Part II - Aug 9 in Omaha (Friday - Day 15)

Overall, we are very impressed with Omaha.  We liked the Hilton Garden Inn, and it is in a great location.   And very impressed with how much green space and pedestrian paths are available throughout the city.

I started the day with a nice run.  ConAgra has a nice pond and park behind its headquarters that connects with a path leading to the river and the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian bridge over the river to Iowa.

The path had a few monuments and historical markers as well as lookouts over the river. 

I saw a Lewis & Clark historical marker, as well as a very moving fireman monument,

This is where Clark split off from the Corps of Discovery with a small group to investigate the Nebraska side of the Missouri river on July 27,1804.  Clark and Private Rueben Field went ashore and  noticed a lot of mounds, which it's thought were the remnants of earth lodges of the Oto Indians.  They returned to the Corps the following evening, and then met on August 3rd with the Oto and Missourian Indians in this area. 

Did you notice e Pedestrian bridge in the top right photo?  The Bob Kerrey (former Nebraska Senator) bridge is a lovely 3,000 ft. cable Stayed bridge - solely for pedestrians and bicycles.  It is stated to be the longest pedestrian bridge connecting two states: Nebraska and Iowa.

Then Rick and I  walked  to the Durham Musuem, which is, actually, the old Union Station.  Omaha was a major linkage of railroads . Omaha was the eastern starting point of the Transcontinental  railroad that was authorized by President Lincoln in 1862.  The Union Pacific  Railroad built west from Omaha, and the Central Pacific Railroad built east from Sacramento.  They started in Omaha because there was no railroad bridge across the Missouri River.  The Union Pacific Railroad broke ground on December 2, 1863.    This Union Station opened on January 15, 1931 and was the 7th train depot in the city since 1866.  The last train left the station on May 2, 1971.  In order to be called a "union" station, a train depot must serve more than 1 railroad line.  This station served 7 different railroads! 

The station was done in the Art Deco style - which was pointed out as being very geometric!  It utilized the Art Deco architectural style (notice the outside of the building has the 'terraced form' ),   

By the way, that light fixture weighs 2,000 lbs.

The Swanson Family Gallery at one end of the station is shown below.  It is where the fancy restaurant, the Hayden House, was located.

The station also housed examples of rail cars used during its lifetime. 

This is the inside of the 1924 Corn Husker Club car.  One use was when it was attached on June 6, 1948 to President Harry S. Truman's train as he traveled west from Washington DC to Los Angeles, CA.  The press filled the car, reporting on Truman's Whistle Stop Tour - which coved 30,000 miles and stopped in over 200 towns.  

The Union Pacific National Command Pullman cars (this one was built in 1956) provided sleeping accommodations - for an extra charge, of course, you could have a berth (pull down bed).  When it took 2 days to travel from Chicago  to San Francisco, this could really make a difference!  

The Durham Musuem had, as well, many displays regarding the evolution of Omaha.  This included an electric car, which were more popular than gas cars until approximately 1910.   The car below could travel 70 miles on a charge, was easy to start, and did not have the noxious fumes of a gasoline car.   

However, the battery technology became stagnant, and gasoline cars engineering improved significantly. By the mid 1920's, most electric car companies went out of business because gasoline cars developed the easy to use electric ignition and mass production made them cheaper.   The last Rauch & Lang car was made in 1923. 

While the Union Station is no longer operational, the Union Pacific Railroad is.  

in fact, Omaha is the location of the Harriman Dispatch Center, which is the heart of the Union Pacific's communication network.  Over 900 dispatchers use satellites to coordinate over 850 trains and maintenance crews throughout the entire system of 32,000 miles of track.  

Other important business started in Omaha, as outlined at the Musuem, include:

Swanson Frozen foods - the first TV dinner was created in Omaha in 1952.

Valmont:  in 1952, Frank Xybach built a long sprinkler on wheels, with a centeef pivot.  He partnered with Valmont to manufacture these sytems -  which are the main irrigation tools used on farms.  And which we have seen many, many examples of as we flew over the vast farm landscape.  The circular farm plots are almost always examples of the Valmont  irrigation system.  

That wraps up our visit to the Durham Musuem.   It was a very educational morning, and very enjoyable. 

After a light lunch, we went to see the birthplace of Gerald Ford. 

And yes, while he was a congressman from Michigan, he actually was born in Omaha, NE.

Then we went a little north of the city, to the Mormon Trail Center, Winter Quarters.

It was very interesting to see the connections with our visit to Salt Lake City.  When they realized that they would not make it over the mountains before winter of 1846,  the Mormon pioneers decided to winter in Omaha.  They picked a section near the river, where they built 500 log cabins for the 2,500 pioneers.  Unfortunately, scurvy and disease claimed quite a few that winter (359).  Once they resumed their trek, this first group took four months to travel from Omaha to Salt Lake City.  Hmmm, it took us 6 hours yesterday.

On our way back to our hotels, we passed through Council Bluffs, Iowa --  and saw some interesting bridges.  Of course I had to take pictures.

When we returned to the city, I took a walk toward the center of the business district.  I had been told there was a statue park to see.  Boy, was that an understatement.  Turns out it's actually the combination of two parks spread out across 5 city blocks. 

The Pioneer Courage Park commemorates the wagon trains that left Omaha.  

As the wagon train proceeds, they disturb a nearby group of bison, causing them to stampede. (The beginning of the Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness Park.)

And the stampeding buffalo flush a flock of geese from a near by pond.

And the geese take flight.

It is really quite incredible how these statues were incorporated throughout the streets.  And the statues themselves were incredibly detailed and realistic.  Very impressive.   And all sponsored by the First National Bank.

We finished the day with dinner at Spencer's - we just had to have Omaha beef .

  And it was very good.  A very nice way to end our stay in Omsha.  

The day was extremely satisfying.  We learned a lot about Omaha, as well as the history of the railroads.  We furthered our understanding of the Lewis & Clark Corp of Discovery's expedition, as well as getting a better appreciation of what was involved in being a pioneer.  It took a lot of courage and determination to pack up and travel across the unknown -- and a lot of faith that life would be better 'West'.  

We also got to see our Third president here.  Interestingly, they were all Republicans.  

We will be leaving the 'west' tomorrow, as we plan to be in Missouri for the weekend.