State #9 Nebraska

We made it to Nebraska but….

just barely made it to our destination. This was the sign we came upon right at our turn into the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Luckily, we were turning right and were able to get into the center.

Apparently, according to the guide at the center, there are numerous of Lewis and Clark centers; each focusing on a different aspect of their expedition. This center focused on their scientific discoveries which was pretty cool.

Lewis and Clark documented over 300 plants and animals that were new to science at that time. Seems a fitting request from a philonist as Thomas Jefferson, who commissioned the expedition. The center also had many hands-on activities that the kids enjoyed.

We walked the Earth Lodge Trail to this Plains Indian earth lodge. These types lodges would House about 20-25 people.

Pee Dee was a beloved prairie dog that used to live at the center.

We also walked the Debrecen Missouri River Overlook Trail down to the river. The water in the foreground was the Missouri River and the water in the background behind those tree (I know it’s hard to see in the picture) is where fields should be.

Mason put a pin on their visitor board. We’re the blue pin.

The had an little scavenger hunt type activity for which the boys received honey sticks for completing. The guide at the center was super nice and gave us some information about some of our future stops (but I don’t want to ruin the surprise about those just yet). She also recommended our next stop, Union Orchard. She said that Nebraska City was the Apple Capital of Nebraska and that we had to try the apple cider doughnuts. Stop right there. No need to say anymore, I was already putting the address into the GPS.

The doughnuts were very good but we all agreed that Our Daily Bread in Ellijay, Georgia still has THE best apple cider doughnuts.

I took lots of pictures of the farms and fields but when I look through them to add to the post, the pictures just don’t do the landscape justice. The past few states have been corn and soybean fields for miles. It’s just flat and green and seems to go on forever. It’s beautiful even if monotonous. I wonder how long this will be our calming scenic view.