Council Bluffs, Iowa

While we were stopped in Omaha, we drove over to Council Bluffs, Iowa which happens to be right next door. It's nice to be able to check off the state of Iowa without really having to make a special trip.

Our first stop was Bass Pro Shops. The kids didn't know what to think when they walked in and saw all of the bears, beavers, elk and moose displayed throughout the store. It was really neat to see.

These fish are almost as big as the ones mommy catches.

What else is there to do in Council Bluffs? A quick search on Betty (our GPS) pointed us to the Golden Spike Monument and the Lewis & Clark Memorial.

The Golden Spike Monument

The kids asked us what the golden spike was so I dug deep into the recesses of my American history vault and told them the story about the last spike that connected the railroads in the east to the railroads in the west. Yadda, yadda, yadda. They weren't impressed. They wanted to see the actual golden spike so they could dig it up and sell it. Gee, I bet no one ever thought of that before.

Apparently, there is a little controversy regarding the golden spike monument though. I guess I should say monuments with an "s". We soon discovered as we travelled further west, there is another monument in Strasburg, Colorado and another place in Utah. If on this link if you want to learn more about the "Transcontinental Cover Up."  Who knew?

We also drug the kids (and I mean that literally) to the Lewis & Clark Memorial. They weren't impressed with that either. Go figure.

Kait and Andrew, "Now can we go?"

While we drove through town, what turned out to be a bridge caught our eye. Check it out:

Some guy even said the bridge caused his car accident. One of the locals we talked to said they call it the Sanford & Sons Bridge. Most people don't seem to be big fans of the bridge. I can't imagine why?