May 2023
My main reason to go to Nebraska was to see where my dad grew up. We never went there growing up as my dad had no desire to return. He only went one time later in life to attend the funeral of his favorite aunt. I did not find a lot of reasons to stay though I learned a bit including that Nebraska has the U.S.’s largest aquifer (underground lake/water supply) and more underground water reserves than any other state in the continental U.S. The northern part of the state is nice with a some small rolling hills and Omaha had some inviting architecture, a nifty museum, and a great hipster coffee shop but other than that, for me it was more of a day trip kind of state. I can see why throngs of men joined the Navy, all passing through the Omaha train station (now a cool museum), my father and uncle being two of them. Unfortunately for my dad, he learned too late that he gets very seasick, not a great way to start an icebreaker trip up to Nome, Alaska. Nebraska cities, as with the rest of the country, have their share of homeless. The poverty my dad grew up in seems to still be prevalent. Though Nebraska did find funds to build the $22 million ($17 million of federal tax funds) Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge which crosses the Missouri river and connects Iowa to Omaha by foot or bike. It is not really walkable to much of anything on either side (an apartment complex on the Iowa side and an under construction park area on the Nebraska side) which may explain why no one was on it on a nice May day and the piled up litter in the small lot. Apparently it is more vibrant at night as the Omaha website states “Though evening sometimes sees the bridge overly populated with packs of cigarette-smoking teens, the area is well-lit, conveniently accessible, and safe (police call buttons are located on the bridge).”
OMAHA. A bit surprising. Nicer than anticipated architecturally speaking. A number of homeless milling about downtown. I found a hipster coffee shop, Archetype Coffee. Cool vibes and great coffee. The Durham Museum filled the rest of my day. It is in the old Union Station train depot built in 1931 where my dad likely passed through with thousands of others joining the navy. The special exhibit featured lunch boxes. See if you can find yours.
LINCOLN. I came here as my friend’s daughter was considering attending college here and her husband said it was a very nice city. It is not. Or maybe I missed the nice part but did visit the areas around the college and found one nice block (pic below). Perhaps because it was summer, the homeless outnumbered the students and the heat on cement was unpleasant. I did grab a quick bite and moved on to the north.
VALENTINE. Home of the Niobara River and where I stayed for the night having driven many, many miles that day. I drove briefly to the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge but wanted to get to the Badlands before it was too hot and late in the day so only drove a short distance. The area is quite lovely and suited for fishing and kayaking down the river. This is probably the prettiest area in the state.
