Saddle Up

 August 18, 2024

Hello fellow riders,

Where are you going?  How have you been?

I hope you’ve got some good answers to these and the other usual questions.

As for me, I recently enjoyed a lovely trip out to Fort Robinson State Park in the northwestern part of Nebraska.  I have been out there several times and it’s always fun.  It is nice to get out into a less-populated part of the world and enjoy some peace and natural beauty.  One of my nieces was visiting and she seemed to enjoy the experience, with the exception of our duplex/cabin that had a fly infestation upon our arrival.  Fortunately there were four fly swatters on top of the fridge and, under her enthusiastic leadership, we targeted and terminated with extreme prejudice most of our unwanted winged cabinmates.  The survivors really weren’t too bad because it seemed like they slept at night so there was no infernal buzzing to keep anyone awake (although the fitted sheet that wouldn’t stay firmly attached to my bunk bed mattress was a minor nuisance in this regard).  I waited until we had left the cabin to tell my niece about the classic movies The Fly (1958) and The Fly (1986), both of which are equally great.  I know it's rare, but the equality is exact.

I was pleased to discover the office had some information on hiking and biking trails, which I didn’t recall from previous visits.  There was a big trail map and a smaller guidebook with elevation profiles and short descriptions of each trail.  There were also quite a few families with various types of bikes at the cabins neighboring ours.  Although I didn’t do any hiking or biking, I like the idea and I may try to stop by for a bike ride of some kind later this year as I plan on taking a fall trip out to Colorado.  I hadn’t bothered to bring my bike on this trip because I didn’t remember Ft. Rob being particularly mountain-bike friendly, not to mention that we all rode out together in a mini-van and we didn’t have a lot of extra space.  So, instead of indulging my usual bicycling tendencies, I was looking forward to a lovely horseback ride up into the bluffs - an activity I had enjoyed pretty much every single time I’d visited.  Here are a few representative photos from my Sony ActionCam.

While the horseback ride was great, my niece and step-mom embarked on another activity later that evening that they later said they enjoyed even more.  It was a jeep ride up into the buttes with a personable and knowledgable driver who regaled them with tales of local lore and natural history.    

Speaking of natural history, the Trailside Museum is always a fun place to visit and this trip was no exception.  There is a new superintendent and she was quite friendly and helpful.  Unfortunately the playhouse had to cancel their last four performances due to a Covid outbreak, so we didn’t get to see Spongebob the Musical which I’m told is surprisingly political in nature.  

Although it takes pretty much a full day of driving from Omaha to get there, I highly recommend you stop at this unique park at your earliest convenience.  It is also close to Toadstool Geological Park, with a cool sod house near the parking lot, and the Hudson-Meng Bison Kill site, both of which are also great places to visit.  There’s even a 3-mile trail (the Bison Trail) that connects Toadstool to Hudson-Meng that I hope to explore at some point as well (maybe during that upcoming Colorado trip I mentioned earlier).  

Now that I’m back in Omaha, I intend to get out for some bicycling soon.  Unfortunately it seems like I’ve had to do various things that make it more convenient to drive my trustworthy, oil-burning KIA Rio.  You know how that goes, right?  Wrong?  We’ll all meet up together in the end and trade some stories then, my friend.

Safe and happy travels to you and your loved ones.

BSO