No Longwood Gardens, July 22, 2010

We stopped today in Omaha, NE, to visit Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha's Botanical gardens. While a pleasant place, we wondered where all the flowers were. Many of the flowering bushes were past prime, but you would think that in the midst of summer, there would still be a lot of flowering going on. What we saw was mostly green grass and common trees, and a rose garden. Our back yard has more flowering going on that this. There was a display that featured the activity of model trains, continually traveling through miniature communities, landscapes and countrysides, a nod to the importance of the railroads to Nebraska.
We took a small trail that purportedly offered expansive views of the gardens. There were many tall trees blocking the view that used to be there. So if you're ever in Omaha, you could probably skip this place.

The afternoon was spent driving through Iowa and part of Illinois. We will spend the night in Joliet.
We are definitely back in the humidity. Back in Utah, we experienced 4% humidity, and my dry eyes were continually irritated. Here in Joliet, the humidity is 77%.