Day 29 – Sunday 6/26/22

Nebraska City, Nebraska to Council Bluffs, Iowa – 55 Miles

The goal this morning was to reach Missouri City, Iowa. With the forecast for the same wind from the north that had bothered me all day yesterday, I thought an earlier start would get me there in a reasonable time. The college World Series was still on in Omaha, putting hotel rooms on the endangered list, and with no campgrounds listed in the area that made sense geographically, I had a workable plan.

A review of the map the night before showed very few supply options between Nebraska City and 35 miles up the road. So, I spent 20 minutes in the morning pedaling to a store to load up. That four-mile roundtrip led to something I hadn’t planned on. Nebraska City has a Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center that teaches the history of the expedition from their time in the area and overall. As I passed the entrance on my way out of town, they were set to open at 9 and it was 8:56. It would have been pointless to have gone by without a look, so I pulled in. At that time, I was the only customer and had the place to myself for the half-hour I stayed.

After learning a little more about the expedition, I got back on the road. Within minutes I was crossing the river into Iowa.

Most states welcome visitors. Iowa tells them to fasten their seatbelt.

The route ran parallel to I-29 most of the day, so the contrast between back roads and Interstates was always evident.

Percival was the next town, and it was sleepy. That’s a good description for most of the small places I pass through each day. Still, there’s evidence of past activity.

Farming is always popular.

I was trying to get to a town called “Pacific Junction” against another strong wind from the north. The route the Lewis and Clark Trail followed had been blocked with a sign saying, “Road Closed”, which was a problem, along with the gravel surface. All in all, I wasn’t keen on figuring out an alternate route after yesterday’s experience with back road navigation. So, I just kept going as if nothing was wrong. That worked, until it didn’t. Here’s why the road was closed:

After crossing the overpass, I rode a couple of more miles and came upon another “Road Closed” sign. The map said take “Western Avenue” into Bartlett, which I was on. As I approached a large farm maintenance building, Western Avenue faded away in the back lot behind it. The road was gone. Only a rough path continued north but ended against a creek near a railroad bridge.

My options at this point were to take a gravel path toward the nearby Interstate, backtrack and try to find a way around or cross the railroad bridge and hope a train didn’t show up. Since I could see Bartlett a half-mile away, I walked Ishmael across the bridge as fast as I could. I have no idea what they’re doing in Iowa by closing off overpasses and removing roads, but I made it.

Encouraging signs were seen soon after that. I was back on track.

Council Bluffs was 20 miles away against a continuing headwind, after a stop just north of Pacific Junction. From Council Bluffs, the plan was to ride an extra 20 to Missouri City and finish the day.

A massive building about 10 miles out of Council Bluffs had the look of a prison from a distance. Concrete walls with few windows and surrounded by chain-link fences and security cameras on poles. It wasn’t until I got close enough to read the sign “Google” that I realized it was a data center. This is a facility that supports everything that Google does with their search engine and services. It’s a wonder of technology, but also a bit “Big Brother”.

Nice hay bales next to Google.

I arrived in Council Bluffs at 4. When I checked navigation, I found I’d reached the end of Section 1 of the Lewis and Clark Trail and could now bring up map Section 2 for the ride to Missouri Valley. With 20 miles left to go, I’d have another 2 hours of riding ahead of me.

Thinking that the College World Series might be nearing an end, I checked hotel availability when I stopped for a break. Rates were definitely going down, so I decided that Council Bluffs would be it for today. Tomorrow is undecided yet, but a goal for this week is to get as close to South Dakota as I can. Once that happens, I’ll feel like I’m officially in “The West” and can look ahead to seeing unfamiliar territory and what it has to offer.