Day 2Experiencing America > Road Trip Year...2004 > A Night in the Sioux Empire > Day 2
Day TWO...
Monday, April 12th, 2004
The sleeping quarters at this Comfort Inn were very good. It was a great night sleep, but for some reason the day started at 4:45 a.m. This gave enough time to have a nice waffle at the hotels personal waffle maker, and then take a drive through the local countryside.
A Sears Dealer Store in Marshalltown, Iowa.
The drive was nice along with the sun-rise, but it's Iowa...there is not much in Iowa. On returning back to the hotel I did discover a combine junk yard behind the hotel.
The Comfort Inn in Colfax, IA.
You always find one gas door open on a trip.Now it was back on the road. Late morning the destination was Council Bluffs, IA-Omaha, NE. Here there were several attractions in the AAA tour book, and local attraction listings that sounded interesting.
The blurry gold dome is the Iowa State Capital.
At Des Monies we could have stayed on the interstate and saw nothing. So we jumped off onto Iowa State Route 44 and ventured across the country side of West-Central Iowa.
A unknown sheriff car.
It's a real road-trip if you have huge crosses.
As said before this is Iowa. The further west you go across the state you get more baren hills and pastures. Not much else. IA St Rt 44 was a moderatly traveled highway. That proved good to do a U-turn to get the biggest atraction of the area. The river flow divide!...
The marker...biggest attraction in the area.
It's KNOD!!!
At IA St Rt 191 we headed south toward Council Bluffs. Once into Potawattamie County we took I-80 the rest of the way into the city. Our first stop was the Dodge House. As the luck of EA is it was not open on Monday's...on closer inspestion of the tour guides nothing was open on Monday.
The Dodge House.
The plaque out front.
Well Council Bluffs had not much to offer so we thought why not try the Nebraska side. Surely Omaha should have something to do.
Now to Nebraska...State #3!!
Just like the last time going to Nebraska it rained. As soon as we passed under the welcome sign the dropps slowly started to fall. We drove out to the western suburbs of Omaha and around to find northing. Evently, we reached the edge of the metro area, and found even more nothing.
Back to State #2!!
Not giving up on Omaha we decided to try there river front. You would think Downtown Omaha would try to do something with there water access on the Missouri River.
Back to State #3!!
We were right. The City of Omaha had a nice river walk set up along the riverfront. It was located on both sides of the I-480/U.S. Rt. 6 Missouri River crossing. Just south of the brige was the Heartland of America park. It had a pond, picnic area, poultry.
The pond.
Some ducks.
Don't forget the swans.
Maybe the Honda wasn't parked properly...
Back to State #2!!
With Omaha being a bust we deccided might as wel head north to Sioux Falls. It's the destination for the night. The direct path to their was straight north on Interstate 29.
A tanker was being pulled from the ditch...
Smoke signals, brush fire, or controled burn??.
A little foreshadowing...
Hope there are no speed-bumps ahead...At Sioux City, Iowa one of the nations shortest interstate highways exists. For our sister site "Roads of the Mid-South & West" we journeyed down it.
Back to State #3!!
This took us through a short journey southwest of South Sioux City, Nebraska. We took a set of local roads around to see that Northeastern Nebraska has the same amount of nothing that Omaha has.
Back to State #2!!
Well in the Sioux City Metro there was nothing in the Nebraska part so we looped to the eastside and went through town. There was not much but your basic business.
Ever see a tire man??
What's a road trip without things on sticks.
Now to South Dakota...State #4!!
This is the first time EA has came to South Dakota. The futher north we got the more of nothing we came across. South Dakota was a plesant nothing. Being it was a noew state we needed a map. So the first stop the welcome center. April is not tourism season in South Dakota. So no maps.
A monument at the rest area.
Now it was on to Sioux Falls. We checked in to the hotel and drove around Sioux Falls to see what the town has to have.
Sioux Falls has one of the nations famous "muffler men".
To kill one task for the next day we headed over to the State of Minnesota to get a map.
Now to Minnesota...State #5!!
Like South Dakota...the toursim center at the rest area was closed...So it was back to Sioux Falls.
Back to State #4!!
After a quick clean up at the hotel it was time for dinner. We drove around Sioux Falls and dinned at a Famous Dave. Then went back to the hotel for the night.
A trapper statue at the exit with I-90 and SD St Rt 115 at Sioux Falls.
Day THREE