Niobrara St. Park - Memorial Day Weekend '07

This weekend we hit the road and saw some parts of Nebraska we had never seen. We drove north to Niobrara State Park where the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers converge.

This is a panorama of the Missouri River taken from the South Dakota side. The boys were fired up to learn that we were in South Dakota. They have fond memories of our trip to the Black Hills last year.

JP scoped out an awsome campsite that was secluded, out of the wind, and overlooked the Niobrara. We were afraid that we would not be able to find a campsite on Memorial Day weekend, but there were plenty to be had. It's a little different than being around Chicago on a holiday weekend.

Our campsite sat on some bluffs 30 feet above the river. The wind from the east carried bugs over the river and wetlands and then up the bluffs. All day until dusk swarms of Martins and other fly-catchers flew around the campsite and kept the air free of bugs. Too bad they could not eat ticks. On the other hand, if they could eat ticks, that would mean that ticks could fly and that would be nearly as bad as if spiders and scorpions could fly.

We went for a short hike from the campground down to the river. On the way we came across a flag that Lewis & Clark raised.

At the bottom of the bluffs runs a rails-to-trails trail, complete with a bridge over the Niobrara.
Our campsite is in the trees about half-way between the cleared grassy area and the left side of the picture.
This is the view from our campsite. The Niobrara train trail bridge is in the foreground, and the highway bridge to South Dakota is visible in the distance. The main channel of the river ran under the bluffs we were on and we could hear the gurgle of the water - very relaxing.

The park was half short grass prarie and half wooded with a mix of hardwoods and red cedars. It had an out-west feel to it with the cedars and cool dry air.

After our hike, we returned to the campsite and cooked up some dinner. JP started finding ticks on everyone and from there it turned into the beginning of what felt like a horror movie. The boys had ticks, the dog had ticks, the tent had ticks, etc. Bug spray and frontline did not seem to offer any protection. We pulled 30 or so off the dog before bed, but were uneasy letting her in the tent knowing that she still had more in her fur. I went to bed an hour after JP and the kids and was pleased to find the dog sleeping on my pillow when I entered the tent.

Saturday we went for a horse trail ride around the park. The boys enjoyed the independence of being able to ride by themselves. The ride was only an hour, but we sure felt it when we dismounted and then spent 6 hours in the car.