Rex and Nancy's Travels - "ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST" - JRR Tolkein

We left Lake McConaughy Friday morning and drove south to Oakley, KS.   Our trip was pleasant with a little wind.   We spent the night at High Plains RV Park outside of Oakley, a nice park but lots of stickers and burs. Saturday, we drove through the state of Kansas and stopped in Liberal for the night.   We stayed at a city park called Arkalon RV Park.   This is a nice small park with a playground and hiking trails.   It was very pleasant evening, and we enjoyed a nice walk with Tacky after dinner. Sunday, we continued south driving through the Oklahoma panhandle and into Texas.   The wind was blowing harder today which made driving more difficult.    We are staying in Canyon, TX at the Palo Duro RV Park.   This is a not so nice RV and mobile home park but will be okay for the few days we are here to visit Palo Duro Canyon.

Thursday morning, we drove to Ash Hollow State Historical Park which got its name from the grove of ash trees that pioneers discovered on their stopover along the Oregon/California/Mormon Trails. We were disappointed when we arrived to find that the visitor center was closed. We hiked a short steep trail down to Ash Hollow Cave which has an interpretative center built over the entrance, but it was also closed.    Archaeological excavations in the area indicate that early man used the area as much as 6,000 years ago. One of the latest groups was the Dismal River People, ancestors of the Plains Apache. We continued down the steep trail to the Ash Hollow Spring Pond.  This was a stopping place for travelers on the Oregon/California/Mormon Trails. Ash Hollow with its water, wood and grass was a welcome relief and travelers usually stopped for a period of rest and refitting. After hiking back up the steep trail we drove across the park to the Stone School House built in 1903.  This rock b

 We left Fort Robinson State Park Sunday morning and drove to Lake McConaughy State Recreational Area near Ogallala, NE.  We are staying in Little Thunder Campground which is a short walk to the lake.  We have a nice shady site but there are a lot of sandburs and stickers we have to keep Tacky away from. Monday morning, we went for a nice long walk on the beach.  Lake McConaughy is known for its white sandy beaches.  People drive and camp on the beaches and there is a big Johnn Deere tractor in the campground parking lot with a phone number to call for a towing service if your vehicle get stuck on the beach.  Lake McConaughy is the largest lake in Nebraska at 35,000 surface acres and 105 miles of shoreline. After lunch we went to the Visitor Center and picked up information on the area.   Tuesday, we drove to Ogallala to do laundry and grocery shopping.   One our evening walk we were stopped by a carload of young adults whose car is stuck in the sand on the beach.   We told them abou

Friday, we drove the Smiley Canyon Scenic Drive in Fort Robinson State Park.   This is a short canyon and where the Park’s bison herd is mostly located.   We drove up and then back down the canyon but did not see any bison.  The views from the canyon were very nice. But we did see some mules – we liked this mare and baby. We found great views of Fort Robinson State Park with bluffs behind. After our drive through Smiley Canyon, we drove to the site of the Red Cloud Agency on the other side of the park. The Red Cloud Agency was established here in 1873 for Chief Red Cloud and his Oglala band, as well as for other northern plains Indians, totaling nearly 13,000.  During the Indian war of 1876, the agency served as the center for non-hostiles.  After the treaty ceding the Black Hills to the US was signed here in 1876, and the death of Crazy Horse in 1877, the agency was relocated to the Pine Ridge Agency, Dakota Territory. Standing in the open field where the Red Cloud Agency was locate

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

After hiking the interpretative trail at Toadstool Geologic Park, we drove to High Plains Homestead - an authentic 1880’s village, mercantile and group lodging facility.  We were greeted by the owner; Heather Wolhart and she told us the story of the village. In 1875 fortune seekers started heading to the Black Hills of South Dakota in search of gold.  They could ride the train as far as Sidney, NE.  From there they either walked or rode horseback to South Dakota along the Sidney to Deadwood Trail.  The following year up to 1,500 people a day passed through Sidney and up the trail.  Small villages sprang up all along this trail. When the traffic on the trail dwindled the villages slowly died.   High Plains Homestead sits on the site of one of these villages. A previous owner of the property found 1880s buildings in the area and moved them to his property. We enjoyed looking at both the outside and inside of buildings like this saloon. And the schoolhouse. Rex remembers desks like these

  Toadstool Geologic Park Tuesday morning, we drove about 20 miles north to the site of Toadstool Geologic Park.   When the early French fur traders saw landscapes like these, they coined the term “terres mauvais” or badlands.   This is the beginning of the mile long interpretative trail we hiked. Visitors in the late 1800s labeled the sandstone slabs resting on clay pillars, toadstools and the name stuck.    The trail traveled around several fallen toadstools. More fallen toadstools.                          Lots of interesting formations. We had to do some scrambling over rocks and climbing but the views were worth it.                          Rex and Tacky taking in the views. Tacky taking a rest and thinking it is time to head back to the Jeep – look closely and you can see his tongue hanging out. More formations.   We had a steep climb back down to the parking lot.   It was a very interesting and beautiful hike. Toadstool Geologic Park is in the Oglala National Grasslands and the