestnut Streets to take the Septa Bus to downtown Philadelphia.

The long-awaited bus comes to a screeching halt.

Immediately the driver spots the little girl in the wheelchair.

The front door is left closed as he patiently walks to the center of the bus to lower the lift.

When the lift is level with the road, the bus driver gets out and wheels the little girl onto the ramp.

He raises the lift back up and rolls the wheelchair into place, he buckles and straps the little girl in the place. 

The bus driver struggles to keep his cap on his head, because the little girl in the wheelchair, keeps pulling at it. 

The little girl had everyone on the bus in stitches.

When the bus driver completes his task, everyone on the bus claps because of his patience with the little girl.

The bus driver walks back to the front of the bus, he opens the front door, and lets the rest of the passengers load onto the bus.

The passengers are putting tokens, cash fares, or scanning their bus passes on the transit service as the bus scurries away.

The buses rule the narrow roads as they travel downtown. 

A conversation between the little girl's grandmother and an older woman began.

The woman said, “I once went to the hospital to hold the babies but they would not let me because I did not have insurance.” They missed a great opportunity.”

The bus arrives at Sixteenth Street and this is where the little girl is again wheeled to the chairlift and onto the sidewalk.

The family thanked the driver, he once again opened the front door, passengers loaded onto the bus, and he scurried down the street.

At Liberty Square, the family visits the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the grave of Benjamin Franklin.

The family decides to take the seventy-minute amphibious DUCK.

There is no chair lift, the little girl has to be lifted onto the Duck, and her wheelchair is left behind.

The little girl squeals with laughter as the wind hits her face and when the DUCK hits the water, she squeals even louder.

It was very dark when the DUCK ride ended.

The family pushes the little girl safely back to Sixteenth Street where they ride the bus to Chestnut and Thirty-ninth Street.

The family arrives at their stop, the little girl and her wheelchair are unloaded, and the family walks safely back to the Ronald McDonald House.

There has been a lot of violence going on outside the downtown area of Philadelphia.

Just the day before there had been a police officer shot in the face during a routine traffic stop.

The next day the family takes a taxi to the airport.

After the mother pays the taxi driver, she soon realizes that she has been taken to the wrong airport.

The mother takes out her cell phone and calls Angel Flight. Angel Flight, in turn, calls the pilot and tells him what happened.

Angel Flight told the family to stay where they were and the pilot was on his way. 

Angel Flight, is a free service (privately owned airplane pilots) who volunteer their services for people with special needs children.

The little girl had to be loaded and unloaded onto three different airplanes, the little girl did not mind for she was going home.