We now resume the TRIP ACROSS AMERICA portion of our adventure…
We retrieved the car from a nearby parking deck and loaded up for the trip west. Our first stop was DRAKE UNIVERSITY on the northwest side of town. We drove around the campus, parked Paula the Impala, and found an open gate to the DRAKE STADIUM, home of the Drake Relays. We met up with one of the grounds keepers who informed us they were hosting the Iowa State Track Meet the next day. The Drake Bulldog Stadium is distinctive in that it has a blue track. Next, we walked through the Drake campus quad to a fountain and refection pool and then returned to the car and I-80 West.
Our next stop was CRACKER BARREL just outside of Des Moines west of town in Clive, IA. Our stop at a Cracker Barrel confirms that we are truly on vacation as this was always a tradition during our family vacations where road trips were involved.
I-80 has an exit for Van Meter, Iowa. This is an especially small town probably a half hour to 45 minutes West of Des Moines. As a Cleveland Indian fan, I was pulled by strong gravitational forces toward Van Meter as it is the home of a former Indian legend and the museum which honors him. That legend is Bob Feller. The museum shares a small brick building with City Hall. I remember reading about the museum in the paper and now we were seeing the Feller/ Cleveland Indians memorbilia. Apparently, Bob had been a good friend of Ted Williams as there were several photos of the two of them long after their playing days had ended. The amazing fact about Feller, other than his opening day no hitter at old White Sox Comiskey Park in 1940 was that he was a major league starter for the Indians at the age of 17! Teare also enjoyed the small museum and we were glad we ventured off the highway for this oasis of Cleveland sports history.
We crossed the Missouri River and the sign read NEBRASKA - our fourth state out of Ohio. Welcome to OMAHA. For some reason, Peyton Manning came to mind… We drove downtown and stopped at the visitor center. We chatted with the guy from the Visitor Center for a while, then headed back to the river and the suspension walking bridge over the river. We walked the bridge to the middle and there was a line which represented the state line between Iowa and Nebraska. We had our picture taken with one foot in each state. It was a pleasant warm day and walking felt great.
Back in the car, we drove past the College Baseball World Series stadium and then explored CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY. You know by now we like to visit colleges... We bid farewell to Omaha and headed for Lincoln. We drove down to Lincoln and we pulled off at NEBRASKA MEMORIAL STADIUM - home of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers Football team. We were surprised to find the complex was visitor-friendly and have a self-guided tour around the facility. The tour included a video of Nebraska Heisman Trophy winners, statues of famous coaches, awards from National Championships and Bowl Games. evolution of the Nebraska uniform, etc. The tour also wound around to the track and field complex which was very impressive as it was framed in by the old columns of a stadium which was never built but now resembles Roman ruins. Perhaps the best part of the tour was the gate which is left open to the public to enter the stadium and walk to an overlook over one of the end zones with a great vantage point of the rest of the stadium. The stadium reminded us of the shoe at Ohio State or Illinois Memorial Stadium - concrete icons of their era and impressive venues.
Afterward, we drove to the State Capitol Building but chose to simply view but not enter as we still had many miles to go before we sleep…
We drove to Kearney, Nebraska via I-80 and stopped at a Pizza Hut for dinner. From Kearney, we drove to North Platte, Nebraska. It was starting to get dark and we spotted owl, deer and coyotes in the fields enroute to our final destination. After a brisk walk, we called it a night and updated the account of the day. Our goal for tomorrow is an ambitious one…organize, breakfast, drive, and arrive in South Denver by lunch time…. better get some rest… We’ll fill you in tommorrow night from Colorado!
Sound like all is going well! Neat to be in two places/states at once! Try four corners sometime! Peace to you both, and Happy Motoring!
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