In a rare moment, today I ventured out of my box. Returning from a quick trip to Columbia (home of the University of Missouri – my alma mater), I decided to turn up a road I had only traveled once before. Not knowing for sure where this highway connected with the road I was looking for but I took the exit anyway.
It was a pleasant drive north on Hwy 65, towards my goal of connecting with Hwy 24 West. Highway 65 started out as a four lane highway, and then dwindled down to a two lane road being resurfaced on one lane with lots of construction workers and equipment scattered along the way. This made the speed limit of 60 mph drop to 45. It was ok, as I was not in a hurry. I glanced on and off at the fields and fields of corn on each side…….noticeably absent were fences, trees, and the vegetation that is normally home to wildlife. These were all fields of what has been classified as “clean” farming. My imagination began to take over and I visualized the old homesteads that once stood in these very fields, the wagon trains that crossed the lands, and the civil war battles that left scars throughout this land.
As I approached the turn off for the highway I was wanting; I noticed a change in the crops being grown. While there were plenty of “clean” corn and soybean fields, there were also hillsides of orchards growing peaches and apples. You could smell the sweetness of the ripe peaches. I stopped counting the farmers fruit and vegetable stands after 5, as they were plentiful. Signs appeared in front of them, hawking their produce – fresh picked sugar and cream corn, Missouri homegrown tomatoes, peaches, and candy onions. I was totally full by the time I reached home…..just thinking about them.
As I continued this trip I noticed more and more signs for local wineries. They boasted in their signs of having peach and apple wine. One of my favorite wines comes from Germany and is Apfelwein. So good! I will have to make a trip back to these wineries to see if there is any comparison. That will be another story to be written.
As I got closer to my destination I thought about what I had seen on this venture today. I did get closer to the beautiful scenery of Missouri farmland, small towns and farmers hard at work. It was well worth stepping out of my box and getting to know the land around me. It put me in the mood to start stepping out more often and venturing to sites I have not seen in my own state. Stand by and travel with me, as I write about my ventures.
Topics that I will be writing about soon and often will be “Historic Downtowns” – visiting some and writing about them including pictures. Then there is a favorite of mine which I may combine with the downtowns or do those separate – county courthouses. I hope you will enjoy my writings and step out of your box to visit areas in Missouri!!!!!!
Happy Traveling!
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