Up and Down the Missouri River

We are not far from the Missouri River and near here is the Lewis and Clark State Park.  It has a replica of the keel boat that Lewis and Clark's expedition of 210 years ago used as they traveled along the river and periodically the powers that be put it in the water and have reenactments. The town we are in, Onawa, is also a location of one of the few known, proven campsites that the expedition stayed at.  The inside interpretive center at the state park was closed so we could only see the keel boat.  Must say that state park is beautiful!  Located on Blue Lake, a lake caused from the flooding of the river.

Replica of the boat Lewis and Clark used

Lewis and Clark State Park - very pretty!

Onawa is also known as having the widest main street in the US so we trekked over to see it, and yep - it's wide.  Could easily have a 4 lane road with a middle turning lane. Haven't figured out why.

Dynamite displays - these two talked and moved!

Today we traveled up to Sioux City, on the Iowa side, to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.  This is the area that the expedition's only fatality happened, Sergeant Floyd died on the outbound journey due to stomach ailment.  Today they recognize his ailment as a burst appendix.  His remains are buried on the bluff overlooking the Missouri River.  This center was very well displayed, well documented, and we are very glad we visited this center.

Floyd's Memorial Marker

After the visit we wanted to visit the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway which runs along the western boundary of Iowa, from Sioux City south to St. Joseph, Missouri.  It is a unique formation that is up to 15 miles wide and 200 miles long, and in places it is at least 60 feet in height. Looks like dunes that are lush with trees, grasses, but at times barren and can see the soil breaking down the cliff.  What is unique is that towards the end of the last ice age, winds picked up the soils, blew them and formed dunes along the ancient waterway that became today's Missouri River.  As we road along the byway and saw the huge dune like hills, noticed on the river side how flat the land was, we could see the ancient formations.  Only other place in the world where the loess soil/dunes are higher is in China.

Loess along roadway

I took the same picture!

Tomorrow we leave Onawa, move about 300 miles closer to a small town called Mt. Pleasant, about 50 miles from the border of Illinois and the Mississippi River.  Will just stay the night then move on to Springfield, Illinois for a few days.