July 2

Will need to wait until the 3rd to add comments… long day today.

Let’s see, July 2 was Sunday. That means the very long day, covering five parks. The Covered Wagon Motel In Lusk, WY had a wonderful breakfast to start the day. One hour later I was walking around the grounds at Fort Laramie NHS. Looking at the restored buildings along Officers Row, I could tell this was one elegant outpost. The fort was also the largest in the Northern Plains, until it was decommissioned in 1890. Though the complex began as a private enterprise, to trade for furs, the military eventually took control. As with such situations, the fort was built near a river, the North Platte. The famous “Old Army Bridge” was built over the river in 1875 to improve travel/access between Cheyenne, Fort Laramie, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Gold Rush up by Rapid City required Army support to keep the peace. There are plenty of ruins around the complex, including the Infantry Barracks (the Cavalry Barricks is the only enlisted man’s structure which still stands today… see photo in Daily Trip Report). The park was preparing for a July 4 reenactment. Canvass tents were raised in front of the Cavalry Barricks.

A one-hour drive had me at Scotts Bluff NMon. This has a connection with Fort Laramie in that wagon trains for the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, as well as the Pony Express, traversed the Mitchell Pass on the southside of the North Platte River, as well as the rougher route on the northside of the river. With Scotts Bluff standing 800 feet above the river, and with no other surrounding landmarks, the emigrants could easily navigate from Chimney Rock (23 miles to the southeast) to Fort Laramie. CCC and other groups built a road to the top of the bluff, for easy access by vehicles. Hikers can use the Saddle Rock Trail to reach the summit. It was great to see the park’s VC reopened. My previous two visits saw a temporary trailer being used.

In less than one hour I was entering Agate Fossil Beds NMon. The park protects the fossils and beds of extinct Miocene mammals. Until the discovery in 1905 only fragments of these creatures had been found, with no one knowing exactly what they looked like. Gazelle-camels (two feet tall), ancient beavers, three-toed rhinoceroses, and ancestors to the modern horse (which died out millions of years ago before the Spanish reintroduced horses to the New World) are found in the park. The Lakota Sioux were residents of this area. James Cook came to this valley, determined to form a ranch. His lifelong friendship with the Lakota is the cultural experience preserved by the park. Cook’s collection of Lakota artifacts is displayed in the VC, including a lovely “Winter Count” buffalo hide. With only two trails in the park, I chose to take the one which I had not experienced in prior visits, the Daemonelix Trail. I almost paid no attention to the rattlesnake warning signs. I have yet to see a rattler on this Quest. Visitors are asked not to leave the marked trail, so the only up-close view I had of a Daemonelix fossil was at one cliff where the NPS had placed a plexiglass casing (see photo in Daily Trip Report) around the fragile earth.

Three hours later the Niobrara National Scenic River VC was welcoming me. Ranger Lela suggested I go to Smith Falls in order to access the river. The park boundary starts at the bridge on US 20, but that is east of town (Valentine, NE), and I was headed to Yankton, SD, via route NE 12. Smith Falls State Park is off route 12. Perfect. Plenty of other people had the same idea. There were plenty of places to launch canoes, rafts, and kayaks along the banks in the state park. The gravel road from route 12 to the park was acceptable. From the parking lot one has to walk a quarter mile to reach the Niobrara River. Since I needed to touch the water, I compared the two banks. Everyone seemed to be on the other side. The county had moved the historic Verdigre Bridge to this park to help with visitors getting to the other side (which is where the falls is located). I crossed, went down to the water, touched the H2O, and recorded my GPS location. Lela had said the NPS is only responsible for the water in the river, not the adjacent lands, which are privately owned. But if one looks at the NPS Boundary map, these private lands are within the national park boundary. This is a common situation in many parks. Regardless, I made sure to get wet.

The Missouri National Recreation River has two sections; upstream and downstream. Fort Randall Dam is the farthest upstream point in the park, running down to the town of Niobrara. The bottom portion goes from Yankton to Ponca. The two parts make for 100 miles of unhindered water flow. The Missouri is the longest river in the United States (yes, longer than the Great Mississippi), so it should have consideration for portions being included in the NPS. Near Niobrara is a monument dedicated to those who died of a band of Mormon travelers who came through the area in 1846-1847. The park boundary was extended to cover this spot. This section of road brought back some memories. Elizabeth and I drove through here in 1995 while on our honeymoon. The shack where we ate lunch still stands. By the time I reached Yankton the sun was setting. If there had been anyone out on the water earlier, they were now gone. Being that this is the Missouri River, Lewis and Clark paddled by here on their epic journey. There are multiple VCs up and down the river honoring their achievement. One of the best is at Gavin Point Dam, about 6 miles west of Yankton, on the NE side of the river. This VC is not within the park, but it is worth a stop. Another great stop is the VC in Great Falls, MT.