Day Thirty-One - Year Two

We went to explore the Scotts Bluff National Monument today.  The time zone is now on Mountain time, so we are adjusting to being two hours different than normal for us.

After stopping at the visitor center and reading about the history of the area, we decided to drive up to the top of the bluff first and enjoy the scenic drive.  What a view!

While we were walking around, Sam was jumping around and slipped, and then limped around saying he didn’t want to walk around much more – we had planned on hiking back up and then down the Saddle Rock Trail.  Instead, I drove back down with Sam in tow and Jim hiked the trail back down.

Sam recovered later, and he and Jim went bike riding around the campground trails – they managed to spot a muskrat and a new bird for his bird book!  Not too bad for 102 degree heat!  J  They came back pretty hot.

Day Thirty - Year Two

Today we drove about 320 miles west to Scotts Bluff, NE.  We will camp here for two nights, and then head up to Rapid City, SD.  The campground we are staying at is located on the grounds of their local zoo, and it is surrounded by trails, and waterways.  The view of the Scotts Bluff Monument is awesome from here!

Day Twenty-Nine - Year Two

Today we drove about an hour north to see Happy Jack Peak’s Chalk Mine.  It is not in operation any longer, but they give tours of the facility.  It is the only underground mine in Nebraska, and the first underground mine that we have seen.

It was only 55 degrees inside and felt wonderful!  Ahhh!  The tour was pretty interesting, and Sam really enjoyed it!  After the tour, we walked up the 213 steps to the top of the hill to the lookout point.  After catching our breath, we looked around and saw the whole layout for miles around!  This was the real reason Happy Jack was in this area, to be the lookout for Indians in the area.  The chalk mine came later.

A relaxing evening at “home” and then we head further west tomorrow!

Day Twenty-Eight - Year Two

Today we drove a short distance west to spend a couple of nights near Grand Island, NE.  We will spend the next four days working our way up to Rapid City, SD.  We are staying at a small campground behind a little motel in Wood River, NE just outside of Grand Island.  I didn’t realize it at the time I made the reservations, but the Nebraska State Fair is in Grand Island this week, so the campgrounds in Grand Island were all booked up.

After we got set up, we drove over to spend the afternoon at the fair.  We pigged out on corn dogs and Italian sausages, then checked out the exhibits.  We saw chickens, sheep, cows, and even alpacas.  There were some longhorn steers in the arena showing off their horns, and we saw some newborn lambs, a calf, and some baby chicks that had all arrived that day.

We then walked the fairway to check out the rides, and Sam and Jim rode the bumper cars to finish up the day.

Day Twenty-Seven - Year Two

We spent our last day in the area at the Omaha Zoo.  This is a big zoo!  We spent half our time there in just the first three exhibits, and then realized we had not even seen a third of the place!  One of the really cool exhibits is the Lied Jungle, which is a multi-level indoor rain forest with jungle plants, waterfalls, caves, and lots of creatures.  While we were in there, the howler monkeys became upset with some other monkeys across the way, and they all started screaming at each other.  What a ruckus!  Now I know what the howler monkeys sound like, so if I am ever walking in their jungle, I won’t feel the need to run if I hear it!  J

Another great exhibit is the Dome Desert, which is a desert exhibit depicting four different desert environments around the world, all under a geodesic dome.  An acre under glass!  The meerkats were posing for pics, and the peccaries (furry pig-like animals) followed us everywhere.

We decided to ride the skyride over the African exhibit to save some time, and we had a good bird’s eye view of the giraffes and white rhinos.  The last hour of the day, we decided to stop by the Madagascar exhibit to see the unique animals to that area.  We finally got to see an aye-aye – Sam was thrilled!

Day Twenty-Six - Year Two

Today we drove to Lake Mahoney State Park to hike some trails and see some birds and sights.  We hiked about four miles through the woods along the Platte River, after climbing up the observation tower when we first arrived.  It was really windy, and the tower was rocking – good thing we didn’t bring Buster – he would have been freaked out! J

There was a railroad track alongside the trail below the bluff, so we saw several long trains go by while we hiked.  It was a beautiful area, and we stopped for a rest at one natural gully that was filled with birds, including hummingbirds.  We saw about 8-10 different bird species just at that one spot!

Along our trail, we came upon two deer walking along slowly and munching.  They watched us back!  J

Hoping to gain access to the Platte River, we drove down to Platte River State Park, but it had no direct access, either.  Both of the parks were beautiful, with cabins for lodging, and extensive activities on their grounds.  There were more parks in the area, so we found this to be a really nice outdoors place!

Day Twenty-Five - Year Two

Sam and Jim went for a bike ride on the trails in Schramm Park this morning – and Sam got his first experience riding a bike on a trail and a bridge!  When they came back, he said they went up a “ton of steep hills.”  J

That afternoon we went downtown Omaha to check out the place of Lewis and Clark’s landing.  There was a cool educational center with some pelts on display, along with one display that showed all the different uses for the parts of the bison.  Very interesting!  We walked across the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, which is the only pedestrian bridge in the country that links two states over a river.  The water level in the MO River was really low, showing the effects of the drought in this area.

On the way back to the campground, we stopped off at Bear Lake Park to check out a wind organ on display there.  It was a really windy day, so we got to hear it’s eerie sounds!  That would be spooky at night!

Day Twenty-Four - Year Two

We drove through Leo G. Simmons Wildlife Safari park.  This was a cool place!   Right away we saw a herd of male elk with HUGE racks of antlers!  They were beautiful!  As we continued to drive through, we saw wild turkeys, and then we stopped at their bear and wolf exhibit and trail to walk around and check them out.  Also, a few bald eagles that had been injured and could no longer fly were in their aviary.  An educational area had a few items on display, including a full set of elk antlers.  Sam could not even lift them both at the same time!

After our walk through the lake trail, we continued on our drive to pass by pelican island with several white pelicans hanging out.  Then we drove by the wetland area where the sandhill cranes gather every year during their migration.  We saw about a dozen of them hanging around, but they were being overwhelmed by a flock of Canadian geese that had claimed the area for the day.

The next section contained several female elk wandering through the woodlands and fields.  Then we came upon the herd of bison in the park – beautiful animals!  They even had a couple of white bison in the herd!

On our way out, we stopped at their nature center to check out the bobcats and kestrels.  A winter wren was teasing one of the bobcats, flying into her cage and letting her chase her out.  J

Right down the road from the safari park is the Strategic Air Command Museum, so went to that next.  Sam was excited because they had lots of new planes that he had not seen before – and this boy has seen a lot of planes!  It was a cool really close encounter, as you were allowed to walk right under them and touch them, unlike a lot of the plane museums.  A few of these planes were HUGE!

Day Twenty-Three - Year Two

Today we went to Lauritzen Gardens - this is where the train engine display is located.  It is a botanical garden, but it was HUGE!  We spent hours walking around, and they had gardens, ponds, trails, lots of cool stuff!

There was this model railroad display that was built entirely from wood with more bridges and tunnels than I could count!  It wound around a hillside and through the trees - the most extensive setup I have ever seen - gorgeous!  The trail through it was like a treehouse.

The Children's Garden had a sunflower field, and it was filled with goldfinches - Sam was thrilled to add this bird to his list!  After a few hours, we found ourselves at the entrance, and we walked up to see the train engines up close.  They were huge!

We had spotted a Bass Pro Shop just down the street, so we went there for lunch - had to check out their aquarium and compare fish!   :)

Back at the campground for the night - guess who had to visit the jumping pillow?!

Day Twenty-Two - Year Two

Today we drove to Omaha, NE!  This was a shorter trip, only 240 miles or so, and it was pretty much a straight shot up the interstate.  Coming into Omaha, we were greeted by a nice display of two huge train engines high on a bluff overlooking the MO River.

We are at the West Omaha KOA, and it has a jumping pillow - Sam is in heaven!  Needless to say, he was out of the RV while we were still checking in to try out the playground.

The weather is beautiful, and we just spent the afternoon lounging around, letting Sam play and letting KOA feed us a pizza.  Ahhhh!

Day Twenty-One - Year Two

Our last day in Kansas City we decided to go to a couple of Nature Centers near the zoo area.  The first one was Lakeside Nature Center and they had a free guided hike at 10:00 am.  We hiked about a mile-and-a-half trail through the woods, learning about the local flora and fauna, and watching for new birds.

We then explored the Nature Center when we returned from the hike, checking out the snakes, turtles, and fish in the building.  They also have some birds they have rescued, like bald eagles, kestrels, hawks, etc.  They have a wildlife hospital on site, and people bring in injured animals all the time to be cared for, rehabilitated, and released back into the wild if possible.  There was an opossum on site (thank goodness Buster wasn't around!) and some grey squirrels that reminded me of our babies we had raised and released at home.

Next stop was the Cave Springs Nature Center, where we walked some trails to check out the area.  True to it's name, there was a small cave with a spring emanating from it - Sam went in to check it out!

There were trails all through the woods, and Sam saw a few more birds to add to his list.  One trail was called the Chimney trail, and it featured several chimneys from old cabins that used to be on the site - very unique.

A late lunch-early dinner at Cracker Barrel finished up the afternoon.  Sam and Jim went to a baseball game at the stadium just up the road to see the Royals vs. the White Sox.  They got a light rain, but it didn't stop the game (or the cotton candy consumption).  Royals won!

Day Twenty - Year Two

Today we decided to go to the Money Museum at the Kansas branch of the Federal Reserve Bank.  I had originally planned on going on a factory tour to Harley Davidson, but they don't allow anyone under the age of 12, so that was out.

The Money Museum was very interesting!  Economics is not exactly my "thing" but I enjoyed the place.  Jim was in heaven - he LOVES reading about the economy.  Sam was enthralled with the display of coins that were in circulation during each President's term - all the way back to George Washington.  It was really cool!

There was a sample gold bar to test your lifting abilities (27 lbs), and a glass wall filled with 40 million dollars in 100 dollar bills - just to give you an idea of how many duffel bags it takes to carry it all!  :)

There was also a viewing area where you could watch the employees putting currency through the machines that would sort, recount, and shred worn out bills.  The vault had LOTS of containers filled with currency and coins being shuttled around with automatic fork lifts.  We each got a bag of shredded money to take home - wonder how many people want to work that puzzle?  :)

After this stop, we went to Missouri Town 1855, which is a collection of old buildings set up into a small town collection that depicts life in 1855.  A couple of volunteers were onsite to tell about the time period and what life was like.  There was a sheep herd, and one really friendly horse.

Before we reached the town area, there were some open fields with a herd of elk, and another field with a herd of bison.  The locals were feeding them apples and carrots, and they were loving every minute of it!  Sam decided he was hungry, so we went to eat lunch, and we picked up some carrots and cabbage to bring back for the critters.  One of the bison didn't care for the cabbage, and he head butted the fence to let Sam know!  LOL

On our way out, we spotted a deer at the front gate, and Sam followed it to the edge of a field where it bounced over a fence line.

Day Nineteen - Year Two

Today was Aquarium day!  There was a good chance of rain today, so we decided to do an indoor activity - Sea Life Aquarium.  It is located in the Crown Center area of downtown Kansas City.  We saw lots of interesting and beautiful creatures, and of course, Sam loved them all!  The tanks were designed in some wild and fascinating displays, and we had tank envy - wishing we could have them all through our house.  LOL

Going through the aquarium only took a couple of hours since it was smaller than some others we have been to before.  We decided to have lunch at the food plaza in Crown Center, but Sam was tired, so we decided to call it a day after that.

On the way home, we decided to stop at the Bass Pro Shop because Jim wanted some hiking sandals.  Wow!  What a layout at that place!  Sam became rejuvenated running around looking at all of the displays and fish and duck ponds.  In their restaurant/bar was a HUGE aquarium, so we decided to have a beer while Sam ate his lunch (which he had declined earlier).  I am not sure which was better - the aquarium or the store!  :)

Day Eighteen - Year Two

Zoo day!  We headed to Swope Park to check out the Kansas City Zoo.  It was a balmy 95 degrees outside today, so the animals were all hiding in the shade, as we wished we were doing.  :)

It was a pretty big zoo, though, and we didn't get to tour it all.  We watched a really cool bird show and had the opportunity to see a few birds we had not seen before.  A skyride over the Africa exhibit allowed us to get a bird's eye view of most of the animals hiding in the shade.  The best was the baby giraffe - precious!  She had to be pretty new because she was a mere seven feet tall!  Her mom was really protective, too.

Their polar bear exhibit was beautiful, but we didn't get to see the polar bear playing around.  He is reknowned for being a real ham, but our timing was off and the heat really drove him inside.  We got plenty of exercise walking around, so we had a good day!

Day Seventeen - Year Two

We spent our first day in the area exploring the downtown area.  Kansas City is known as the "City of Fountains" and we spotted a few of them while driving down to check out Union Station.  The old railroad station has been refurbished, and is really nice.

When we first got there, we had to go and check out the Titanic Exhibit - a traveling exhibit of artifacts from the Titanic.  It was a really cool exhibit, and much more extensive than I thought it was going to be.  Sam was VERY excited to see it, as he likes anything to do with the Titanic.  They wouldn't allow photographs inside, though.  Bummer!

After that, we toured around Union Station a little, and strolled down to check out their model train exhibit.  It was pretty awesome, and quite large!  Some of the details in the little towns was amazing!  One of the men who built it was there, and he pointed out to me that the yellow Chevy in the back row of the drive-in theater had it's windows fogged up.  LOL

We also caught a glimpse of the time capsule that is encased in a wall of Union Station, not to be opened until 2101.  Who knows what kind of goodies are in that?  :)

One of the famous fountains is in front of Union Station, so we had to get a closer look on the way out.

We then drove downtown to Crown Center to eat at a little restaurant I had read about called Fritz's Railroad Restaurant.  It is located inside the center along with several other eateries.  There is a hydraulic setup for little train engines that motor along on a track around the entire dining room, and they actually deliver the order to your table!  Once they reach the right table, the food drops onto a tray that lowers down to your table.  What a hoot!

After a little more strolling about and checking out more fountains, we headed back to the coach for the night.  One of the main things we noticed was how clean the city was - NO TRASH anywhere!  Cool!

Day Sixteen - Year Two

Today was a LOOOOONNNGG drive to Kansas City, MO.  It was a nice drive, good weather, and Sam spotted a few more birds along the way to add to his log book.

We are staying at a KOA just east of Kansas City.  After we arrived, I made a quick pizza and beer run.  Life is good!  :)

Day Fifteen - Year Two

Today we decided to hang around the campground and relax.  Jim and Sam drove down to play in the stream for a while, and then they spent the afternoon cleaning and sorting out the crystals and quartz from yesterday.  I relaxed and worked on the blog, along with normal housekeeping chores.

Tomorrow we are on the road to Kansas City, MO.  Hot Springs is a beautiful area!  We drove by Lake Ouachita on the way to the mines yesterday, and it was all gorgeous!

Day Fourteen - Year Two

We drove out to Mt. Ida and went to the Wegner Crystal Mines to dig for crystals and quartz.  They provided buckets and tools, we just had to drive out to the field where they emptied out the tailings from their mining and dig!

A couple of hours later, we had a five-gallon bucket full of treasure to clean up and check out!  Sam had a great time - what kid doesn't like digging for buried treasure?  Jim and I enjoyed ourselves, too, even though the sun was a little hot.  Some of my favorites were the crystal clusters that we found, along with some large crystals.  Cool!

Day Thirteen - Year Two

Today we toured downtown Hot Springs and the Hot Springs National Park.  The national park is actually within the town itself.  We had a great tour guide from the KOA campground, and she told us all about the history of the area and how it grew from a "wild west" town into the town today.  It seems that Hot Springs was basically Vegas before Las Vegas was born!  All of the gangsters came here to enjoy the healing powers of the waters, and with them, brought the gambling and brothel businesses.  Everyone from famous actors and actresses to sports legends and presidents have been through the bath houses.  It was declared a neutral territory for all involved, so there was no war while at the Hot Springs!

Bathhouse Row is beautiful, and the buildings look just like they probably did when they were built.

The Fordyce Bathhouse is owned by the National Park Service, so we toured it in great detail and saw all of the rooms in their splendor.  What an interesting story surrounding this business and location!

The tour then took us up to the Monument Tower so we could look out over the whole park as well as the town itself.  Great view!

We then rode the tour bus through the old section of town where the main tourist row used to be, and still contains an alligator farm and petting zoo.  We also stopped in front of the boyhood home of Bill Clinton, which is still privately owned and occupied.

All over town are stations where people can fill their empty jugs with water straight from the springs, unfiltered and hot.  Later in the day, I brought a couple of containers to fill for us, too!