Reports & Photos of Past Field Trips
Voyage of Discovery on the Niobrara River - Summer 2004
By Ann Bonnell, 2nd Vice President ASGD Board of Directors
Thirteen bold, Denver Audubon adventurers joined Ann Bonnell, Jacques and Carolyn Adam for a kayak and discovery trip along the Niobrara River east of Valentine, Nebraska, August 12th through 15th. The weather gods smiled upon the expedition and sent perfect weather culminating in a wind storm after we finished the last day.
Thursday, we got acquainted at breakfast in Hudson on our way out of town. Everyone enjoyed the lunch stop at Buffalo Bill Cody's summer home and park in North Platte . The tour of the museum/home and very large old barn, where all the horses for the Cody show were kept was a treat. From there we headed north across the sandhills to Valentine where we stopped at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge and found Trumpeter Swans, their nest and juveniles at Long Lake. After dinner in Valentine we were off to our "rustic" cabins at Niobrara River Ranch.
Yes, the cabins were log, built in the last year from local timbers. Carpets, hand made log beds, large picture windows and decks with views from the bluff overlooking the Niobrara Valley , put a classy twist on "rustic." The cabins had air conditioning, central heat, washing machines and dryers and satellite TVs with hookups for our digital photographers to play the day's adventures.
On Friday, there was early birdwatching and breakfast on the deck. A Great Blue Heron flew so close that we thought it was going to join us for breakfast. We considered it an omen of a great beginning for the trip. We were quicklky off to Cornell Bridge and put in 14 single kayaks and one double inflatable kayak. Viewing six ecosystems at once on the river is amazing. Ponderosa pines were on the north side of the river facing south and paper birch and linden on the south side of the river facing north. The birds were not as easy to find, as nesting was mostly over and singing was subdued. Our group had eagle eyes and found basking turtles, redstarts, spotted sandpipers, lazuli buntings and many other birds along the way. After take out at Smith Falls , we had a social hour on the deck and then walked to the 75' Smith Falls after a huge dinner to end the day. The sky was full of stars at bedtime.
Saturday included a trip to The Nature Conservancy Niobrara Valley Preserve and a hike along their seven ecosystem trail. Our own bird experts Hugh and Urling Kingery and our botany experts Vickey and Jim Trammell added much to our hike from the river bottom up to the south bluffs of the river with group picture time from the bluff. Vickey helped us find such obscure plants as liverworts along a tributary stream. After lunch at the Preserve we drove to Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge and hiked to Fort Falls and down to the river we had passed by the day before. On the auto tour of the refuge we really enjoyed watching burrowing owls in the prairie dog town and trophy elk with huge racks. We then headed back to the cabins for social hour, dinner and a show on TV of our day's activities.
Sunday, we were up early and put in at Smith Falls for the second day on the river. This day we encountered some of the bigger falls coming in from the south side of the river. We stopped at one near Sharp's landing and hiked up to look down on a lovely cascade. At Connor's rapid Vickey was sure she was going through in the wrong spot, as it had gotten very shallow and she thought she would tip over. As she said, " The kayak just went on through, kind of like gliding on ice, it was a surreal experience." We turned in at Fritz's Island to hike up Stair Step falls, where most of the group ate lunch on an outcrop nearby with a view of the river. Back on the river, a rare sight was a bald eagle adult perched on a sandstone cliff watching kayakers. Another group had stopped to get a better view and as we passed by they began to serenade the bald eagle with "The Star Spangled Banner." It was an outstanding moment on a great river.
Our "Voyage of Discovery" ended after two days and about 25 miles on the Niobrara at Sunny Brook Camp where we were shuttled back to our cabins, said our goodbyes and headed back to Denver , with dark clouds and a weather change looming to the north. Comments from the group included awe of the beautiful Niobrara with all its relict and present ecosystems, the great food prepared by in house chefs Jacques and Carolyn Adam, and the wonderful group of folks that signed up for the trip with so many different fields of expertise and the willingness to share with all. A great group and a super trip!
