Today brought a (relatively) quick day, across the sandhills from Chadron to Valentine. It was a near-perfect, warm spring day for a drive and a few photographs.
I ended the day by visiting Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge a few miles outside of Valentine. There were no elk or bison to be found, as the refuge has been conducting a prescribed burn today. (This is a bit of a funny coincidence, as my job at Fontenelle Forest has had me working on a plan to educate the public and announce prescribed burns on our properties.) Instead, I watched prairie dogs pop in and out of their network of holes in a different part of the refuge for a good long while.
Tomorrow is the long trek back to Omaha, beginning with Nebraska highway 12 across the very northern edge of the state to visit a handful of towns I've yet to visit in my travels. I will post an updated map soon; After this trip I'll be down to less than a dozen towns in the state that I've yet to explore.
Rushville, Nebraska
Cody, Nebraska
Niobrara River near Valentine, Nebraska
Visited: Hay Springs, Rushville, Clinton, Gordon, Merriman, Cody, Nenzel, Kilgore, Crookston, Valentine, and Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska.
Post title: Big Harp - Steady Hand Behind the Wheel