Beatles and Ice Cream

Friday, July 8, 2022

Beatles and Ice Cream

It turns out the little town of Walnut Ridge had quite a little interesting history. It had a minor involvement with The Beatles back in 1964, at the height of Beatlemania. The band only appeared in this out of the way spot twice, and performed neither time, but the situation left a lasting impression. They would have been disappointed had they stayed longer anyway. A real breakfast was nowhere to found that morning, making departure more pressing than that of the Fab Four.

A few miles west in Black Rock, Renee's coffee and standard fare slowed the urge to get back down the road. Since the jump from Pensacola had been much longer the day before, the mostly clear day offered up a bit more time to linger here and there The road did not look a lot different from the endless forest of Mississippi, but it remained better than the monotony of the interstate.

Life stands out better on these roads and it is easier to pause and consider the world that came before. In this case, a site associated with a Confederate victory. A junk shop and produce stand of sorts continues to hold the line here at Morgan's Mill, which is otherwise mostly abandoned and forgotten.

A little further along, the expedition paused for a morning hike after crossing the state line into Missouri. Grand Gulf State Park had been on the project list for a couple of years. This was the first opportunity to have a look around. Temperatures had not gone too far out of hand, and having recently suffered the humidity of Mississippi, the morning seemed mostly pleasant. The trailhead warned of 40 minutes to cover the Natural Bridge Trail. The density of the foliage blocked most things from view, and danger of tick infestation discouraged attempting to modify the situation, reducing that time to about 20 minutes.

Temperatures rose considerably during the brief hour or so at the park. Slipping back into air conditioned transport proved immensely gratifying. Nothing else remained of the day, except to got on the path of discovery, the preferred recreation for most of the remainder of the day.

Back roads remained the preferred route. The four-lane, and interstate could wait. It would take just as much time to get to navigate to that end and leverage it from this part of Missouri. A pause here and there to admire an old pony truss bridge enabled some amusement, as well as the random road sign confirming the status of the temperature.

The trail crossed into much more familiar territory, after a good lunch at a new spot Lebanon. Some confusion about the name of the last spot visited placed the expedition at the doorstep of The Lunch Box Cafe. They were still 15 minutes from opening, but offered to let us come on in out of the scorching heat and enjoy a little lunch. Appreciating the consideration and enjoying conversation with those locals, it turned out a fortunate series of events to not have remembered Clifton's West Side Cafe.

Drake Harbor in Warsaw was almost the last place to pause and further delay surrendering to the reality of the high-speed four lane return to home base. A plan was then hatched, under the shade of an oak tree, lazily watching the Osage River drift slowly by, to delay that return only a little more. A final stop on the north side of Clinton seemed more interesting. They had locally grown ice cream there.