Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska

I just returned from a three day teaching conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This trip was a great opportunity to get to know several people from my new school and to see more of Mid-America...corn, corn, and more corn along the highways, as well as lots of those giant windmills (electricity-producing wind turbines)...very cool!
Council Bluffs is on the East bank of the Missouri River across from Omaha, Nebraska. Council Bluffs and Omaha were jumping-off spots, as they were called, for Americans fleeing the economic hardships of the East in favor of free land and opportunity in the West. These emigrants traveled the Missouri River on steamers and got off at these spots. There they spent up to three weeks camping while they purchased necessary items before they hit the trail to Oregon.
There wasn't much to see or do right in the vicinity of the hotel and conference center, except for Bass Pro Shops (which was fun to meander through), a movie theater (we saw Hairspray), and the Horseshoe Casino. I was surprised to find that the slot machines no longer have the handle to pull down and the sound of change clinking into the metal tray is sadly missing....a receipt is now printed (what wasn't missing was the cloud of smoke from so many people puffing away...there were ashtrays in the bathroom stalls!). They also had greyhound racing each afternoon.

We ventured across the river to Omaha, the melting pot of the Midwest and the location of the original riverfront landing site of Lewis and Clark. We spent our time in the historic Old Market which was originally an industrial and warehousing district. It is a very charming place with brick streets, renovated warehouses, horse-drawn carriages, unique shops, and a wide selection of restaurants. The metal canopies in front of the shops and restaurants have wooden flower boxes on top of them. I had never seen this before and found it very interesting and pretty (see in picture behind horse). We relaxed and had drinks at Upstream Brewing Company. We drove by the Heartland of America Fountain with a 300-ft water jet and light show.

This weekend Ian and I are headed to the Twin Cities for the first time. Looking forward to it!

Harmony, MN and Niagara Cave

On the right side you can see what they called 'cave bacon' (lighter in color) coming down the side of the cave.

On Saturday, we traveled south to Harmony (love the name!), the "Biggest Little Town in Southern Minnesota." It's in the heart of Historic Bluff Country, has a population of a little over 1000 people, and has the largest Amish community in the state. It's home to Niagara Cave (http://www.niagaracave.com/), an actively growing limestone cave which was voted one of the top ten caves in the U.S. We went on one of the guided tours to a depth of about 225 feet and saw fossils older than some dinosaurs, a 60 foot waterfall, and a variety of types of stalagmites and stalactites (a way we were told to remember which is which: stalagmites might reach the top some day and stalactites hold tight to the ceiling of the cave). It has a consistent temperature of 48 degrees year round. It was found in the 1920s when a farmer's 3 young pigs went missing. They had fallen in a crevice in a sinkhole. After some exploring, the cave was discovered below the sinkhole. They believe there may be undiscovered caves around under unexplored sinkholes. We were told that there are more sinkholes in that area than anywhere else in the state combined. Fountain, MN, a nearby town, is the "Sinkhole Capital of the U.S.A." They mentioned that if you see a lone tree out in a field around there, it is probably over a sinkhole. They plant them there so that tractors and whatnot don't end up falling in.

Upstairs

Master bedroom

Guest bedroom

Each of the bedrooms has a gable with a window that lets in a nice amount of extra light.

There's also a full bath on the second floor.

Come inside...

View of kitchen from dining room

We especially like the breakfast nook.

View of dining room from living room

View of living room, and Ashfield, from dining room

Our office and a half bath are on the first floor as well.

Hello, Rochester, Minnesota

Here's our new place!







A sun porch for Rosie and Ashfield to sunbathe, hunt for inseccts, and check out the birds, squirrels, and bunnies that rarely come by (they really miss all of the entertainment on our porch in Amherst). Oh, and there's a doggie door and a fenced in yard that is just begging for a dog.




A gigantic garage for all of Ian's bikes and my boxes and boxes and boxes of teaching stuff. The car fits nicely in there, too.

So long for now Amherst, MA...

On Friday, June 29th, after four and a half years at 320 West Street, we headed out of our driveway for the last time.







Ian managed to squeeze every last thing into the moving truck and into our car (except one set of car keys...they are still missing...)