Lewis & Clark Trip Day 40: Norfolk, Nebraska (6/16/2021)

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Today was for driving. We meant to stop at Smith Falls, in Nebraska, to break up the day. However, US-83 was closed, not due to construction, but because the dirt/gravel sections caused by construction were too muddy to traverse. There was no official detour and the detour we would have had to make was essentially ninety miles out of the way. Plus, the temperature was up to 105 degrees F.

Star Family Restaurant in Murdo, SD

A South Dakota local food: Chislic/cubed and fried beef
or lamb seasoned with garlic salt (this was sirloin
beef served with a curry sauce dip)

Another local specialty: Indian Taco/ground beef
taco fixings on fried dough

We Easterners might remember test patches of pink asphalt;
if all these roads in Nebraska were done at the same time,
they have outlasted our black asphalt! Actually, quartzite
with iron deposits making it pink, is locally abundant
and used for constructing roads and buildings

Dinner appetizer of fried cheese curds with ranch dressing;
um, like fried mozzarella sticks with a different dip

Who knew Johnny Carson was from Norfolk, NE?
The Johnny Carson Theatre (1992) at the Johnny Carson's
alma mater, Norfolk Senior High School

Although Johnny Carson was born in Iowa, his family moved to Norfolk, NE when he was eight years old.

Section of the Johnny Carson Mural (2014, by Karl Reeder)

Next section of the Johnny Carson Mural

Final section of the Johnny Carson mural

Boyhood home of Johnny Carson at 306 S 13th Street

In 2008, Norfolk, NE established an annual Great American Comedy Festival in tribute to Johnny Carson; however, due to the pandemic, it was canceled in 2020 and 2021.

Rebirth of what looks like a
Juniperus scopulorm/Rocky Mountain
Juniper or Western Red Cedar was
described by Lewis & Clark

It is very difficult to find a definitive list of the plants that the Corps of Discovery Expedition recorded (described), and how many were new to people of European descent ("discovered"). Did they really find 178 plants previously unknown to science? Whatever! Lewis & Clark turned out to have excellent observation skills and from their descriptions, scientists of today can identify all but a couple of the flora recorded.

Next: Lewis & Clark Trip Day 41.