Location: Follows the Missouri River along the Iowa border Length: 67 miles (107.8 km) Time To Allow: 1.5 hours to 1 day Description/Highlights/Points of Interest The Missouri River parallels the Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway. This major river was the winding road navigated by early traffic and is a source of commerce and recreation today. For centuries, it has fed and shaped the personality of this fertile land. Poet John Neihardt was greatly moved by the river and the spiritual heritage of the Native Americans of the region. His work chronicles and preserves the richness of the Sioux and Omaha Indian cultures. As you venture onto the Lewis and Clark Scenic Byway, you can experience the area first explored by Lewis and Clark in 1804 as early day explorers, trying to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. This heavily wooded, green, lush region of Nebraska is home to two Native American reservations found in the state, the Omaha and the Winnebago nations, and includes some of the earliest settlements found anywhere in Nebraska. Suggested Itinerary Traveling from south to north along the byway, you'll follow the footsteps of explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who traveled the Missouri River on their "Corps of Discovery" to find a route to the Pacific Ocean through the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. They mapped the land as they went, recorded and collected its resources and contacted its native inhabitants. In the summer of 1804, Lewis and Clark traveled through what is now Eastern Nebraska/Western Iowa, including the area on and adjacent to Highway 75. Fort Atkinson State Historical Park in Fort Calhoun commemorates the first and largest military post west of the Missouri River. In 1804, Lewis and Clark met with Native Americans on the "Council Bluff" near the spot where Fort Atkinson was later located. The long promontory overlooking the Missouri River was often a gathering place for Native Americans, fur traders and soldiers. Clark reported that the site was ideal for a military fort. Accordingly, Fort Atkinson was established in 1820 and maintained a garrison of 1,000 soldiers within its walls until it was abandoned in 1827. A park entry permit is required. Three miles (5 km) east of Fort Calhoun is the Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, which offers fishing, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, picnicking and other outdoor enjoyments. Several miles east of Highway 75 on Highway 30 is the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, which is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. DeSoto offers visitors a spectacular up-close view of migrating wildlife from a glass-enclosed observation deck. Each spring and fall, the refuge is a stopover for hundreds of thousands migratory ducks and geese. During typical years, more than a half million snow geese feed on the refuge grounds during their fall migration between the Arctic and Gulf Coast. The Steamboat Bertrand Museum in the DeSoto Refuge has on display thousands of artifacts recovered from the Steamboat Bertrand, which sank on a snag of the Missouri River in 1865. Black Elk-Neihardt Park in Blair is located on the highest hill overlooking Blair, one-half mile off the Lewis & Clark Byway. The park derives its name from Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux Indian chief of whom John G. Neihardt, Nebraska's Poet Laureate in Perpetuity, wrote in his epic "Black Elk Speaks." The park has 1.6 miles (3 km) of paved walking trails with plans underway to add a new stretch that will make the total five miles (8 km) in length. Throughout the park are reminders of the vision of Black Elk, including the Tower of the Four Winds. The tower is a 45-ft (14 m) tall cross featuring a mosaic composed of approximately 50,000 pieces, which depict a messiah figure with outstretched arms. Smaller mosaics are located throughout the park. Black Elk-Neihardt Park is one of three arboretums located in Blair. Thirty-two miles (51 km) west of Blair is the Fremont Dinner Train, where you'll enjoy fine dining as the train winds through 15 miles (24 km) of the scenic Elkhorn River Valley. Mystery train rides, USO shows, dinner theater, wine tasting and seasonal shows are available and reservations required. The Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway extends north and south through the Winnebago Indian Reservation. The Winnebago Tribal Pow Wow is held each July in the village of Winnebago. It is the oldest continuous Pow Wow open to the public in the country. It brings the best in Indian dancing, crafts and foods from many tribes throughout the Midwest. The Winnebago Tribe has also developed a bison (buffalo) herd on the west side of the byway north of Winnebago. An interpretive and visitors center is planned to encourage visitors to stop and observe the herd. An understanding of the cultural importance of the bison to plains tribal culture is a primary focus of maintaining the herd at Winnebago. In Southeast Sioux City, the Sergeant Floyd Monument and Park honors the only U.S. soldier to die on the Lewis & Clark expedition in 1804. Sergeant Charles Floyd was a volunteer engineer on the expedition who became ill and died while the group traveled through this area. The site of his burial is now called Floyd's Bluff and is marked by a 100 ft (30 m) high white stone obelisk overlooking a breathtaking view of the Missouri River. The monument was recognized as the first National Historic Landmark registered by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1960. For additional information about this byway, contact: Lewis and Clark Trail Blair Chamber of Commerce