Unexpected Discoveries

View from atop Spirit Mound looking toward the Missouri River

I woke up after a second night of not driving past midnight AND getting 8+ hours of sleep. My hope of a rescheduled interview washed away and I decided to take my time getting to Omaha by checking out two spots along the Lewis & Clark expedition.

As I drove to Spirit Mound, I came across a fascinating place called Hub City. It stands at the intersection of two roads and sprung up thanks to an ice house and service station (which Lawrence Welk and his polka band would frequent). There’s an abandoned Swedish town just north which is why Hub City has served a social gathering spot since its origins.

Spirit Mound is a restored prairie with a natural conical uprising of chalk, which many Native American tribes have treated as a sacred spot. Lewis & Clark expedition walked the 8-9 miles distance from the Missouri River at present day Vermillion to see this unusual feature for themselves.

I recorded a binaural five minute video and flew my drone to get some Midwest footage, since it was bound by a corn field, grasslands, and soybeans. Three shots with one stone.

Heading south, I drove through Vermillion, SD and then crossed one of only two sections of the Missouri River that is still in its natural wild state. As I shot more drone footage atop Mulberry Point just across the Nebraska border, I ran into a college fraternity brother and his family.

We all packed up after some social distanced catching up before I made the final portion of the day’s driving to feast on barbecue with my parent’s on their front porch. Four weeks since I last saw them and it felt surreal to think of all the miles I had driven since then that brought me to amazing places meeting fascinating people.

What unexpected discoveries have you made this summer?