Council Bluffs, IA & Omaha, NE

At Council Bluffs there is a historical park for the Oregon trail, California trail, and Mormon trail. It's got lots of info on all of them because it was a big stopping point for people just before crossing the Missouri river into Nebraska. We walked around a bit and then got into Nebraska within 15 minutes.

I was pretty stoked for Omaha. I played Bright Eyes, Cassadaga - even though it's named after a place in Florida I find this one the easiest to listen to with my Dad, and plus I find it a little difficult to listen to too much before Cassadaga when Conor (and I) really reveled in being melancholy and emotional. I'm grateful he embraced the folk so that I couldn't grow out of him. Anyway, I was getting all amped up to see his city.

We stopped at the cite for winter quarters in Omaha where they have a temple, visitors center, and cemetery. I'm fairly certain an ancestor on my mother's side was buried here. The visitors center was really nicely put together and women or Sister Missionaries were in charge of showing us around. They were super nice and interesting to talk to and I was really grateful that neither of them tried to give their testimony or impress much on us. It's always pretty interesting to run into these girls because I'm getting older than the missionary age now; these are young women who are devoting two years of their life to serving a mission and the church only requires that men do it so I'm always kind of impressed when I see women on a mission.

Omaha itself was pretty lame and felt like it was trying to attract tourism. I did scope out a music venue that Conor opened up with his brother but even that wasn't a very cool area; the only things next to it were an American Apparel, a new bike shop, and a new clean-looking bar. A pretty sad attempt and probably where all the hipsters congregate. Other than that it was pretty hot, or the hottest I've been in a while. I've got a pretty nasty sunburn actually.

We stopped in Lincoln as well since it was on the way anyway. It had more potential as an interesting place in the west. We stopped in the Nebraska University bookstore for little sou veneers and I found a thrift store so I got a sweet Nebraska Huskers (for corn husking) sweatshirt for a few dollars.

Then it was moving onward to a place called Ogallala, NE where we were to spend the night. We finished Freakonomics which I've been playing from my computer and Dad didn't enjoy Assassination Vacation so I'm hoping we can just compromise on music because I've already had to listen to three mormon scholars talking about the Devinci Code. Luckily Dad agreed to read to me from an ancestral book produced on his mothers side - this one is able to go back all the way to someone that came on the Mayflower and had English and Danish ties. I also found out, though I can't remember how exactly, that this ancestor is tied with New Brunswick. I kinda feel like a nerd but I'm really enjoying reading all my background history because I'm such a jumbled mix of a bunch of English, Scottish, German, Danish, Irish whatever that I'm feeling good about actually knowing who came to the states when and just what their story was. I'm probably going to make a book of sorts for myself about where and who I come from.