Fifteen Days . . .
The US Food and Drug Commissioner Stephen Hahn said some studies “suggest a benefit” to using the drug on COVID-19, despite the fact that the government agency issued guidance stating the use of the drug should be avoided unless it’s being studied in a clinical trial or for hospital use. In a radio interview, Hahn reiterated the fact that doctors are free to prescribe the drug “off label,” and that the FDA “does not regulate the practice of medicine.”
Remember we’re now 133 days into the 15 days to Flatten The Curve.
Here in 2009 we were checking out Provincetown, MA out on the tip of the Cape.
August 3, 2009
Provincetown bound…
Today we drove the 60 odd miles out to the tip of Massachusetts’ boot called Provincetown.
Provincetown is a really beautiful area that reflects its long history. It is where the Pilgrims originally landed in 1620 and signed the Mayflower Compact, though they later decided to settle across the bay at Plymouth.
A little known fact is that the Pilgrims were originally headed for the Virginia area, but stopped in Provincetown and didn’t want to go any further because they had run out of an essential provision…beer!
The tall tower is not a lighthouse as I first thought, but is a 252 foot tall brick monument erected in the early 1900’s to commemorate the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620.
We also visited the nearby Cape Cod National Seashore area looking out over the Atlantic Ocean.
and the Old Town Lifesaving Station that dates from the 1800’s. From here the rescue boats were dispatched to save crewmen on boats that had run aground nearby.
The area is covered in Queen Anne’s Lace and Rosehips.
I did not realize that Queen Anne’s Lace is actually the Wild Carrot and has an edible root. But it is also looks very similar to the Water Hemlock, which is deadly. So be careful if you’re snacking.
Rosehips are also edible and a good source of Vitamin C and were used by sailors to prevent scurvy.
Heading home, we again passed by our rental house from 1972.
The house was divided into 3 apartments. We lived on the ground floor, someone else lived in the basement, and the owner lived on the 2nd floor.
And here’s a picture of the McDonalds where Jan worked while we were here.
It’s amazing these places are still here after almost 40 years.
We’re still looking for the efficiency apartment we lived in first.
Tomorrow we’re taking the ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard.
Thought For The Day:
“Some men learn by reading, some learn by observation, and some have to pee on the electric fence.” – Will Rogers
In 2011 we were traveling through North Dakota on our way to a Big Family Reunion in Vandalia, IL.
August 3, 2011
Prairie Dogs and Dinosaurs . . .
Still in Dickinson, ND, yesterday we opted for dinner and a movie.
After checking local reviews, we decided to try Country Kitchen, a national chain. They have locations in 22 states, but we’d never heard of them. But luckily for us, the reviews were right. I had a double cheeseburger and Jan had a Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Both very good.
As far as the movies go, we didn’t have a lot of choices – Cowboys and Aliens, Captain America, and The Smurfs 3D.
But two out of three weren’t bad. We saw Cowboys and Aliens last night and decided to see Captain America tonight. And we did.
We both really enjoyed C & A. Good story, with a lot of twists, great effects, and anyway, any movie with Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and big, nasty aliens, has got to be good.
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This morning was a tourist day, so we started it off with breakfast at Country Kitchen. After all, if it was good for dinner . . .
And after a great breakfast, our first stop was Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND, about 35 miles west of here on I-94.
After getting our National Park Passports stamped at the Ranger Station, and checking out Teddy’s Maltese Cross cabin on the grounds, we headed out on the 36 miles scenic loop around the park.
And of course the first thing that caught Jan’s eye were the prairie dogs. Lots and lots of prairie dogs.
Whole towns of prairie dogs, as a matter of fact.
It’s like they have their own personalities.
Here, the wife is giving her husband a smooch before he goes off to a hard day of finding seeds, leaves, grasses, and roots, and also dodging hawks. Life can be rough on the prairie.
These three neighbors had a spat over who went down the wrong burrow, and now they’re not speaking.
The guy on the right just discovered he’s on camera.
These two are getting ready to race. and the other is doing the “Ready, Set, GO!”
And we did see some really beautiful scenery. This park is part of the Dakota Badlands and it shows.
There are several herds of wild horses in the park, and we saw quite a few.
And toward the end of our drive we also saw this female deer high up on a ridge grabbing a snack.
Leaving the park we headed back east on I-94 a few miles and stopped off at Painted Canyon, which is really just a continuation of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
It’s easy to see why they call it Painted Canyon.
Again heading back toward Dickinson, but still within the park boundaries, we saw one of the several large bison herds in the park.
Passing through Dickinson, and going about 10 miles out the other side, we turned south on the Enchanted Highway, where we saw some more of the really neat, very large, metal sculptures along the way.
This grasshopper was huge, but I kept looking for the giant seagulls.
A pheasant family, complete with chicks.
And Jan got this great shot of a field of sunflowers.
Again coming back into Dickinson we checked out the Dakota Dinosaur Museum.
Although not as extensive as the one we saw in Thermopolis, WY last week, they did have some interesting stuff like this cast of a T-Rex skull, found just 200 miles from here in Montana.
And this very nice display area.
This is a REAL Triceratops skull, weighing about 1500 pounds. The weight of these fossils is why most of the assembled skeletons you see in museums are fiberglass casts. They would weigh 10’s of tons and would be very difficult to suspend safely. It’s not really purple, it just looks that way under the light.
And Jan and I both really liked their large collection of beautiful rock specimens.
By the time we left the Dino Museum it was almost 5 pm, so we decided to check out the Dakota Diner. and once again the recommendations were spot on. The place was jam-packed and really, really good.
After dinner we came back to the rig for a while and then headed out to see Captain America at the movies.
The movie, subtitled “The First Avenger”, was very well-done, and held very close to the original comic book origins. I hated it when they take a known character and then just completely change the storyline.
This Captain America movie is the final one that will unite Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, along with other superheroes in next summer’s “The Avengers” movie.
Tomorrow . . . Fargo. The city, not the movie.
Thought for the Day:
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Martin Luther King Jr.
