Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Council Bluffs, IA & Lincoln, NE

On the road again Wednesday July 3


Rolling farmland in Iowa.


Interesting bridge in Council Bluffs over many railroad lines.


Lewis and Clark Park


Lewis and Clark had a council with the Indians.....on a bluff!


Overlook the Missouri River.


Council Bluffs,Iowa in the distance.


Union Pacific Museum in Council Bluffs was outstanding.


A little history about the area....these Indian clothes with beading are beautiful. The docent said the Indians traded for the beads. She said they beads were from Italy, Czechoslovakia and Romania. These are the countries that had glass blowing factories.


Indians used eagle feathers for their arrows. To this day, Indians can do that.





Saddle worn by Pony Express riders.





Trails to the West.





Piano and other furnishings from the elegant Transfer Hotel built by Union Pacific.





Lincoln and General Dodge, a Civil War veteran, talk about the building a railroad. Lincoln advocated for railroads since 1830.





A talking picture....several places in the Museum General Dodge talked about the selecting the route and the building of the Union Pacific railroad.


Before building the railroad to reach California's coast people had to go by stagecoach or travel around Cape Horn. Building supplies for the Central Pacific railroad also had to travel around the Horn.


Car used for Lincoln's Funeral Train.


650 foot long bridge built of entirely of wood 150 feet above Dale Creek Canyon.


Several thousand Chinese worked on the Central Pacific railroad. Mandolin and hat. The hat gave protection against rain and sun but kept the wearer cool.


The work was harsh, going thru mountains, building up valleys even thru harsh snowy winters.


Ceremony of the joining of the tracks from the East and the West. "Now the country is really the United States.


Railroads needed to run on a schedule.


In 1883 railroads succeeded in passing Standard Time throughout the U.S.





Powder was used from a Detection kit to mark money. Money could be traced.


Bailey Yard, North Platte, Nebraska has 300 miles of track. 10,000 freight cars pass through daily.


Familiar signs. It takes a train the length of 28 football fields to stop.


Fountain in Veterans Park.





A portion of the Veterans Wall


Very touching.








Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska.


The "Engineer Who Could". Ernest Haight developed an innovative process of time saving methods.








Quilt made of 4,500 tiny squares.























Display of "Quilts in Photos" from 1855 to 1955.




















Perfecting the Past: Colonial Revival Days Display























Civil War U. S. Sanitary Commission reproductions. Northern women made thousands of quilts for soldiers in military hospitals and camps along battle fields.











There are more quilts. I'll add them another day.

We stayed at Walmart in Kearney, NE. We watched the fireworks of four different towns.

What an incredible day. More to discover and learn about tomorrow.
Location:Kearney, NE

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