The Nebraska Passport event was going to end on October 31st as well as the Park Pursuit so we thought we’d better plan a trip to get the last of our stops made. We had always said that since these last stops were located in northern and western Nebraska that we would probably have to plan on making it a two day trip.
We left early the morning of Tuesday, October 13th and headed north to Smith Falls, our first planned stop. We packed our lunch (PB and J sandwiches with chips) and we arrived at the Falls close to noon. It was nice to sit beside the Niobrara River and eat our sandwiches. There was almost no one around so we got to enjoy the scenery and the sound of the river while we ate.
The weather was perfect so we walked the trail to the falls. The falls were so pretty with the yellow leaves of the trees as the background. Then we took the trail that followed the creek (not far) and found a bridge with another small water fall.
There were two cottonwoods that were so straight and tall so I took Ken’s picture between them to show them off.
We walked a little farther along the River and then we decided it was time to hit the road since we had quite a few stops to make in such a short time.
We drove through Valentine and picked up a couple of Passport stamps then headed West. Along the way we came across the Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge that a scenic outlook. As we drove through the entrance there were a few bison laying in the grass not far from the road. The overlook was beautiful!
Our next stop was Cottowood Lake where we were going to get another one of Ken’s Part Pursuit stamps. As the name implies there were a lot of cottonwoods, beautiful this time of year with the glowing yellow leaves. The water was very clear and Ken brought along our fishing poles so we fished for awhile. Caught a few smaller fish and it was a very nice stop to make on our long trip.
Once on the road again our next planned destination was Chadron to get my stamp at the Marie Sandoz Heritage Center. Again, with Covid we can’t go in but we do a drive-by and get the stamp on my phone. From there we drove out to Toadstool Park. Oh my gosh, the road was so washboard we had to just creep along or we would bounce right off the road. Toadstool is an awesome place, almost like being on a different planet or on the moon.. There was another couple there with their children but for the most part we had the park to ourselves. Another good stop for us to stretch our legs.
It was getting close to 5:00 MT by the time we left Toadstool and we had more roads to travel and places to stop. The Passport stop for the Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center was cancelled because it was closed so we didn’t have to travel to Crawford. Instead we went back to Chadron and headed south to Hemmingford for stamp and then to Alliance where we both had some stops to make. It was dark when we got to town so we drove by the places where my passport stops were and then on to the in-town park for Ken’s stamp. We were hungry and it’s a long way between towns that have drive-thrus or just towns in general on our route so we stopped at the Dairy Queen drive-in before leaving Alliance. They gave us a ton of french fries, which we didn’t finish. Wish there were healthier options, oh well.
Our route then took us down to Scottsbluff for a couple of passport stamps. From there we went to Kimball, Potter and Sidney. It was too late to make any stops in these locations, so we did our drive-by thing for each of them. We were finally finished with both the Nebraska Passport and Park Pursuit Stops. We got them all. Yeah!!
What we had to look forward to next was the long drive home. We made a quick stop for gas in Ogallala. Gas is usually cheaper there and headed home on the Interstate. When we started this trip we decided if we were both tired we would stop at a rest area or park to sleep in the truck for awhile. But with a little caffeine and a few snacks we made it all the way home and climbed into bed about 5:30 AM.
It was a really great adventure for us two old folks. We got to travel roads we had never taken before and we got to see some beautiful Nebraska countryside. We’ve done a lot of Nebraska driving this year. From short half-day trips, like going north when we would leave Fort Calhoun after picking up our bacon for the Cure’s Bacon of the Month Club subscription that Aaron and Kalie got us for Christmas, to our wandering trips through southeast Nebraska and north of Lincoln checking out the different NRD and Nebraska Game and Parks lakes. There is always something different to see and appreciate, Nebraska is so diverse. Hoping Covid will be over soon so we can actually stop and talk with some of the local people when we travel . . . and looking forward to a time when we can travel for more than a day or two.