Missouri welcome sign
We had an awesome day of having fun. We woke up to a brisk morning of 31 degrees at Downstream Casino & Resort. It got up to 60 degrees in Springfield, MO. It was a little chilly all day because there was a breeze.
I woke up at 7:00 because we wanted to get an early start. We had bagels for breakfast and were on the road by 7:30.
Downstream Casino is located in Kansas but the address is in Oklahoma. It really is at the corner of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri state lines. As we were driving down the casino's road we saw a herd of bison and our GPS said welcome to Kansas. We stopped about 5 miles away in Joplin MO, to fill the Minnie with gas.We drove a divided highway 75 miles to Springfield, MO. The drive to Springfield was very nice down the divided highway. Larry drove 80 miles to Springfield.
Herd of bison at the casino
We spent the day hanging around Springfield. First stop was the worlds second largest fork. It use to be the largest fork. The fork is 35 feet tall and is located in front of the three-story high building of Noble and Associates and a restaurant. We parked in a church parking lot and walked across the street to the fork. It was very cool.
The second biggest fork, look how small I am
It was a little nippy and we wanted it to warm up a little before going to the next site so we stopped at Walmart. Yesterday's Walmart was small and we couldn't get a few things we wanted. While there Larry bought me another Fitness band, my Garmin is currently working but has been a bit problematic. We couldn't find the one he wanted so we finally had to ask the lady working there, the band was locked away out of site. The lady was very competent but she sure wasn't friendly. When we got back to the Minnie I put the groceries away.
The second place to see was Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. It was only five miles from Walmart. It's a gorgeous park with a lot of things to see and do. Springfield Botanical Gardens is a 112-acre park with different gardens made by Master Gardeners of Greene County. We walked around the park for about an hour and a half. They had a map of the park and things to see while you walk the paved walkways. There were a lot of locals using the playgrounds. There were kids of all ages. The gardens were very well maintained by volunteers from plant societies and Friends of the Gardens. We walked around and saw a lot of beautiful flowers. We walked through the Mizumoto Japanese Garden, Close and Greene memorial gardens, Master Gardeners garden and other gardens. We walked around the Gray-Campbell Farmstead. Some of the gardens were very cute because they had a playground, that looked like leaves and trees. There was a short walk through the park, where as you walk you read a cute story, it was titled: If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson. People have made YouTube videos on the story. It's well worth watching. There were statues and sculptures around the gardens. One was gorgeous, that said "What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding". It had a heart, butterfly and bunnies holding a flower and heart and a frog. We had a great walk. When we got back to the Minnie we had lunch and watched the kids play on the slides and merry-go-round.
Gazebo surround by Eastern Redbud trees
A gorgeous sculpture
Bunnies holding a flower and heart and a frog
Gray-Campbell house on the farmstead
Old school house on the farmstead
If You Plant a Seed story
Butterfly Garden
Major Close Garden
Our third place to visit was Meta Games. It's a store, that sells games and has 15 pinball machines you can play. The cost is .75 per game or 3 games for two dollars, Indianapolis 500 was .50 a game and Dracula was .25. It was a very nice place. The owner was very friendly and so were the workers. We played 11 of the 15 games. We played Dungeons and Dragons, Godzilla, Beatles (first time), Indianapolis 500 (first time), Monster Bash, Star Wars, Dead Pool, Iron Man, Cactus Canyon, Rush and Dracula (first time). Beatles were .75 for one game, Indianapolis 500 was .50 per game and Dracula was .25. The pinball machines were in a large room that included a lot of tables set up to play games with a group of friends. They also hold tournaments for both pinball and board games. We met a young guy from Kansas, who was very friendly. He has to drive three hours to come to Springfield to play pinball. He brings his grandmother here for appointments so it gives him a chance to play pinball. Meta Games is a great place to play pinball. We were there for two hours and had a fun time.
Meta Games
Larry playing pinball
Playing Rush
Dungeons and Dragons
Beatles
Indianapolis 500
Monster Bash
Dracula
After all our walking earlier and playing pinball we were tired. We drove a few miles to Bass Pro Shops where you can stay in the back lot overnight. We don't have power but that's ok, we have the Wave 3 heater to keep us warm.
We rested a bit and then I made dinner. Larry plugged in the generator and turned it on so I could make bacon. After dinner went across the parking lot to Bass Pro Shops. We walked around checking the store out. They always have great displays of wildlife. This store didn't let us down. We took a few pictures. We bought a couple pieces of fudge for our dessert (chocolate pecan and salted caramel). We walked around the store for about a half hour. I ended up doing 10,000 steps, which put me in 10th place in my group. This also gave me a chance to try out my new band.
Big Horn Sheep and waterfalls on display
Black bear display
Native-American riding on a horse display and me
Real alligator on display
Let's go camping
Water wheel moving water
Salted Caramel Fudge and Chocolate Pecan Fudge
When we got back to the Minnie we had some fudge. Then I finished reading Briar Club by Kate Quinn. It was a great book.
While I was reading Larry worked with my new fitness band. He installed the app on my phone, updated the band to the newest firmware and learned how it worked. When I finished my book he explained how to use it. I think I'm going to like it. It has a color touch screen that looks great and is easy to read, there are no buttons. For the next few days I'll be wearing both bands to see if I like the new one.
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I would love to hear friendly comments on anything at all. Ruth