I write this on Saturday, July 22. We arrived in Omaha yesterday. It has been hot, too hot for me to be comfortable leaving Ollie in a trailer with non-functioning air conditioning for any sustained period during the warm part of the day. Still, it’s not been as hot as it could be – only the upper 80s for highs. The worst is coming over the next several days, with forecasts for Sioux Falls close to 100 by midweek next week. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a small but powerful fan yesterday, and with that I think he will be okay as long as the temp doesn’t go above 90.
From the parts that I’ve seen Omaha is a pretty city. It seems a bit smaller than its 1.5 million population in the metro area. The presence of Union Pacific is strong here, and college baseball as well. Little sign of Warren Buffet, but not sure what I expected there, as the many parts of his empire bear their own name rather than his. There is a beautiful, modern stadium at the north edge of downtown that hosts the College Baseball World Series each year, and just southeast of that an ENORMOUS new (or so it appears), beautiful convention center. The downtown area appears vital and thriving although not very crowded due to the weekend. Unlike St. Louis, it does not appear that large areas of the city have gone to pot. Driving through the near south side early this Saturday afternoon there were many people playing in the water park that is right in the middle of downtown. There’s a strong feeling of higher education here. It’s home to Creighton University, the University of Nebraska – Omaha, College of St. Mary, and Nebraska Methodist College.
Omaha sits on the west bank of the Missouri River, which forms the border between Nebraska and Iowa. One interesting fact I discovered while driving around is that there is actually a small piece of land that belongs to Iowa on the west side of the river just north of downtown Omaha. Apparently the river changed course to the east, cutting off an oxbow of land after the state border was set, leaving a tract of Iowa land surrounded by Nebraska. Making it even more interesting is that it is in an area that is quite built up. I don’t know how many people live in this slice of Iowa, but it makes it necessary for Nebraskans to drive through a neighboring state in order to go to Eppley Airport, the main airport in Omaha.
We are staying at the campground at Cunningham Lake. It is a rather nice, modern campground, and clearly a crowd favorite. There is a limit of two cars per campsite, but this weekend the average is well over that. It’s clear that lots of the folks have come here with their kids with the intention of just hanging out around the camp all weekend. It’s been bustling with activity all day today. The lake is large and sailing and kayaking are popular here. No wi-fi, which makes it feel more primitive than it is. Because of that, This post will likely be delayed until I reach the next stop on my trip.
The group across from me is at least two families, with the adults appearing to be in their late 30s or early 40s. They have among them four little girls and they have introduced them to some colorful language and parental mind games. If you’re going to bring kids to camp, then don’t get mad at them for being kids. The girls seem well behaved but it has not spared them from minor mental abuse from dad and frequent f-bombs from both parents.
I have not met anyone at the campground. This may be because most of my fellow campers are larger family groups and are more self-contained: they are fully occupied and have less need or desire to meet new people along the way.
One nice thing about Omaha is that many of the city parks have a free off-leash area for dogs. Quite a nice benefit. Ollie and I have been to two of them so far. The downside of this municipal munificence is that there are no restrictions at all on who can come in, and so far I have seen several dogs who are not well-socialized and should really not be among other dogs.
I am considering this stop to be a prelude to some of the more interesting areas I am yet to visit. It has given me a chance to learn more about a city with which I was not familiar, and to log a visit to the state of Nebraska, which I have only very lightly touched prior to this. Tomorrow we will go to some wineries and meet more dogs, and I will do some upkeep on my trailer. The road calls Monday morning, and I am hoping that my next stop at Sioux Falls will begin my trip in earnest.