Arbor Day Foundation & Nebraska Coal Trains

Yesterday was full of surprises as we journeyed from St. Joseph, MO where we camped out at the Rochester Falls Conservation Area. Our trip north along the western border of Missouri saw gentle rolling hills and (unfortunately) BNSF trains hauling empty coal cars north. We could only assume they were heading for the Powder River Basin.

J. Sterling Morton's 52 Room Mansion - The Arbor Lodge

We crossed through the southwestern tip of Iowa and then into Nebraska where we stopped at a local library with a unique history. The Morton-James Public Library  was created with the help of J. Sterling Morton, a staunch capitalist who developed an affinity for trees. We learned that Morton later became the founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. Today, Nebraska City prides itself as being hometown to  the nationally recognized Arbor Day holiday in which people pay homage to that which has been destroyed across most of the country for both agriculture and building materials. Though in many ways we appreciate the work of the Arbor Day Foundation, it seems contradictory to the values and mission of Mr. Morton's economic ideals. In retrospect, the foundation, and the town's fixation upon it, takes on an air of absurdity considering that when Mr. Morton came to Nebraska and made his fortunes, he and other white "settlers" had only just displaced (through terrible violence) the indigenous peoples who once lived there, people who held an absolute appreciation for nature--including the trees.

We at least made use of the park to pull out our cooking gear at a picnic table where we cooked a delicious meal.
 
Our next short stop came in Lincoln, Nebraska where we met a barrage of shopping malls and economic fanfare. We stayed only long enough to resupply on a few odds and ends before making our way westward.

As the weather forecasts continued calling for the possibility of severe thunderstorm throughout the night, we decided to get a hotel along the way. As much as we hoped to avoid the costs (and to shoot for a record of 0 hotel stays for our entire journey), we decided to that it was to big of a risk to take with the kids. --Caution Obvious Hint Ahead-- This morning I dared took look at our budget, and as I feared, its not looking pretty. We are still in need of help through donations. 

As we made our way up Highway 2, we passed train after train loaded with coal from the Powder River Basin. In the town we stayed in, a BNSF coal train roared though every 15 to 20 minutes. The hotel clerk complained of how they sped and were often overloaded, causing many accidents. I thought of the battles that lay before the people of the Pacific Northwest and of the problems that already plague towns like Broken Bow.



Our spirits are still at least marginally high as we know that we are only a few more hours from the Pine Ridge Reservation where we will meet Henry Red Cloud, a friend of a friend and the recipient of Berea College's Service Award for 2014. There we will be attending the Green Business Development training and seeing first hand the work Henry Red Cloud has done with Lakota Solar Enterprises to help the people of his nation.