On my walk around Ricketts, Iowa last Sunday, I saw some cool windows.
front view of the gas station windows
windows through windows behind the pump
Up the block from the gas station, I saw a reflection in this window.
scene in the reflection ~ Ricketts, Iowa
small windows in the mini train station ~ Ricketts, Iowa
church window~ Ricketts, Iowa
reflections on a window of windows in the mini train station and old gas station ~ Ricketts, Iowa
Window are so cool, aren’t they? They allow us to see in, see out, and even see behind us sometimes. I always watch for reflections in windows because it’s fun to get to see something more than once.
And, completely off subject, oh my gosh, you guys! This morning, I was researching the old gas station in Ricketts, Iowa and the town itself.
While looking through internet images, I saw my photos on the internet search! The ones from ‘New Favorite Building’ are on there!
I about fell over! Ha. I’ve never seen my photographs on there before!
Here’s the screenshot of it. How cool is that?
screenshot of my photos on an image search of ‘old gas station Ricketts Iowa’
Thanks for joining me on my Iowa trip recently. I had a wonderful time there.
I have a new favorite building. It’s in Iowa. After filling up on potluck food, I went for a walk in Ricketts. This is the last building going out of town, or the first building coming in.
my new favorite building~ Ricketts, Iowa
a rainbow roof~ Ricketts, Iowa
not sure if it’s still a business, but I love the sign
windows that don’t see out or in~ Ricketts, Iowa
vintage door~ Ricketts, Iowa
on the building’s window reflection, I could see the mini train station and gas station down the block
back end of the building ~ Ricketts, Iowa
sliding door~Ricketts, Iowa
In this age recycle, recycle, recycle, this building models using what you’ve got. That’s my favorite thing about it.
Thanks for being here. Hope you have a wonderful day.
We had a family potluck in Ricketts, Iowa today. It’s a tiny town, in the midst of corn fields and farms. Seriously, I saw two streets in town that ended right in a corn field, with no dead end signs even.
When I was a kid, my grandparents had a farm not far from there. I spent a good amount of time in town, at my cousin’s house. There used to be a tiny bowling alley we went to. These days, the bowling alley is long gone.
A walk around town this afternoon led me to some pretty cool opportunities for photographs. Thought I’d share some of Ricketts with you.
old gas station~ Ricketts, Iowa
a mini train station ~ Ricketts, Iowa
Railroad Street~ Ricketts, Iowa
bell in front of the fire station ~ Ricketts, Iowa
Ricketts, Iowa post office, love how the sun tossed the trees on the side of the building
remnants of the old bowling alley ~ Ricketts, Iowa
My son has a club on Wednesdays and I’m supposed to remember to take our bag with us. It contains the papers and pencils he needs and the notebook and pens I need to take notes to track the week’s story.
Yesterday, I forgot the bag.
So, instead of my normal note taking, I sat with the other moms. My goodness, it was divine! We talked, got to know each other better, swapped stories, and laughed. Maybe I’ll forget the bag more often!
Today I thought I’d share some of my favorite photos I’ve taken over the past couple weeks.
a nest at Alley Spring
a bench up close at Big Spring
a log across Slough Trail
double the scenery at Big Spring
some green at Big Spring
a mossy rock hillside on Black River Trail
a stunning tree at Clearwater Lake Beach
a heart with little tiny angel wings at Bluff View Beach
Today is our last warm day for awhile. We may stick around home and hang around outside or go to the river. Yesterday I took a nap! How glorious. I may even do that again, ha ha.
Thank you for being here! Hope you have a great Thursday.
Yesterday we had an errand that landed us by a natural spring and hiking trail! How cool is that???
I’ve written about Big Spring before, so this time I thought I’d share photos of different view points. The spring itself gets tons of attention, and rightly so. It pumps out over 276+ million gallons of water a day!
Whoa! I can’t even get my mind around how much water that is!
While driving around the campground by Bluff View Marina on Saturday, we topped a hill and I saw the most glorious things on the ground!
Persimmons.
I’d never heard of persimmons until I moved to southern Missouri. They are a fruit that’s small and sweet. It takes about a million of them to make a pie, but my goodness, so delicious.
I only gathered a few, maybe enough pudding or muffins, but seeing them was such a joy. I actually considered getting some for the wild deer that come to our pond. A sweet treat! Seeing them reminded me of why I love the Ozarks SO much.
Holy smokes! I’m guessing this could possibly be the longest 22 day challenge in history. I started this gratitude adventure on September 25, but because of some “I miss my momma” grief sprinkled in, it seems to have stretched it out a bunch.
Gratitude:
Lake Wappapello
beach time with my son, in Missouri (which isn’t near any oceans)
reflections on the water
a beautiful afternoon in nature on some random Wednesday
My son has a club on Wednesday afternoons for a couple of hours. Instead of just going home afterwards, we went out for lunch, then drove north to an area lake.
It was the perfect day to go. It was sunny, warm, and not very busy. We did a 1.5 mile hike on the hiking/bike trail near the marina and beach. It runs right next to the water and is absolutely beautiful! .
There was only one other person on the trail and she was very nice. She said that she walks 6 miles on the trail most days and sometimes she does it twice a day. I can see why! If I lived near that lake, I’d probably want to see those views every day, too.
Miracle photos:
part of the hike/bike trail at Lake Wappapello in Missouri
the section of the trail we were on has a walk out in front of the marina
beach number one of the day
toes on the beach at Lake Wappapello in November
We went to two other areas around the lake after our hike. This one was completely new to us and it was down a lake road we haven’t been on before.
a new to us area on Lake Wappapello called Lost Creek
reflections at Lost Creek, Lake Wappapello in Missouri
From there we ventured to beach number two. We’ve been there many times. In fact, I’ve done other posts about this beach before.
This time, my son and walked the beach at sunset, drew in the sand as a tribute to his grandma/my momma, and tried to skip rocks. We are always on the lookout for heart shaped rocks, too.
beach number two, a heart for my momma
Tribute to Gram (grandma)
trees above the beach
We had a really wonderful afternoon. Saturday we are going to a new hiking area about an hour north of our home. It’s near a lake as well.
For some reason, my love for hiking has kicked back in. Luckily, it’s a wonderful time of the year! Less crowds, less bugs, plus beautiful fall colors.
On Halloween, after we went to Rocky Falls, we drove north and west about 20 miles to Alley Spring. My boy and I have a history there. Many times we have gone in autumn, when the leaves have fallen. We always make leaf piles and lay on them while watching the sky.
We arrived just about sunset and there were only a few other people there. There are two hiking trails. One is a mile and a half and the other is a third of a mile. Since it was close to evening, we chose the shorter one.
We’ve hiked it several times and I’ll tell you what, the views definitely change with the amount of sunlight. With or without much sunlight, the place is just amazing.
All the people left, so we had the place to ourselves! We made the leaf pile, stared at the sky, and walked back up to the mill near nightfall. The thought occurred to me, that now that almost all of the humans are gone, maybe nature could take a breath and rest for the night.
It puts on such a glorious show.
Thank you for reading. Hope you’re still seeing miracles and gratefuls.
Jessica
Miracle photos:
sign to the mill near Eminence, Missouri
Alley Spring Mill near Eminence, Missouri
Alley Spring Mill about sunset
look how much water flows through here a day
the spring at Alley Spring Mill
view of the mill from the hiking trail
I love this photo- the red, the water, and sunset on the trees
When my boy was little, we used to do all the Halloween fuss- trick or treating, costumes, stopping by friends houses, trunk or treats, etc. I loved every single second of it, too.
This year it seems we have outgrown all the costumes and stuff. What’s a mom to do? I wanted a memory making day for him, so we started our own new tradition:
Halloween hiking
Miracle photos:
Rocky Falls, near Winona, Missouri
Rocky Falls near Winona MO
waterfalls we went to on Halloween 2022
that sky!
at the bottom of the rocks at Rocky Falls near Winona, MO
It’s a gorgeous place to visit. It had been quite some time since we’d been there, I’m so happy we went back. From there we went to Alley Springs. I’ll show you those pictures tomorrow.
Unmeasured Journeys 