Though I have been sightseeing mostly in Omaha (Nebraska), I have been sleeping across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs (Iowa). For centuries the area was the site for Indian ceremonial powwows. Lewis and Clark met Otoe and Missouri Indians here in 1804. The Mormons first built the town and called it Kanesville after a friend of Brigham Young's, during the time of their mass movement Westward. After the Mormons left, it was renamed Council Bluffs. Four major trails passed through or near here: Lewis & Clark, Mormon, California, and Oregon. Pioneers stocked up here before proceeding further west. And when the railroads replaced the pioneer trails, it became the eastern terminus for the Union Pacific Railroad. It really set the scene for our drive west.
I saved Council Bluffs for Mother's arrival, as I knew she would be interested in the two places I wanted to visit. After checking out of our motel Tuesday morning, we went first to the Western Historic Trails Center, which is reached via a mile-long road through prairie plantings. It has terrific displays show the history of traveling west, with sculptures & historic photographs and postcards showing life along the trails. It even has about a dozen Karl Bodmer lithographs on loan from the Joslyn Art Museum.
Next we went to the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, of interest because Mother's father worked for Northern Pacific Railroad for many years. This museum moved into the old Carnegie Library a few years ago.
After lunch at the local Duncan's Cafe in an old hotel, we finally set off for Lincoln. Having made it about an hour away from our starting location, we found lodgings and drove around the city. We found a wonderful "Sunken Garden," full of children running around. Dinner at a brewpub in the historic Haymarket area, like the Old Market area in Omaha. Several good museums in Lincoln for Wednesday.
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2 comments:
well you are certainly taking your time; i make it almost 2.5 weeks so far.
i almost spent a night in Lincoln once, maybe 1968, on my way to the AEA mtgs in Chicago to look for a job after Berkeley, cause O'Hare or whatever it was in those days was socked in. ("The Meetings" were in December in those days.) But the weather cleared and i missed my chance.
or, maybe, we were going to take an overnight train to Chi rather than stay in Lincoln.
Just some log rolling...
Have fun with Evie and don't talk to strangers.
Yes, I am taking my time. But I am going to have to start making tracks if I am going to get Mother back to Daly City by June 13.
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