Bill, Beth, and Matthew's Ramblings: Lincoln, Nebraska

If you recall back to my first post of this trip, part of the reason for the trip was to check off two more states for Matthew - Nebraska and Iowa. Somehow in our earlier travels we've missed these two. I guess when you have wonderlust that's as good a reason as any, yes? Well, once you get to a state you have to do something, so we decided to go to the capitol buildings.

We crossed the Missouri River into Nebraska on Sunday and stayed at an RV camp in Gretna, about half way between Omaha and Lincoln. On Monday we drove to Lincoln. When Nebraska became a state the people living south of the Platte river felt neglected by the people in Omaha who were more or less running things. There was talk of joining Oklahoma, so the Omaha people agreed to move the capital to south of the Platte river, hence it's in Lincoln, along with the U of Nebraska (a fairly recent addition to the big 10).

Here is the Platte River. Impressive.

And some images of the countryside. Nice.

A view as we approached Lincoln. Note the football stadium and the tower (capitol building) in the distance.

And here is the capitol. There is a statue of Lincoln, done by the same artist who did the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. As you see, there is a central tower. The guide mentioned that capitols built in the 20s and 30s followed the art deco style rather than the classical Roman style.

The inside was striking, but rather dark. The guide said that some kids say it looks like Hogwarts (Harry Potter).

Oh, they have a single legislative body rather than two. Cost saving measure. And, like a number of other states we've visited, the senators are part time.

Supreme court chamber. Still being used; they have not moved to a separate building.

Governor's reception room. Yes, his office is through that door, really. Looks like a monastery, maybe, but it is striking. The images on the wall are various historical (religious and philosophical) people.

They take great price in their pioneering and agricultural background.

This statue on the top is called "the sower."

We took an elevator to the viewing platform on the 14th floor. Here are some views. Train yard to the west.

Governor's mansion, right across the street.

After the tour we drove around "Haymarkket Square," an old industrial part of the city. It has been rejuvinated into shops and restaurants. It seems that everywhere we go we can find some place to eat!

The town has a university feel to it. Notice the bicycle lane in the street.

Some other images around the university.

And we went to the Nebraska state history museum. They had displays on cowboys and the settling of the state, including sod houses and so on.

This was interesting. It is a mural, painted by Indians, of a battle in 1720 in this area between the Indians, lead by the French, against a group of Spaniards who where trying to expand their territory.