With all the recent rain upriver, the Missouri River is rising, and it has caused some complications for us. We had looked into staying at the N. P. Dodge city park campground, but found it was under water due to flooding. Besides camping, it looks like no one will be playing soccer on the fields at the park any time soon.
Statues on the river front are closed off because they are now in the river. But we still found plenty of fun in Omaha, and we were thankful for the cooler temperatures caused by those clouds.
Our first stop on the river front was the Bob Kerry bridge. Affectionately known simply as "Bob," it's a new pedestrian suspension bridge. Its graceful S-shape was an engineering feat, designed to get people on their feet to get more exercise.
While walking across the Missouri River on "Bob," we had to stop for the mandatory state line picture. Since we travel together in a 35-foot motor home, sometimes it's good to give each other a little space and spend time in separate states.
As we cross the bridge, we see that a vegan group has already been there this morning. They have left chalk messages all over the bridge. We think it is interesting to see some of their slogans, as we walk into the city of Omaha--known for their steaks.
On the Iowa side of the bridge, we see more evidence of flooding. Those trees on the far right do not like having their feet in the river. We also see the sky line of Omaha directly in front of us, and
we're walking that way next. After walking back across "Bob," we were back in Nebraska. We stopped by the Heartland of America Park, where our friends Lewis and Clark made a stop on their Corp of Discovery journey going up this Missouri River.
We always like to challenge ourselves to find the best free things to do in a new city. With the help of a good tourism magazine and a knowledgeable guide at the tourist information center, we feel like we hit the jackpot in Omaha. We enjoyed the Mangelsen Gallery in the Old Market District of downtown. Thomas Mangelsen is known for his nature pictures, and we especially enjoyed reading where each was photographed. We scored several "we've been there" moments as we looked at the landscape pictures. (We also felt like we had been there when gazing into those grizzly eyes. Yikes!)
Leahy Mall is the name of a narrow green space that runs much of the length of downtown. We found silly statues and water features as we walked through the grassy mall. We especially enjoyed this curiously curved pipe that eventually filled an old bucket . . .
until it finally tilted and emptied into the man-made river below. Call us quirky, but it was a fun take on the usual waterfall where most cities try to make cement look like something God created.
We especially enjoyed the Pioneer Courage Park on the edge of downtown. Several square blocks of prime real estate are filled with bigger-than-life statues of pioneers on their way to settle the west.
The detail was amazing in the many modes of transportation that the settlers used to make their way west. As Denisa runs along behind a pioneer girl, we couldn't help but notice that all of the people look so happy to make this long journey.
Even the animals seem happy--except for the cow tied behind the wagon. She's got her tongue hanging out, and we're not sure if she's going to make the entire journey.
As we work our way through downtown, we see that there is a herd of bison running in front of those settlers. While most of the herd can be found in grassy medians, this guy ran right into the corner of one of the downtown buildings.
The bison have scared up a flock of bronze geese, just starting to take off from the pond in another downtown green space. What a beautiful continuation of the theme throughout downtown!
Several geese have even crashed through the glass atrium of the First National Bank. This family-owned bank is responsible for much of the beautification in Omaha, as we will see later.
We're about 8 miles into our urban stroll today, and it's beginning to warm up. So we're glad that the Joslyn Art Museum is free and air-conditioned. We're fans of Chihuly's glass art, and this huge display goes all the way to the ceiling in the side entry.
There are over 2,000 hand-blown pieces of glass in this work of art entitled, "Inside and Out."
After soaking in more art and more air-conditioning, the wading pool in the sculpture park is looking pretty good to Denisa's tired feet.
This isn't just any flat-water feature. Imbedded into black granite is the curving path of the Missouri River as it meanders through Omaha. Denisa thought it would be fun to meander down the river, as did her new little friend.
We really hit the free-jackpot this week, as the tourist-information volunteer informed us that the Lauritzen Gardens weren't charging admission this week. The Lauritzen family is the First National Bank family, responsible for those sculptures running through downtown. They have also funded a very impressive botanical garden.
The glass conservatory has a lovely collection of trees that reach to the top of those glass windows.
We couldn't help but notice that every spot was crowded with plants, and they all looked healthy and happy to be here. If the afternoon wasn't so hot, we would have been happier to be there as well.
It was almost 100 degrees, but we battled on to see the park. The gardeners must have all worked their magic during the cooler morning hours, as everything was perfectly groomed every way we turned.
One of our favorite garden sections was the Model Railroad Garden--complete with electric and steam toy trains running through the plants.
Mark visited with the train engineer, while Denisa ran around snapping pictures of little trains that kept appearing around every bend.
If it wasn't so hot, we would have paused for more pictures along the way. We probably wouldn't have paid $10/person to make this walk on such a warm day, but we certainly appreciated the opportunity to see it for free this day.
The last free stop on our itinerary wasn't very impressive, but it certainly taught us a history lesson. We arrived at the presidential birthsite garden in Omaha, only to find that the house had burned many years ago. So only a doll-house-size replica was left on display. We also found that the president born here--Leslie King, Jr. only lived in this house for two weeks before his Mother left her abusive marriage and took the baby to live in Michigan. As we scoured our memories, we didn't remember a U.S. President named King. How could this story be true?
But we figured out that when Mrs. King left her Nebraska husband, she would marry Mr. Gerald Ford. They renamed that little boy Gerald Ford, Jr., and he would become the 38th President of the United States. So even though Nebraska claims him as their native son and honors him with a park in Omaha, he spent all but two weeks of his young life in Michigan. Now you have learned a history lesson too!
We have enjoyed our time in Omaha, in spite of the warm weather. We obviously have not yet been successful in finding cooler weather as we head north. But we did happen upon a once-in-our-lifetime experience here in Omaha. But that's the subject of tomorrow's blog.
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