DAY 10 - COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA
May 23, 2014

We left Greenwood, Nebraska and crossed the river into Council Bluffs, Iowa for most of the day.  First stop was the infamous Bird Cage Jail.  It is a rather archaic but effective method of running a jail.  The entire three-story cell area rotated like a bird cage with access to the cells in only one place.  The idea sounds foolproof, but the number and method of escapes say the system was far from secure.  Solitary confinement was indeed solitary.  The typical prisoner was far from typical!

Fun name, not so fun jail!

Finally where they belong.

As we drove from the jail to the Western Historic Trails Center, we passed some magnificent modern art.

Un-describably beautiful - - -Well, at least un-describable.

The Western Historic Trails Center was a very interesting presentation of history relating to the major trails taking settlers to the west.  The people who travelled the trails were truly pioneers.



Timeline of the Oregon Trail.

Where is Delaware?  I know it's here somewhere.

At Tish's Restaurant we celebrated Richard's birthday.  We also met up with our guide for the rest of the day.  She was in costume and in the person of George Shannon, who by record was lost more often and for longer periods than any other member of the Lewis and Clark group.  That is an interesting choice of role model for a guide.  She gave us some interesting information and a perspective of what happened at Council Bluffs.  We also visited a monument to Lewis and Clark that overlooks the Missouri River.



Amazing, he blew out one candle in a single breath. 
Happy Birthday Richard.

It's a French fry for crying out loud.
The pinky is a nice touch, though.



Let's see, George was lost.  I'm not.  Oh, well.  Now where am I?

Last stop of the day was at Boys Town.  The story of Boys Town and the successes it has had are heart rendering.  Our guide was a graduate of Boys Town and he plainly stated "being here saved my life".  In addition to displays showing the history of Boys Town, there were other displays showing connections between Boys Town and famous people.



Lessons for us all.

Signed by famous people.  Baseball by Babe Ruth.

It was a long day, longer than planned.  However, it was a wonderful day worth every minute.



Dudley and Rexine