Poor Sergeant Floyd, 3 Cities/3 States/1 Area (IA, NE, SD)

It rained last night. Yesterday, to prepare for Travel Day today, Kevin put away Ambient Weather station and ham radio antenna in the basement of HOWE (footnote 1). So, I said, if Ambient shows rain… it means the basement of HOWE is flooding. He got a good laugh out of that. Thankfully it wasn’t raining this morning. We got hooked up and stopped in at Blue Beacon for a wash. HOWE was still filthy from the mud in Elkhart, IN. Ah, truck and HOWE are so nice and clean now. Then we headed north leaving Council Bluffs, IA. I-29 is an excellent road and hardly any bumps at all. Very smooth. Yeah Iowa! Along the way are lots of farms and a few trees in the fence rows and a few hills. Nothing changed.

There are 3 towns that are right next to each other, in fact, you can hardly tell where the lines are, except for the Missouri River.  Plus, three different states! Sioux City, Iowa, North Sioux City, South Dakota, and South Sioux City, Nebraska. 😃

Too Early For Campground Check In So We Went To The Grocery Store, Sioux City, IA 06/26

We got to the Scenic Park Campground, South Sioux City, NE, and went into the office. The nice ladies said that someone was still in our site and check out is at 1:00 p.m. None of our paperwork said what time check in is and neither did their website. We were there about 12:15 p.m. We rarely try to check in early but this was the first time we couldn’t get in early. No problem, we went to the grocery store and then to Pizza Ranch for lunch. Back to the campground and got in. It is interesting at this campground – none of the campsites back in to have a Missouri River view. We don’t know why. Our site is concrete with a nice sized pad and picnic table. Kevin can hear the freeway sounds but only in the background.

Kevin & Seaman, Sergeant Floyd Monument, Sioux City, IA 06/26

Sergeant Floyd Monument. Poor guy – he was the only one of the Corps of Discovery to die on the Expedition. And, amazingly, it wasn’t due to injury or anything related to the trip. He died of appendicitis, which he would have died in the “civilized” city anyway. In 1857 the Missouri River had eroded Floyd’s Bluff so much that it was in danger of being destroyed. Citizen moved his remains away from the river. 1900 the corner stone was laid on his birthday and dedicated 1901. You can see the Missouri River right below the bluff.

After work Kevin and I went to Freedom Park for a walking trail. One of the things this park has is a dog park with a statue of a real person and his dog – both were KIA in Iraq. Wide open grass at this park with smaller trees planted in distance spaces. Across the road is corn that is probably as tall as my waist and then thick trees on the other side. There is a air force plane on display and a freedom rock with paintings of a flag and vets. After our walk we went back over and saw a Korean War memorial like in DC, with the soldiers outlined. Further down is a wall that is the exact half scale of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. (We were there in 2024.) I thought that was really special they made this here, not only as a remembrance but for people who can’t travel to DC can see it here and know what it looks like. Very special.

Speaking with my friend, Betty, and her love of Mr & Mrs Lincoln, plus being at his presidential museum a few weeks ago, it got me thinking more about Mary Todd Lincoln. I looked up in the library and found a new book out called, An Inconvenient Widow. It was a long wait time but I had put a hold on it. I had mentioned to Kevin about the book called, Mary Todd Lincoln, A Life. Betty told me this is one of the books a ranger recommended to her when she was visiting Mary Todd Lincoln’s growing up home. That one wasn’t in the library so I asked Kevin if he would add it to Amazon order for whenever he placed an order. Well, he ordered it, with number stickers (for the outside wall), and the part to fix the microwave door latch. It came to the campground office today! Yes, they allow mail and no charge. Wonderful! And, wouldn’t ya know, the library book about her was available to me this very day! HA I thought that was so funny. So, I started the library book, since I will have to return it. It is fascinating and I am very much enjoying it. Learning a lot about her. If I hadn’t already prepared my Sourdough Starter for Deep Dish Taco Squares, it would have been a Hot Tuna Buns night. LOL      Hot Tuna Buns blog post

My friend, Bridget, sent me a pack of patriotic cards she made for me to send out. She likes making cards but doesn’t send them out. I like sending them out so she gives them to me. Perfect! On the back of each one I write, “Made by my friend Bridget.” 

We went to The Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. It is just across the Missouri River from us. Part of the building is a community center with wall displays about the history of the area down the halls. In the museum there is a film but it isn’t captioned and no script (I am deaf). So this place gets an F grade.

One display really grabbed my attention. It lists all the people on the Corps of Discovery with their name, rank/job, and year of birth and death. Then you turn each block and it tells about them on the expedition. Turn the blocks again and you get after the expedition. I was able to photograph each section and I am so happy as I like to know about each person. I can refer back to it when I want. 

Seaman Taking On Bison, Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City, IA 06/26

Outside, Seaman (footnote 2) got his picture. My favorite picture of the whole weekend is Seaman facing off with a bison. Oh my gosh, so cute. Seaman also faced off with a bear and an elk.

Saw The Sign AFTER Seaman Was Riding, Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City, IA 06/26

And then, he “jumped” on top of the elk…just above the sign that says, please don’t climb on sculpture. Kevin and I laughed so hard we had tears. 

Locally Made, Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City, IA 06/26

We walked along the Missouri River path for a little ways and sat on a bench. Next we walked the path to Sergeant Floyd River Museum & Welcome Center. This is on the old boat named Sergeant Floyd. They have a very good film about Lewis & Clark and it was captioned! This place gets an A grade and I thanked them profusely. You can go on all the levels of the boat. Lots of information on every wall. At the gift shop, we got Kevin a “Lewis & Clark 1803-1806 Corps of Discovery” hat. Very nice! We also bought local treats: Sioux City cream soda, orange cream, and Palmer Candy orange slices. 

Tea Towel For Sourdough, Windy Day, Palmer’s Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe, Sioux City, IA 06/26

We drove around and saw the factory and store of Palmer Candy. Of course we had to stop in. They have the bulk candy they make in big boxes and the staff scoop it up for you. I like that very much! Along the edge are a few old fashioned candy making machines. Neat to see. We walked around and I saw a tea towel about US and fireworks. Well, ya know, this Sourdough journey “sure saves money” HAHA and I bought it because I need another tea towel to cover rising dough. The other one I have is from Paula Deen’s Kitchen, which I really like. It says, “The Lady Can Cook!” Then we went home (footnote 3) and read out books outside for awhile. 

*The blog posts are taken from my daily travel journal. Would you believe – it takes me a 1/2 day every week to whittle down a week’s worth of journal so it won’t be too long for the post each week. HAHA Thank you for reading!

1. “HOWE” is what we named our Alliance Avenue 36-ft 5th wheel. See: Home On WhEels and we pronounce it Howie. We live and travel in it full-time around the country. HOWE has stayed at least one night in all 48 continuous U.S. states.

2. Seaman – this is a toy dog we bought at the start of Lewis & Clark Trail. He is like the real dog that Meriwether Lewis had and took on the Trail with him. We thought it would be fun to take pictures of our Seaman as we travel along the Lewis & Clark Trail.

3. “Home” is where we park it. Home is our 2022 Alliance Avenue, 36 ft, 5th wheel.