Date Day

Today was the pick weather day of the week, and Hubby Tony and I decided to plan a date. I did some research, presented Tony with some options, and he chose Shaw Nature Reserve. The last time we had been there was more than ten years ago. Time flies.

We got on the road mid-morning, drove west through the Ozark foothills on Interstate 44, and arrived at the Reserve a half hour later. The first stop was the Visitor's Center to get out tickets scanned and receive a token to get the car through the gate. After entering the park proper we followed the road to the right. 

Hundreds of clumps of daffodils were blooming, providing cheery splashes of color. Not much else was, but it was still lovely to walk through the restored prairie, forest, bluff, and river bank areas. The spring peepers we heard outnumbered the people we saw.

Some of the prairie area showed signs of having been burned in the fall, and I made a mental note to try and come back later in the year to compare that section to the other parts. Shortly after starting our walk we came across a tall fence with a large gate, with an explanation of why it was there.

 During our two hour visit the weather was quite the roller coaster. We experienced:

Overcast skies (Including some impressive rolling clouds.)


A stiff breeze (I zipped my jacket up all the way and wished I had a scarf for my neck.)

A light drizzle (Twice. Once for less than five minutes when we left the visitor's center. The second was when we stopped at a pavilion to use the rest room. It lasted for ten minutes, and we took the opportunity to eat the food we brought.)


Sunshine (I took off my jacket and stuff it in my day pack.)


Sunshine and light drizzle (This time the drizzle lasted for less than a minute. Unfortunately, it did not lead to an obvious rainbow)

By the time we made it back to the car we could cross "getting steps for the day" off our lists. Tony had researched coffee shops we would pass on the way home, and he suggested one in the city of Pacific. Instead of directing us to the Interstate, Google Maps suggested we take Historic Route 66. The section we drove on was pretty industrial looking, but I had fun trying to figure out how things might have been different 70 years ago.