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Dakotas team<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Goodbye Zelienople<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Photography time<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nWe had a pretty long way to go on this first day, across the wide flat mid-western states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The flights were fairly unremarkable and Mike and I shared the flying duties, giving plenty of opportunity for sight-seeing. Juvy had created a sort of nest in the back of the airplane that would be her photography base for the next couple of weeks; after her first big adventure the previous year she had bought a fancy DSLR camera and some lenses to properly document our future travels!<\/p>\n\n\n
Midwest town<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Warsaw Municipal<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>'573 in Indiana<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>A little undercast<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Meandering river<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Rail yard<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nWe barely saw a cloud across the whole of Ohio. In Indiana, we stopped at Warsaw Municipal airport for fuel, before continuing west; we were chasing daylight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our next stop after Warsaw was Clinton Municipal Airport, on the very eastern edge of Iowa. We saw an occasional other aircraft down below us, mostly cruising down low while we were up at around 8,000 feet. We had a slight headwind, typical when heading west, but nothing too frustrating.<\/p>\n\n\n As evening drew in, we droned across Iowa towards the setting sun. We were stopping for the night in Council Bluffs, Iowa; right on the border with Omaha. We were stopping here because it was convenient for our first tourist destination of Omaha, Nebraska; home of the world famous Omaha Zoo.<\/p>\n\n\n We touched down at Council Bluffs where our rental car was waiting for us, and drove across the state line into the center of Omaha. Juvy had arranged a hotel suite for us using points from work travel; it had two bed rooms, and a couch in the main room that could be slept on! Perfect for the three of us. <\/p>\n\n\n The gel ear seal on my headset had leaked all over my head during the day, so I took it with me to the hotel, having bought a new set of ear seals at an FBO, to try and work out how to replace them. After settling in to the hotel, and reading a local news article all about an unfortunate penis self-mutilation, we headed out for dinner at a nearby brewery and grill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nebraska is not well known for tourism. What is does offer, however, is the Omaha Zoo. TripAdvisor rated it the “World’s Best Zoo” in 2014, so we were keen to check it out! It first opened in 1894, and within 4 years had more than 120 animals. These days it is one of the prime tourist destinations in the country, and features several notable exhibits such as a 42,000 square foot desert dome, an enormous indoor rain forest, and a large “Gorilla Valley”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We spent most of the day exploring the zoo and the many impressive exhibits. Several of them were under construction, upgrading them ready for new animal arrivals or just better conditions for the ones already there. <\/p>\n\n\nFarms and wind turbines<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Industry in Illinois<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Mississippi River<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>On the ground in Clinton<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Clinton, Iowa<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Fields of Iowa<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nDes Moines<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sunset<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Approaching Council Bluffs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nMy room<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Juvy's bed!<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Local news<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Dinner in Omaha<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Juvy's evening drinks<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>American-size dessert<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\nDowntown Omaha<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Butterfly house<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Butterfly house<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Fruit bat<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The rain forest<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Tapirs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Monkeys<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Very flat turtles<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Wise old monkey<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nQuack quack<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Reptile house<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Parrot<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Tree frog<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Desert dome<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Free-range peacocks<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Penguin house<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Aquarium<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Aquarium<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sea worms<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Seals playing<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Prairie Dog<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Lemur<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Lemurs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Free-range birds<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Pink bird<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Tall bird<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>White bird<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Lazy gorilla<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>