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| Scotts Bluff |
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| Burrowing Owl |
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| Great sky |
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| The prettiest time in the Grasslands |
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| The Colorado State bird |
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| This is a female |
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| Sparrows can be tricky |
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| Common on the western plains |
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| Cattle coexist with nature |
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| There are lots of legal target shooting sites off the dirt track |
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| I love these guys |
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| The ample Grasshoppers and Locusts make great meals |
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| Dinner! |
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| A big treat |
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| Hard to see them coming and going |
Although the blind gave us access ...
... it was clear the Owls knew we were there. Mama chided us from time to time.
Still, it was a fun morning and a great chance to see these fascinating birds.
Plus, we got a visit from a Black-Tailed Jackrabbit.
After the session in the blind, we grabbed some more pictures of other Burrowing Owls in the area ...
... and then set off to explore around the Grassland. Because it was now mid-day, we didn't think we'd see any Swift Foxes or Badgers.
We stopped in Crow Valley (one of the few areas with a toilet!) and saw a few birds, including a juvenile American Robin ...
... and a really cute House Wren ...
As we drove east towards the other part of Pawnee, we noticed that Scotts Bluff National Monument wasn't too far away (in Stevens miles), so we decided to skip the rest of the Grassland and head to Nebraska.
When we were almost to Scotts Bluff, we started passing a series of bluffs and rock formations that foreshadowed what we would see. One had a huge raptor nest, but we never figured out whether it was an Eagle's or something else.
Scotts Bluff doesn't fit in the mental picture most people have of Nebraska. It comprises a string of very impressive sandstone bluffs rising high above the North Platte River. It ain't flat! In fact, the local Native Americans had called it Me-a-pa-te, which means "the hill that is hard to go around."
The area was a gathering place for fur traders, missionaries and military expeditions during the 1830s. Beginning in 1841, settlers passed by Scotts Bluff on their way west on the Oregon Trail. Wagon trains used the bluff as a major landmark for navigation. The trail passed through Mitchell Pass, a gap in the bluffs flanked by two large cliffs.
Although the route through Mitchell Pass was tortuous and hazardous, many emigrants preferred this route to following the North Platte river bottom on the north side of the bluff. Passage through Mitchell Pass became a significant milestone for many wagon trains on their way westward. Scotts Bluffs very clearly communicated that travelers were done with the plains and were getting ready to cross the Rockies.
In one of its first engineering deployments, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a smoother road through Mitchell Pass in the early 1850s. Use of the Oregon Trail tapered off in 1869 after the trail was superseded by the completion of the transcontinental railroad.
Since the Oregon Trail computer game was a favorite of my girls, Caty was thrilled to see another real life embodiment of landmarks from the game.
It's a very pretty -- and small -- park with nice roads up to the top of the bluff (through three tunnels built in n the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps).
Scotts Bluff is probably not a destination in itself, but its a great place to stop if you are in western Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming or northeastern Colorado. It has a small Oregon Trail museum and a number of hiking trails.
Ruts from the Oregon Trail are still visible in places.
Note about the name: There has always been some disagreement whether it is Scott's Bluff or Scotts Bluff. A 1843 map labeled the feature Scott's Bluff (with an apostrophe). Another early military map of Nebraska and the Dakotas published in 1875 dropped the apostrophe. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name was spelled with and without an apostrophe. In a final decision by the United States Board on Geographical Names rendered on June 11, 1941, the name Scotts Bluff (without an apostrophe) was officially adopted.
Following our visit, we decided to drive just a little further east to go to Chimney Rock National Historic Site, another iconic Oregon Trail landmark.
Not to be confused with the million or so other chimney rocks in the nation, this one rises nearly 300 feet above the surrounding North Platte River valley and is visible for many miles from the east. For those slogging across the plains along the Oregon Trail, it clearly said, "you are making progress."
Based on sketches, paintings, written accounts and an 1897 photograph, Chimney Rock was taller when it was first seen by settlers, but has been reduced in height since then by erosion and lightning.
The official Nebraska quarter features a covered wagon headed west past Chimney Rock, memorializing Nebraska's role in westward migration.
We arrived just before the Visitor Center closed and photographed as the sun started to set.
It was a long drive back to Fort Collins, but a fun day with wildlife, history and three states!
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| Looking at us |
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| The babies didn't care; she did |
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| Watching for parents from the burrow |
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| Much more muscular than a Cottontail |
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| Taking off |
We stopped in Crow Valley (one of the few areas with a toilet!) and saw a few birds, including a juvenile American Robin ...
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| Juveniles are actually prettier than the adults |
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| A House Wren in its house |
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| What the heck, let's go to Nebraska |
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| I suspect Golden Eagle |
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| Aptly named |
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| The other side |
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| From the top |
Since the Oregon Trail computer game was a favorite of my girls, Caty was thrilled to see another real life embodiment of landmarks from the game.
It's a very pretty -- and small -- park with nice roads up to the top of the bluff (through three tunnels built in n the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps).
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| The route |
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| This trail was closed because of a rock fall |
Note about the name: There has always been some disagreement whether it is Scott's Bluff or Scotts Bluff. A 1843 map labeled the feature Scott's Bluff (with an apostrophe). Another early military map of Nebraska and the Dakotas published in 1875 dropped the apostrophe. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name was spelled with and without an apostrophe. In a final decision by the United States Board on Geographical Names rendered on June 11, 1941, the name Scotts Bluff (without an apostrophe) was officially adopted.
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| No apostrophe |
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| Our next destination in the distance |
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| A beacon of sorts |
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| Chimney Rock |
We arrived just before the Visitor Center closed and photographed as the sun started to set.
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| Day's end |
Trip date: June 26, 2016
Enjoyed the trip!
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