Bluff Spring Journal
September 2011
If you go to the archived journals you are going to see an absence of months. And... I do sort of have an excuse. It started out to be great summer. Plans for a getting into better shape physically. I was up to running 5 miles a day and getting ready to add a couple more. Our Venture Crew was all set to go on a 60 mile float on the Current River. I had just gotten my new Slipstream PDF in the mail from Campmor.com. All was well and fine until a slippery bike trail decided it had better plans for my summer.
The bike ride began as usual with fresh water and ice in my Osprey backpack. A check on the tire pump, spare tube and some energy bars. The morning was cool and I was about 4 miles into my ride. I was on the trail that goes under Hwy 65 and by upper lake Springfield. It had rained the night before but the trail was dry except for this one corner that was in the shade. It was also a place where water had run over the trail to such and extent that there was a slime and algae slick across the path. I have never had anything seem to happen so fast. One moment I was braking for the curve and the next thing I remember was the sensation of my helmet sliding on the ground. When I came to a stop I was out from under my bike a little dazed and wondering what the heck! Then there was the pain. My left hand and in particular my little finger was screaming, "Hey, something is not right here!" Looking closer I saw that my finger was at the oddest angle and that also my wedding ring (I wear it on my little finger when exercising) was embedded in my finger which was slowing getting covered in blood.
Having heard those stories where a hand will swell up to the point of having to cut off a ring I slowly pulled the ring out of the skin of my finger. I then pulled it off over my broken finger. My next action was to sit down before I passed out. And after a couple of minutes I even had to lay down to stay conscious. What a sight I must have made. Bike off the trail in a tangle and me laying across the trail holding a bloody hand and trying not to pass out. Geez I'm glad this section of the trail is remote and no other riders came along or we might have had two accidents on our hands. (pun intended) In a few minutes with the aide of some water and the cool shade I felt well enough to get up and check to see if I had any other injuries. Nothing too serious. Scrapes on both arms and legs and a two inch cut that was starting to clot well on my leg. Luckily I had on a helmet and am fairly hard headed so no head injuries. I did hit hard enough that my helmet cracked. Lesson learned to always wear a helmet.
I knew my finger was broken and would need setting. My bike was also unrideable so I started thinking about how to get out and to some emergency care. My lovely bride was in meetings all morning and I didn't want to bother her (something that I was chastised for later). So I called my old biking buddy Sue Schuble. Luckily she was able to drive within a quarter mile of where I crashed. I was able to push my bike up the path and met her. Off we headed to Smith Glenn urgent care where they x-rayed my hand and confirmed my pain that it was broken. They also were kind and washed off all the slime and algae and applied bandages where necessary. The attending doctor called St. John's Orthopedic and arranged for me to see one of their doctors. Sue who was kind enough to get me to the urgent care but had to leave to catch a flight before I was finished. So, I just called a taxi to take me the short distance to St. Johns.
The orthropedic doctor I was to see had been in surgery all day but came back to the clinic to see me. I was into his care within 10 minutes of getting to the clinic. One of many wonders of the day. X-rays, a couple of numbing shots, a resetting of the bone and a splinting to one of my good fingers to stabilize my pinkie and I was good to go. One problem. Sue-who will be told next time, "what happens on the trail, stays on the trail", proceeds to call Anita and says, "I know Rod didn't want you to know but..yadda, yadda, yadda". The gig was up. I was sitting in the treatment room getting ready to leave and call a cab when I hear my lovely wife's ringtone (the Andy Griffith Theme). Quandry-Answer the phone and then the questions or let it go to voice mail. Hmmm, voice mail and she might think something is really wrong plus she'll have more time to prepare a more detailed, "why didn't you call me" response. OK, answer it. As usually she was her caring self and after assuring her that all was well she called her parents to take me home.
Later that night my right wrist started hurting and swelling so my lovely bride made me promise to see the doctor again the next day. I did and another x-ray confirmed I had a broken scaphoid (one of the carpal bones of the wrist) and even worse news-this would require a hard cast on my fore arm and wrist for 6 weeks. Good bye running, good bye float trip and hello holding both arms up to prevent them from swelling. I was a good candidate for a Pentecostal meeting.
So fast forward to 10 weeks later. No casts, swelling is almost gone and I'm doing therapy exercises to get strength back in my hands. Oh, but the lessons I've learned. Like how to accept help from others. Thank God for at least 3 fingers I could use. There are certain things in the bathroom that you don't want company for.
August 22
Starting off a new semester with eMINTS classes at MSU. Good to see the veterans back and meet the new students. I always enjoy these classes although they are a lot of work to get ready for they always challenge me to help get the future teachers of America ready to teach our future.
August 27
Off with Venture Crew 1971 to clean up an island in Table Rock lake. We will camp out on the island and do some star trails photography.
Late update: No star trails tonight. Too much light pollution. But the stars were bright enough for a few lessons on the North Star. Great food by the chefs. We had Libby's Chicken and dutch oven dump cake. Sunday morning we had burrito scrambled eggs with veggies, dutch oven cinnamon rolls and left over dump cake. Yum-Yum.
The Venture Crew 1971 Chefs
Puffins are cute. And the 45 degrees inside the Penquin House wasn't bad either after 100 degrees outside.
Tufted Puffin
Horned Puffin
Hey-Pujolis should pay us to eat at his restaurant. He went 4 for 4 with a grand slam today. (Pujols 5 Westport Grill, 342 Westport Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63146) Try the Arrozo Con Pollo "Homerun Style" Alberts Favorite Chicken Dish. Dominican Spiced and Slow Cooked Chicken Thighs with Cilantro Rice.
If you're ever in St. Louis on Locust Street downtown, you should try Roosters (1104 Locust Street, Saint Louis, MO 63102). Sounds like a Ozark cafe' but we had some of the best crepes ever. A savory crepe' with Missouri made German sausage and a fruit crepe' that were tasty. I'm just saying....
Seems like we have a eating theme going on so to continue... We returned to a cafe' that we love. Benton Park Cafe (1900 Arsenal Street, Saint Louis, MO 63118) just south of downtown St. Louis off of I-55. The Woodstock Omelet is great. Egg whites, avocado, mushrooms, onions and cheese that pairs well with the great coffee they serve. The pancakes are tasty also according to my lovely bride.
And... a visit to St. Louis can't be complete without a couple of trips to the two bakeries we always visit. Both of these are on "The Hill" just off of I-44. Missouri Bakery (2027 Edwards St Saint Louis, MO 63110) The Chocolate Drop cookies, Amaretto cookies and cannolis are a few of our favorites.
Our second bakery is Vitales (2130 Marconi Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63110) If we get out of there with any less than 2 dozen Cinnamon Balls something is wrong. The Black Forrest, German Chocolate and Turtle cookies are some you won't want to miss.
Room with a View
Sept. 9, 10 and 11
The Venturing Crew camped out at the Outdoors Days Festival at Lake Springfield. We do this each year to get the word out about the Venturing Crew. The Crew is open to kids out of the eighth grade and 13 years old up and through age 21. The Crew is part of the Boy Scouts but there are both boys and girls in the Crew. There are no merit badges or uniforms just a lot of adventure activities. In the past two years the Crew has backpacked for a week in the Snowy Mountain Range in Wyoming, winter camped in the Hercules Glade, gone caving, floated 60 miles on the Current River and taken several day trips to fun places.
The Crew is sponsored by Bass Pro so we are able to keep the equipment costs low. We have lots of Crew equipment that the kids borrow for trips. For example the Snowy Range backpacking trip in Wyoming costs the kids $120 plus a few meals on the road. Our next outing is an overnight trip to the Buffalo River Region to learn about nature photography during the fall foliage time. If you are interested or know someone who is, shoot us an email (photo@bluffspring.com) and we'll put you on the distribution list. You can also check out the meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month in the log cabin inside the main Bass Pro building. (This next week we are moving the meeting to one of the leader's home to see the pictures from the last trip).
Good Food!! Yum Yum
Rainbow at Outdoor Days
Photo Booth at Cider Days-September 17th and 18th, 10 am to 5 pm-I'll have a tent at the annual Cider Days again this weekend on Walnut Street, Springfield, Mo. I have special pricing on most of my work. Even if you don't buy anything I have a blast talking to all the folks that drop by. See you on Saturday and Sunday!
Monday September 19th
Rain, rain and more rain! Cider Days saw lots of rain and a lot of die hard fans. I couldn't belived all the people who showed up dispite the showers. It was good to see friends and make some new ones. It would have been nice to have some more sunshine but we really needed the rain. Maybe this rain and a few more will help out the fall colors.