September 13-14, 2023 – Fort Robinson, NE

We drove to Chadron, NE on Wednesday to do some grocery shopping.  We also went to a Verizon to see why Rex’s phone kept losing service.  The nice young man at the store was able to fix the problem so now Rex can make and receive calls again.


Thursday, we drove to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, which is about 30 miles south of Harrison, NE.  About 19-20 million years ago drought struck the western Nebraska plains.  Deprived of food, hundreds of animals died around a few shallow water holes.  One of these water holes with hundreds of fossilized skeletons is preserved today in the Niobrara River valley at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.




We stopped at the Visitor Center where they had a very nice display of the different types of animal fossils found here.







Most of the land that is now the national monument was once part of the Agate Springs ranch owned by James and Kate Cook.  James was a frontiersman, hunter, and scout before he settled on the Niobrara River.  He first met Chief Red Cloud in 1874.  Over the years Cook often helped the Oglala and Cheyenne and a friendship grew between the Cook family and the Indians, who brought gifts and told stories about individual items. The family’s collection now belongs to the park, and many are displayed in the museum.



Red Cloud’s wife, Good Road, wore this dress made from three tanned hides.  James Cook received it after Good Road died in 1904.





This painted hide depicts the Battle of Greasy Grass. 







After viewing this remarkable collection, we hiked the 2.7-mile Fossil Hills Trail. The trail crosses the Niobrara River and goes up to University Hill and Carnegie Hill.  These two hills are the site of archeological digs, mostly between 1904 and 1923.  After our hike we ate a picnic lunch in the shaded picnic area.




After lunch we drove back to the entrance and hiked the one mile Daemonelix Trail.  The Daemonelix or “Devils corkscrew” are the distinctive burrows of a small ancient beaver that behaved like modern prairie dogs.

This was a very interesting national monument, and we enjoyed our day here.



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