In October 2013 I took a trip out west by a mix of Megabus, Greyhound, and Amtrak. I stopped in Omaha, Boulder, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and San Francisco before flying home to Cincinnati. Each city will be linked below once I finish uploading the photos. There are higher resolution/more photos in my flickr profile linked in my signature if you're interested.

 

Part I: Omaha, NE

Part II: Boulder, CO

Part III: Amtrak DEN-SLC

Part IV: Salt Lake City, UT

Part V: Amtrak SLC-SAC

Part VI: Sacramento, CA

Part VII: San Francisco, CA

 

Omaha, Nebraska

 

City Population: 421,570

Land Area: 127 square miles

Population Density: 3319 / square mile

Metro Population: 877,110

Nickname: Gateway to the West

 

 

 

 

 

The Gene Leahy Mall runs through the middle of Downtown Omaha, but was unfortunately mostly drained and being rebuilt when I visited. It seemed like a great asset if it was functioning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This statue is pretty iconic in Omaha. A flood in the Missouri River covered all but the hand and hammer shown below. Everything else was underwater.

 

 

I'm just glad I didn't make this trip by car in hopes of going to National Parks. The NPS was shut down because of the federal government's lack of desire to govern.

 

 

I still got to admire the nice landscaping and the beautiful building even if no one was inside to tell me about Lewis and Clark.

 

 

The NPS building sits at the foot of this new pedestrian bridge: The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. It connects Omaha with Council Bluffs, IA.

 

 

Also at the foot of the bridge is a bike share station. Same operators as the new one under construction in Cincinnati. I would actually love a bridge like this connecting the East End/Columbia Tusculum/etc. in Cincinnati with Bellevue and Dayton, Kentucky.

 

 

 

 

This park at the foot of the bridge in Council Bluffs, IA just opened months before I arrived.

 

 

 

Back in Nebraska

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to board the train to Denver and Boulder, CO.

 

 

 

That's my only knowledge about Omaha.

 

Great town!

Looks a little sleepy to me, but perhaps I would like it better in person. Thanks for the pics!

^^Same here, that was a good movie

interdasting. looks bigger than i thought. although i never really thought about it.

Not very cosmopolitan, but I've heard that Omaha has building 15-20 stories underground; that it would be the new capital if US was attacked from the East. No lie!

Thank's for the photographs!  Having never been to Omaha myself, I have one naive question about the "Gene Leahy Mall" presented early on (where all the digging was).  Is this a downtown canal or stream or what (?) and (if so) is it extensive enough to be transformed into Omaha's version of San Antonio's "River Walk"?  Btw, I loved the pedestrian bridge and agree that one like it extending from Cincy's East End/Columbia Tusculum to Bellevue/Dayton, Ky. would be wonderful.  (However, the expense of such a structure would probably be prohibitive.)

I spent a night in Omaha a few years ago on a cross country trip. I really enjoyed it, and it's more "cosmopolitan" than you might think. The area with all the brick streets is an old warehouse area that is now full of bars and breweries. Thanks for the pics.

Not very cosmopolitan, but I've heard that Omaha has building 15-20 stories underground; that it would be the new capital if US was attacked from the East. No lie!

 

Hmmm I've never heard that before. Pretty cool if true.

 

Thank's for the photographs!  Having never been to Omaha myself, I have one naive question about the "Gene Leahy Mall" presented early on (where all the digging was).  Is this a downtown canal or stream or what (?) and (if so) is it extensive enough to be transformed into Omaha's version of San Antonio's "River Walk"?  Btw, I loved the pedestrian bridge and agree that one like it extending from Cincy's East End/Columbia Tusculum to Bellevue/Dayton, Ky. would be wonderful.  (However, the expense of such a structure would probably be prohibitive.)

 

Yes it's an urban stream that covers about six blocks before reaching the "Heartland of America Park" and ultimately dumping into the Missouri River. The actual water level appeared to be sunk below street level (without construction), so it is a somewhat secluded spot in downtown. There definitely weren't any buildings or businesses that directly interacted with the water like it does in San Antonio, though.

 

And Omaha's bridge cost about $22 million, of which $18 million was secured through the federal government. Senator Bob Kerrey got the funding secured. This was before earmarks were essentially banned from federal bills.

 

I spent a night in Omaha a few years ago on a cross country trip. I really enjoyed it, and it's more "cosmopolitan" than you might think. The area with all the brick streets is an old warehouse area that is now full of bars and breweries. Thanks for the pics.

 

Yeah I enjoyed my few days in Omaha. It seems like they have really been doing a lot lately to bring back downtown Omaha.

I found Omaha very cosmopolitan for a city its size.  Nice job.

Thanks for sharing! I've always wondered what Omaha was like...I don't think I've ever really seen photos of it before! Looking forward to the rest of your trip.

I just posted photos from Boulder, Colorado.

 

I was fairly impressed with Omaha. I went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Also, their tourism center had local artists' works for sale (music and visual media). I really liked that idea.

I am from Iowa so have been to Omaha a few times.  It is a neat place and has quite a bit to offer, though it is quite smaller than say the three C's or even Louisville.

 

I wish you would have stopped in Des Moines on your way out there, I would have loved to see your photo tour.  I like Des Moines better than Omaha.  It is a little smaller, but still a decent sized city with a lot to do.