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As you read this, I am in Missouri (St. Joseph) and/or Kansas (Atchison), and will soon be back in good old Missouri for the remainder of the trip!! Where has the time gone?
It’s been an interesting, fun, and wacky week, filled with unexpected new friends, unexpected back-tracks, and unexpected changes of tone. As I crossed from SD into IA (the first time), if felt like I crossed an invisible line where I left behind BOTH the wide open country (stops in Sioux City, Omaha, St. Joseph, and Kansas City – all in one week) AND the marvelous sunny weather (cloudy, cool, rainy)! But what a week!!
So, in honor of this wacky week, I’m just going to pitch things out there haphazardly this blog. No rhyme or reason, but lots to tickle your fancy, I hope!
Four Fantastic Folks/Families! What a week for meeting great people!! All of these will be in the book, I think, but here’s a brief glimpse – you’ll like all these folks! Their stories are wonderful – I hope you take a look.
- Equal Parts Switzerland, South Dakota, and Heaven My B & B hosts in the Wagner/Pickstown area live on a farm in Fairfax. Rebecca is from Switzerland, Bruce is from South Dakota! What a great couple, and what a beautiful, peaceful place!! Fascinating conversations, and interesting perspectives! Learn more and see the pics: Bakers
- “She knows more about Lewis and Clark than any woman in the country!” So says Jim Peterson (see River Rat below). I’m pretty sure he’s right! Bev Hinds is 84, still going strong, in the middle of everything in Sioux City, and knows everybody that’s ever heard of Lewis & Clark over the entire river (she arranged interviews with the two below)! What a ball of energy, and what a delightful gal!! And an extraordinary Lewis/Clark expert! How did I luck into her as my personal Sioux City guide for two days?! See MUCH more about Bev and Sioux City (& read descriptions) to learn more: BevHinds&SC.
- River Rat! And 90 years young! The morning I backtracked back up to Vermillion, SD to visit Spirit Mound, Bev (above!) arranged for me to also meet Jim Peterson, who lives there. Jim loves the Missouri River, knows every snag in it (“I’ve hit them all!”), and has boated the entire length of the River! (He’s done my trip by boat!). And he’s absolutely a delightful gentleman!! We had a great visit, and he took me to see his ‘river place’. See RiverRat.
- Mr. Keelboat! If you’ve ever seen an authentic reproduction (life-size or model!) of a Lewis and Clark boat (keelboat, pirogue, . . .), it was most likely built by Butch Bovier! Butch is an absolutely one-of-a-kind guy and an amazing craftsman! We got to visit (arranged by Bev Hinds, of course!) at the Keelboat Museum in Onawa, IA (and he signed a copy of his book for me) . Omigosh – what a visit and what a guy!! See and learn more at MrKeelboat.
3 States, 2 Rivers, 1 Picture The Big Sioux and the Missouri Rivers merge at Sioux City and the boundaries of three states are involved. See the view (as well as War Eagle park where the views are) here: 3States.
212 Years Ago, To The Day On Aug 25, 1804, Lewis and Clark stood on what is now called Spirit Mound in Vermillion, SD. I backtracked to stand on the same mound on Aug 25, 2016. 🙂 For pictures, see SpiritMound.
Only 3 or 4 in the World! Depending on your source, there are only 3 or 4 wood-carved (each figure life-sized) scenes of the Last Supper in the world. This one, based on DaVinci’s famous painting, is in Sioux City. See LastSupper.
They Only Lost One! The only death on the entire L&C trip (!!) occurred -from natural causes- on Aug 20, 1804 in what is now Sioux City. Sgt Charles Floyd is/was buried (and re-buried . .) there. Some pictures of his monument and some history: Sgt Floyd.
Pedestrian Bridge Over the Missouri You can actually walk between Omaha (NE) and Council Bluffs (IA), even though they are separated by the Missouri River. Most unique and impressive design: PedBridge.
In the Middle of Nowhere!! Marty, SD, is just barely a wide spot in the road. And yet, here sits this beautiful cathedral – and school! See Cathedral. (Yes, there’s a story here, but we won’t go into it today.)
I Almost Missed This! I visited this almost as an afterthought (it’s only peripherally related), and wasn’t able to give it the time it deserved,or get enough good pics, but it was fascinating! The Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs, IA focuses on all the ‘headed west’ trails (Lewis/Clark, Mormon, Oregon, California, etc), and how they affected the country’s growth, from the very early days through the 50’s and the interstates. (It also prominently features one of Butch Bouvier’s keelboat models!) If you’re ever near Omaha/Council Bluffs, this is a must-see ! See Trails.
College World Series OK, a very quick detour for the baseball fans. My hotel was right across the street from Ameritrade Park, where they play the College World Series each year. Here are some pictures. (I tried to get more inside, but a voice on the walkie-talkie told the nice security man “Oh, no, we can’t have folks taking pictures!”). See Ballpark.
Potpourri 3 The usual collection of some things that don’t fit elsewhere. This week I’ve included some sequences at the end. See Pot3
Last week I mentioned a collection of shots from all along the River. Ain’t gonna happen yet. 🙂 I think I’ll now delay that until the last blog – in 2 weeks! Also, I don’t have space to fit in visits to Jesse James and Pony Express Museums from St. Joseph. Watch for that next week!
Have a good week!!