Following the trails

Friday morning dawned cooler and damp, so we hit one more WMA as we left Kearney for the West.  Good mojo when a covey of quail crosses the road ... spent the next hour chasing them through the woods - never get tired of the sound of gentleman bob flushing from beneath a point!

We then hit the trails west - all of them follow the Platte and North Platte!  Sophia's research made her well-versed in the Who and Why, but actually traveling the river bottom provided valuable insight into the Where and How ... the difficulties in crossing, the gullies where wagons could mire in mud, why the Indians lived and hunted there and were upset when all the pioneers killed or drove out the game.

Chimney Rock was a major landmark for the travelers ... and still is!  But, at the speed they progressed, I can just imagine the frustration pioneer dads felt as they were asked day after day "are we there yet?" when the Rock was in sight but not really any closer!

It really is indescribably cool to have history funneled into a single river valley and to travel along the river, taking it all in.

Culinary note ... sugar beets are an important crop throughout this region and they literally produce mountains of them, then convert them into sweet stuff.  There were a dozen piles of similar or larger size at this facility!  And this is just one plant...

 

 

 

 

While this trip is mostly about history and culture, there are other educational opportunities available, including the physical type.  After walking several fields in tall grass the past two days, it was time for Sophia to get her heart rate up a bit and low-50s at 4,000' elevation will sure do it.

 

Actually, she's more disciplined that I am - she studies Algebra every day and keeps looking up her science stuff while I'm studying habitat and wishing I was Jedidiah Smith!