Yesterday was a hot day and we slept very well. This morning I walked across the street for two hot coffees and a Christine favorite, a Bear Claw. We enjoyed our breakfast on the bench in front of our room and soon left in good spirits. 
Just south of Weston Christine found a new trail (another bonus) leading in the way of Council Bluffs.
We crossed a bridge with lovely art work
and the path ended abruptly soon after the bridge.
when we went over the hill, we saw the path extension in the distance on the left. One of the people we met along the road told us that there was a problem with the easement rights, causing the short interruption.
The new route is well sign-posted and forms part of a 22-mile long route we cycled today to get to the pedestrian bridge taking us to Nebraska.
It is used by quite a number of cyclists. Here we are chatting with Carey Jensen. Lisa joined us later and this was quite a lively meeting. We thoroughly enjoyed it and cycled further again impressed with the friendliness and openess of people.
We saw turkeys on a number of accasions, but they were not so friendly - I wonder why??
The Thistles also started blooming. They also did not seem to like us a lot???
And could not cycle past this little library.
The trail around the Iowa School for the Deaf is well improved and runs under many trees.
We had to bypass a short section under construction and joined the trail on this flood protection wall.
We cycled past a coal train bringing coal to the powerstation in the background.
And soon we were in the trees of the Manawa State Park. 
We had to stop to see how this massive excavator loaded sand from a huge stockpile onto tipper trucks. It took two bucketloads to fill the truck and the bulldozer was there to ensure that the loaded truck departs without delay. Other empty trucks were lined up and the next one drove into position while the excavator picked up another bucket-full of sand.
Lake Manawa seems to be used for fishing and other water sport.
We were sad to leave the trees of the State Park and crossed over this bridge 
onto the Indian Creek Trail. This is also a flood barrier running next to the Creek.
We soon reached the Western Historical Trail Center (sadly closed on a Friday) where we saw a beautiful piece of art commemorating Lewis and Clarke's expedition.
The Center also had this interesting wall showing what still lies ahead for the two intrepid cyclists. The Mississippi is on the right of the stone wall, the Pacific is at the distant end with all the mountains in between.
We have not yet seen the Missouri and were getting excited.
First we had to pass under a couple of bridges, this one the I-80
and this one a rail bridge
We could see the skyline of Omaha clearly today. However, it was hot, a full 91 degrees F (34 C).
Christine was wondering when I was in this area???
We passed this tall art work in front of the River's Edge Pavillion and, after a stop to enjoy the lines of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, we cycled across the Missouri to Nebraska.
We saw this interesting boundary line and had to stop for a photo.
What a beautiful bridge. There were many tourists enjoying the design and the sights around the bridge.
We cycled into Omaha and came to this Community Bike Project where my bike got fixed for a donation - so different from other bike shops were the cash register rings loudly.
This lovely mural and the farmer's market is across the street.
The heat tired us out today and we decided to go back to Iowa for a last night. In 1877 a flood on the Missouri cut through a meander of the river and formed an oxbow lake. This part of land was already part of Iowa and the Town of Carter Lake is still the only Iowan Town west of the Missouri. So much to learn and so little time.
The next week will remain hot and we shall see how we handle the heat. If today were a dry run, we shall certainly see shorter periods of cycling and the introduction of longer siestas.
I loved all the photos of artwork, especially the bridge art with stylized tree and birds. The tall statute gave me an idea for recycling foil!
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