Natural Wonders of the USA – Finale

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The Final Natural Wonders

The results are in and clearly I can’t count. I’ve compared the states we’ve covered with an alphabetical list of states and everything matches. I’ve gone back over each post and checked and can’t find  a counting error but I still come up with states 48 & 49 to finish off. Obviously I can’t count.  So aside from my challenge with numbers, we will wrap up this series with California and Texas. I am proud to say that I have been to both states. However I have not been to the Natural Wonders that are on the LIST. 

California- Yosemite National Park

California is a big state with so much to see and do. I’ve been to San Diego for work so didn’t get to explore much. I’ve been to LA several time. I got to visit the Queen Mary and take a harbor tour past Alcatraz. Neither of which can be called a natural wonder. The Channel Islands are on my bucket list as well as Big Sur and Redwood country but according to the Natural Wonders list the top Natural Wonder in California is Yosemite National Park. 

The massive national park extends into Tuolumne, Mariposa, Mono, and Madera counties, and covers about 1,169 square miles. Yosemite Valley is a 7 mile wide canyon with incredible rock formations, including El Capitan, the world’s tallest granite monolith and one of the world’s top rock climbing destinations. Yosemite Falls is the largest waterfall in North America with breathtaking views. Peak visitation at the falls is in the spring as it is comprised entirely of melting snow. The park is also known for its Giant Sequoia trees, which are estimated to be over 3,000 years old

 

Spectacular Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California - PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search Engine Public Domain Search

Yosemite Falls – Photo from Internet

Texas – Palo Duro Canyon

On my trip to Texas, we stayed in San Antonio and explored the Alamo and the Spanish Missions. We dined on the River Walk but we didn’t explore the wilds of the state.

Spanish Mission San Antonio TX- Photo Credit Deb Neumann

The River Walk- San Antonio – Photo Credit Deb Neumann

 

Called the Grand Canyon of Texas, the Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the country. You don’t have to rough it to explore either.  Glamping (luxury camping) is now available! Each glamping site is fully furnished with air conditioning, luxury rustic furnishings, refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, games, bicycles, gas grills and gas fire pits, covered porches with rockers, porch swings, and much more. More information on glamping at Palo Duro Canyon.  

Lighthouse - Palo Duro Canyon, Texas | Thomas Shahan | Flickr

Lighthouse- Photo Credit Thomas Shahan Flickr

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for joining me on our exploration of the Natural Wonders of the USA.  As for me, I’ve added a lot to my travel bucket list. 

Happy Saturday

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It’s Saturday!

Yes I know Saturday is a post day but I didn’t do one this week. I had planned to wrap up the Natural Wonders series but I got distracted. I’m not sure on what. I don’t feel like I accomplished anything this week. but there it is. Saturday morning and nothing to say!  Not that it’s an excuse but I did spend over 2 hours yesterday at the dentist. I had a cleaning first then tons of impressions for my 2 implants. I left the office with a very sore mouth and $1000 poorer.  The good thing is that we are in the home stretch. I should get the finished product in my next visit. 

Mix of zirconia dental implants technical picture | Picture … | Flickr

The Storm

All week the weather folks have been going nuts about the BIG storm. 

Snow storm is coming. - Lolcats - lol | cat memes | funny cats | funny cat pictures with words on them | funny pictures | lol cat memes | lol cats

Maybe the north and west got it but doesn’t look like much here so far. When I got up it looked like we might have gotten an inch of snow and some ice. The temps have risen now and it’s rain and all the ice seems to have melted.  It looks like its going to be one of those gray, dull days with lots of rain. I think I’ll snuggle in with a book and be lazy all day.

Banner & Balboa

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

Both cats seem to agree with me. Usually after they have breakfast they run and chase like crazy until I finish with my emails and morning ritual on the computer. Today they are both just draped over the furniture. 

Balboa- Photo credit Deb Neumann

They are waiting for their morning treats. Maybe once I give them those they will get the morning crazies. Then again, maybe they see it as a lazy day too. 

Nothing to see here

When the boys roll up at area 51 : r/southpark

 

So sorry I have nothing exciting to report this week. I’m happy we are into March. That means that spring is approaching. Maybe there will be some day trips once we get some sunshine. Something to look forward to. Catch ya all later!

 

Natural Wonders of the USA part 13

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Natural Wonders Part 13

Wow We are headed into the home stretch on the Natural Wonder’s list! We’re at #45!  Only 5 more to go! As the saying goes, so much to see, so little time. We left off at Wisconsin and the Cave of Mounds. Which state is next and what’s the wonder?

#45 – Maryland – Muddy Creek Falls

It’s not as impressive as some of the other falls on the Natural Wonders list at only 53 feet but Maryland’s wonder is Muddy Creek Falls. You’ll find it in Swallow Falls State Park.  I think  what may be the most impressive thing about this pretty little falls is the surrounding tree growth. The Hemlock trees around the falls are as much as 300 years old. I’ve visited Maryland but not this Wonder.

 

Muddy Creek Falls | The Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls S… | Flickr

Photo credit- Flickr

 

#46  Missouri – Cuivre River

Cuivre River State Park | Missouri State Parks

Photo from internet

Looking for the Ozarks in northern Missouri? Cuivre River State Park is one of the state’s largest and most rugged parks!

Cuivre River State Park lends a wilder, Ozarkian flavor to the otherwise predominately agricultural landscape of northern Missouri. Although not far from St. Louis, the park is a nature lover’s paradise. It is an outdoor delight to stroll through the park in the spring when flowering dogwood is in bloom or in the fall when the trees are ablaze with autumn colors. (I stole this description from the Cuivre State park  web page. Since I haven’t been there myself I couldn’t think of any better way to describe it to you.)

 

#47 – Indiana – Indiana Dunes State Park

Now this gets my attention. I missed out on Great Sand Dunes in Colorado so maybe I can see some sand dunes if I get to Indiana. There are 3 miles of dunes along Michigan Lake in Indiana Dunes State Park. And 2000 acres waiting to be explored. Large sand dunes, located beyond the entire shoreline, have taken thousands of years to form, and tower nearly 200 feet above Lake Michigan. FYI, the State Park and the National Park are not the same thing. 

File:Indiana Dunes.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Photo Credit- Wikimedia Commons

Next time In our Natural Wonders series

We’ll wrap up. We still have Texas and California and unless I have counted wrong I’m missing one more state. I’ll need to review the list. Did I miss a state or just lose count? What do you think will be the Natural Wonders for Texas and California?

Just a little Housekeeping

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 February Housekeeping

Good morning Friends! I’m just doing a little mental housekeeping. It’s been quite a journey since the layoff. I thought maybe I should bring everyone up to date. I’m still learning stuff about being a senior. 

My Part C Medicare

After much back and forth over prescription coverage. medi-gap and Advantage  Plans (part C) everything finally got settled and effective Feb 1 I was officially in a Part C Advantage plan with Aetna. The first thing I noticed was that a trip to the pharmacy wasn’t quite as frightening. Instead of paying $1200 for my prescriptions the most I’ve had to pay was $85.00. I was prepared for the BIG BILL because I was told I would be in the Donut Hole and I made too much money in 2021 to qualify for a state funded supplement that would pick up the difference between the co pays and what is charged when the dreaded Donut hole opens up. Don’t know why it’s been so reasonable but I am not going to complain.

Home Visit

Last week I got a call from Aetna asking to schedule a home visit with a nurse. Last time I had one of those I was recovering from hip replacement surgery but it was ok with me if they wanted to come by. The visit took about and hour and we reviewed my meds and then she checked my vitals including measuring blood flow in my feet! She gave me some good information on things that are covered like rides to doctors and for me, the big one, paying for housekeeping. I guess Aetna will pay for a house cleaner once or twice a month and someone to run errands! All I have to do is ask my doctor to submit a request.  I already have a house cleaner that keeps me from drowning in cat hair but if insurance will pay that would be awesome.

 

FYI for anyone who might find themselves in my shoes, the nurse said go to the hospital and claim you are sick. They have a social worker there to enroll you in the correct insurances. The hospital has to be able to bill someone and they take care of it on the spot!

Pets

Banner and Balboa are doing well. They entertain me endlessly. Banner has even decided to sleep on my lap a little and stole few minutes with me at bedtime until Balboa reclaimed his place. 

Mail

Now that the insurance is resolved (It only took 3 months) my mail volume has dropped off considerably. Glad to be done with that. It was a full time job keeping up. 

Future Plans

Now that the big headache of the insurance is done and my unemployment is coming in, I need to cut back on unnecessary expenses. So

#1. I plan to cut the cord. Yup, I’m going to drop cable and go to just streaming. I need to replace the TV in the bedroom but my savings from the cable bill should pay for a new TV in about 2-3 months then it will be home free.

#2. Drop unused streaming services like Disney Plus. I never watch it

#3 Cancel On Star. I’m not driving long distances these day so consider it a luxury not a necessity.

#4. I already dropped a couple of blogs/websites that I don’t use so no more domain renewals. 

I’m sure I’ll find more little subscriptions that I don’t use and cancel those as they come up. Simplify Baby. That’s the name of the game.

 

Natural Wonders of the USA Part 12

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Natural Wonders of the USA

 

So sorry I missed a couple of posts this week. We’ll get back on track with more Natural Wonders from the list today. Wednesday was my birthday. How old am I? Never ask a lady her age! Then the last docs for my taxes came in so I spent the rest of the time getting everything together for my tax guy. He’ll have fun this year…there was a severance payout, unemployment, and a cash out of my 401K all because of the layoff. He’ll earn his fee this year. 

But lets get back to the fun things. We are winding down on the Natural Wonders of the USA. In my last post we reached #41 that was South Carolina and  Congaree National Park.  9 more to go to make our 50 Wonders. So what’s next?

 #42 Minnesota – Big Bog State Recreation Area

That sounds real inviting.  What do you want to do for vacation? Lets go visit a big swamp but not the Everglades. Lets go north to the Big Bog! Big Bog has only been a designated area since 2002 so it’s kind of young. The area is comprised of wetlands with jackpine forests, nearby lakes and of course a big bog. The bog is about 500 square miles. There are approximately 300 species of birds, white-tailed deer, black bears, gray wolves and other animals. They don’t mention mosquitos but saying bog brings stinging insects to mind. Big Bog State Recreation Area has been called Minnesota’s last true wilderness.

The mystery of Big Bog | Columnists | ellsworthamerican.com

Photo Credit- Internet

#43 Colorado – Rocky Mountains

Oh my, The Rocky Mountains – Colorado. Been there. I stayed in the heart of the mountains in Breckenridge but I never got into the National Park. Admission to the park is by reservation and has to be booked in advance online. I tried everyday to get a reservation and was never able to get one. I asked locals about it and they said the reservation system never worked right. It was very disappointing. But this is what I know about the Rocky Mountains. John Denver sang wonderful songs about them. They take your breath away- literally- Beware of altitude sickness! The are beautiful and majestic. The Rocky Mountains are the biggest mountain range in the western United States. They stretch approximately 3,000 miles from northern part of British Columbia, all the way to New Mexico. 

Colorado 2022 – Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Rocky Mountains 2022- Photo Credit Deb Neumann

 

#44 – Wisconsin – Cave of the Mounds

I’ve been to Wisconsin but I was there for my brother’s retirement from the Navy. The ceremony was in Kenosha. It was a quick trip and I don’t remember much about the state. I definitely didn’t see the Cave of the Mounds. How many cave systems have we seen so far under Natural Wonders? What’s one more? This looks really pretty. This limestone cave is believed to have started forming around 488 million years ago when the earth was covered in shallow seas

Cave of the Mounds | Cave of the Mounds, Dane County, Wiscon… | Peter Gorman | Flickr

Photo credit- Peter Gorman/Flickr

Well folks, that’s it for this post. Only 6 more states to check out. Back soon!