Omaha On My Mind

by Adrienne Wilson on

So it’s Monday and I know all of you are crawling out of your beds or have already crawled into the confines of some cube farm in corporate America somewhere, but I beg you or anyone out there doing the complete opposite to spill the beans on Omaha, Nebraska. It just fell onto my travel radar for the week of October 8th-13th and my knowledge of the Midwestern city is close to zilch. In fact it is zilch. I’ve heard horror stories, well not quite horror, but that there’s nothing there worth sticking around for and if you’re smart you make like tumbleweeds and roll out. However, I’m out to prove that theory wrong.

I’ve been to the VisitOmaha.com site this morning and it sure was purty and all, but I want the real skinny. What’s really hopping? I’m searching for it all – shoestring, budget accommodation, good old fashion eats, shakin’ nightlife, and sweet cultural finds. I want the whole shebang!

Please, anyone out there? Help!

New US National Natural Landmark: Nebraska’s Ashfall Fossil Beds

by Karen Walrond on

National Geographic News is reporting that the U.S. Department of the Interior has designated Nebraska’s Ashfall Fossil Beds a national natural landmark.  The fossil beds, located near the town of Neligh, contain hundreds of fossils, including those of ” five species of horses, three species of camels, barrel-bodied rhinos, saber-toothed deer, several species of dogs, and two species of turtles.”  Like the fossils found in Pompeii, the skeletons of these animals are “preserved in their death positions, complete with evidence of their last meals in their mouths and stomachs.”

 “Many of these animals are subtropical or tropical, which shows how different our environment was in this area 12 million years ago,” said Rick Otto, the superintendent of the park.  “When you look at the fossil bed, you not only have an idea of what these prehistoric animals looked like, but the fact that they’re buried in this pure volcanic ash gives you an idea of the catastrophe that resulted in their death.”