August 5, 2010

August 5, 2010

Our first stop this morning was a half hour west at Niobrara State Park in Nebraska. This park sits on an overlook where the Niobrara River flows into the Missouri. Very pretty. We traveled west across Nebraska along the Outlaw trail (apparently Jesse James came by here). The terrain changes from corn farmland to flat treeless prairie. We pass very few cars along the way. During the drive we stop so Aimee can take a pic of a photographer shooting a sunflower farm.

After several hours we stop in the middle of the prairie and drive four miles down a dirt road to Smith Falls State Park. The contrast couldn’t be greater. Here we come upon a deep tree-lined valley through which the Niobrara National Scenic River flows. It is lush and full of people tubing and canoeing. Where did these people come from? This park is the site of Nebraska’s tallest waterfall at 70 feet high! The Niobrara carves a fertile gorge thru the prairie. Springs fed by the Ogalala aquifer leak out along the canyon wall and cascade into the river. A few miles upstream we make another stop at Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge. There we hike to another spring-fed waterfall. Aimee and I would like to join in the fun and canoe past these sandstone cliffs. Unfortunately we got some bad advice and when we get to the “major” town of Valentine, we find all the float trips start back where we came from. Very odd since half the offices are here.