Looking into Lincoln

"Go west, young man.." was one of Horace Greeley's famous quotes, and that is just what we did.  We headed west to Lincoln, Nebraska, not looking for a piece of land to plow but rather a RV site.  There were quite a few sites open this time of year at Pawnee Lake State Park.  We had no one in back of us except trees, bushes, and rolling hills.  That is the beauty of having your own rig and traveling this time of the year.  

The only disadvantage to our site was the distance from the Sprint towers that we need for our Wifi access.  We were able to look at email and Facebook, but I couldn't download any pictures at all.  There was no way I could update the blog until we got into a place with better Wifi.  The pictures would have to just sit and wait patiently in my laptop for a few days.  Sigh...

We found out that there isn't much to do in Nebraska, unless you are into football or golf.  The Internet list of "things to do in Lincoln, Nebraska" was small.  The number one attraction was the Capitol building.  So, we headed downtown first thing Monday morning. 

The tall building rises 400 feet above the ground and is the 2nd tallest capitol building in the U.S.  Both Classic and Gothic architecture are reflected in the capitol, which was built during the Great Depression.  Even though money was scarce during this time period, it was paid in full at its completion.

 The building is quite impressive from the outside.  However, once we entered the first floor, I felt like I was in a medieval castle.  The massive walls and dim lighting added to that feeling.  It was so totally different from the Des Moines Capitol building.  Our guide said it was built to last 500 years, and I bet it will last beyond that!  This would be a good place to film a Harry Potter movie.  It has just the right ambiance to it.

I think the elevators are the same ones they installed when they first built the Capitol!  Look how narrow the doors are.  The inside could hold 3 or 4 people, but I felt claustrophobic even with just two of us riding up to the 14th floor.

 Look at the narrow stairways!  They weren't much wider than the elevator!  You sure couldn't get many people down those steps in a fire drill!  After we got to the 14th floor, Don gazed out on to the city below.  Doors to the outer area can be conveniently closed during inclement weather.

The carved doors to the Warner Memorial Room are a stark contrast to the rest of the building.  The Native American theme adorns the 600 pound doors.

Time for some fresh air and sunlight!  Our next stop was the Sunken Gardens, located not far from the center of Lincoln.  For me, it was a sight for sore eyes.  The tour of the Capitol was interesting, but if I had my choice of where to be during the daytime, it would be among all the beautiful flowers, not between massive stone walls.

The multi-colored Koi in the pond were curious and seemed to want my attention each time I got near the edge.  Maybe they just expected me to feed them and wanted to be at the head of the line, so to speak.

Our last sightseeing stop was the Pioneers Park, also in fairly close proximity to downtown Lincoln.  Below is the Prairie Building, primarily used for educating school children.

Nearby was a one room Cunningham schoolhouse, built in the 1930's and used until 1968.  It was moved from near Valparaiso, Nebraska to this location in November, 2009.  I thought it looked quite at home among the tall prairie grasses surrounding it.

 As we approached the building, a group of school children (some dressed in period costumes) were playing a game of Red Rover, Red Rover.  I can remember playing that myself during my childhood days.  This is an excellent way to show our current school children how drastically things have changed.

We took a few minutes to wander through the original classroom, before the temporary teachers herded the group of kids inside.  Wooden desks like these are no longer used, and "smart boards" have replaced blackboards in the classrooms of today.  It brought back memories for both of us, especially Don, who had attended a one room schoolhouse through the 4th grade.  Makes me wonder what the classrooms will look like 30 or 40 years from now.  One can only imagine!