Easy Driving in Loess Hills

 

Another morning sunrise in Omaha.  This will be our last because we are leaving this morning for Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The stateline on the east side of Nebraska is the Missouri River; however, a massive flood in 1877 shifted the path of the Missouri River.  Carter Lake changed from the east side of the river to the west side.  Nebraska claimed the newly isolated land as its own.  1892 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that violent shifts in a river do not change esablished state boundaries.  Carter Lake is the only  city in Iowa located entirely west of the Missouri River. To get to Omaha's airport you must leave Nebraska, drive through Carter Lake, Iowa and then back into Nebraska.  Kaskaskia, Illinois has the same situation.

Our first stop this morning was the Lewis and Clark Monument.  It was erected to commerate a meeting between  Lewis and Clark and the Otoe and Missouri Indians before the expedition left to explore the west.

View of Omaha from the Monument.

View of Eppley International Airport in Omaha.

View of the Missouri River from the Monument.

Taken from the Monument.

From the Monument we spent the rest of the morning driving the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway.

At one small town, we were stopped by a trail on the track.  As you can see, if the train would only backup a few more feet, it would  clear the crossing.

The Loess Byway ended in Sioux City.  
This monument is located in Sioux City, Iowa.  It was erected in in memory of  Sgt Charles Floyd who was the quartermaster of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  He was the only member of the expedition to die during the expedition.  He was buried on a hill above the Missouri River.  The  citizens of Sioux City raised the funds to erect this monument near his grave.

View of the Missouri River from the Monument.

View from the Monument.

Sioux City sits on the border of South Dakota.

Driving north from Sioux City the clouds looked ominous and it did rain as we drove.

Before we checked in at the motel, we ate at this little restaurant.  It advertises authentic Latin foods and that was very true.  We discovered that we were the only ones in the restaurant who spoke English.  When we were given the menu, it contained only pictures and Spanish descriptions of the food.  We really did not know what to order.  This was not the usual Mexican restaurant serving tacos, burritoes, and enchiladas at which we were used to eating.  Thankfully, the waitress suggested something and we trusted her.  It turned out to be very, very good.

This is what the platter looked like.  There were four different meats:  shrimp, beef, sausage, and chicken, pico de galio, a different kind of dipping sauce and homemade tortilla dipped in something and fried.  It was delicious.  Not only was the food different, the meal did not start with chips and salsa!

We have never eaten Mexican like this food!

We arrived at the hotel around 4:00 p.m. and are settled in for the night.  Tomorrow afternoon we will be stopping by Ames, Iowa for a short visit with Hunter before driving home on Tuesday.  We enjoyed driving the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway.  I am sure it would be very beautiful in the fall when the leaves change  It was a nice change of pace from instate driving.