Corn, corn and more corn as far as you can see was our
scenery when we left Pierre South Dakota which is actually pretty cool country.
The drive was actually quite beautiful with all the crops and the rolling hills
and various trees. We also were able to follow the river part of the way which
is actually part of our goal.
Hooray for Farmers
In the last post I eluded to us following the Missouri River
through Montana and South Dakota. A few years ago Steve read the book titled
Undaunted Courage which is about the Lewis and Clark expedition so part of the
plan for our adventure was to follow their path as much as possible along the
river. Now you know. It has been a great history lesson for both of us and is
helping bring out the cobwebs of what we were taught years ago in school. It
also makes us extremely glad that we are doing it with Big Red and our House on
Wheels rather than in a covered wagon or via a keel boat!
From Pierre we landed near Yankton South Dakota. We were
able to stay at Lewis and Clark State Park along the water. Of course Izzy
seems to be directing our camping locations these days since her number one
goal is swimming, swimming, and swimming!
Our View
The Sunrise
Yankton was a nice town and gave us the opportunity to enjoy
wind, wind, and wind. Too bad we aren’t wind surfers like these two people!
Reminds me of my trips to Portland along the Columbia River Gorge.
Taking Advantage of the Wind
The golf course was enjoyable as well and the wind was only
about 15 miles per hour so our shots didn’t have a chance to blow back into us.
Golf Anyone?
Izzy found the squirrels interesting as they were more like
chipmunks and lived in holes rather than up in the trees. Her first priority every
morning when we would go out for our walk was to check the holes and see if she
could smell the critters.
I know they are out here Mom
If I find one can I go chase it Dad?
She enjoyed swimming although this was one place where I
think her interest in the squirrels might have been a bit greater than
swimming!
I know I saw it go in there
From Yankton we went to Omaha Nebraska since Lewis and Clark
were there too! Well, I actually have a cousin that lives there so that helped!
We arrived just outside of Omaha on Thursday September 26th
and will leave for Missouri on September 30th. We were lucky to get
a spot at the Two Rivers State Recreation Area. This nice spot is quite popular
for locals on the weekends.
We found a place for Izzy to swim which didn’t take long
since this place has seven lakes! We also met some great people that were our
neighbors for the weekend. They live close by in Blair Nebraska but have
relatives in Nampa Idaho. Small world!
Now?
A Happy Puppy!
The Platte River
We set out to see some of the sights Omaha has to offer on
Friday. We hit downtown which is the old town of Omaha. The buildings in the
area are all from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They have worked hard to maintain
the cultural heritage. From there we went to the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center
and area park. At this place you learn about the expedition and the decision
made at this point in their journey.
.JPG)
And They Went On
Omaha was quite the place for commerce since the river was
there and eventually the railroad. One of the attractions is the Bob Kerry
Pedestrian Bridge which is a suspended bridge across the Missouri River and
halfway across you are in both Nebraska and Iowa. We had to explain to Izzy
what that meant!
Maybe I can go swimming too
The Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge
It's Actually Curved
I'm So Confused but at least I got to go swimming
The Wires do the Trick
The Missouri River from the bridge
Along the trail and close to the visitor center sits a sculpted scene. The statue (sculpted by Matthew Placzek) is
called Labor and is a salute and dedication all those that helped build the
great city of Omaha.
This Statue also has a special meaning in the latter years
as it was the landmark that could still be seen (barely) when the great flood
of the Missouri River happened in 2011.
After hanging out along the trail we landed in the Kountze
Park which gave Izzy another opportunity to go swimming. She tried to get the
ducks and geese to swim with her but they weren’t very interested.
Multi-tasking
A Cute Couple
They didn't want to play
When we left the park we stopped by the event center and
purchased rodeo tickets for that night. Yahoo we get to go to a NRCA event! Oh
sorry Izzy you can’t come to this one. The rodeo was great and I actually know
one of the cowboys who competed which made it even more fun.
Saturday we connected with my cousin and his kids and headed
to the Durham Museum. Besides getting to see my cousin, the museum was
wonderful. It is housed in Omaha’s historic former Union Station so you get a
look at the railroad history but also the history of the area.
Union Station Once Upon a Time
As you can see by the pictures above the museum has these bronze sculptures that are simply wonderful and take you back in time.
The museum is quite large and a person really could spend
all day there which if you did you could treat yourself to an old-fashioned
malt!
1906 Holsman Motor Car
1932 Douglas Truck
Deep in Conversation
Maybe a little too much caffeine?
Mark (my cousin) and Janet
Nate, Dan and Jennifer
They said I could work the brake
For some reason this sign caught my eye
We had a wonderful day with Mark, Janet, Dan, Jennifer, and
Nate and wound up barbequing at Mark and Janet’s. Izzy got to come along for
the day which she didn’t mind much since she was the recipient of a steak bone!
Dan and Jennifer were married not that long ago and are working on getting
their photography business up and running so if you are ever in the Omaha area
and need some professional pictures taken, look them up – SubjectivePhoto.com
We spent Sunday doing errands and getting ready to hit the
road again on Monday. Next stop, somewhere in Missouri!
The final chore
No comments:
Post a Comment