June 8, 2011
We were up bright and early to take advantage of an empty shower house. Wilma improvised a shower curtain for a little privacy. This campsite was not one of our favorites! We went up the road about 30 miles to a Forest Service camp with picnic grounds. Had breakfast there, but the wind had returned so we ate inside. Betty scouted out the local bathhouse, and said it was really nice. The campground sites were big time nicer. Wish we had side by side pictures of where we stayed and where we should have stayed! Even Athos asked why we hadn’t stayed at the Forest Service camp instead, although he did get to paddle around the small lake at the Springs! Ask him about that one!
Driving through the sand hills and the marshes of Valentine National Wildlife Refuge was very pretty. We planned to stop in Valentine at the National Parks office to get a stamp for the Niobrara Scenic River. It is an office, not a VC, but it was open and we did get a stamp.
They sent us down the road about five miles to Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, and we got more stamps there.
From there we did some roadmobiling north. We made a stop for fuel and propane. The gent who filled our bottle asked where we were from, and during the course of the conversation we told him that this corner of Nebraska was very interesting. He replied,”It is , but we don’t advertise.” From there we crossed into South Dakota, and continued on until we stopped at a rest area on I90 for some lunch.
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| Inside, talking with the Parks Service employees |
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| Athos and Barney at the Very Small office |
They sent us down the road about five miles to Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, and we got more stamps there.
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| At the "real" VC |
From there we did some roadmobiling north. We made a stop for fuel and propane. The gent who filled our bottle asked where we were from, and during the course of the conversation we told him that this corner of Nebraska was very interesting. He replied,”It is , but we don’t advertise.” From there we crossed into South Dakota, and continued on until we stopped at a rest area on I90 for some lunch.
Rolling on down the road, we got to exit 131, and sure enough, behind the Conoco station was a Parks trailer serving as a VC for the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. It was just about to close for the day, but there were a number of visitors, so they graciously stayed and showed the video.
We got our stamps and took off for the Badlands.
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| Athos, Barney, Fred and Wilma at the Minuteman trailer |
We got our stamps and took off for the Badlands.
The hills just inside the East entrance are spectacular. We watched the video and got our stamps at the VC, and are tucked into the campground for the night. The wind is still blowing hard enough that a boy from a neighboring camper is flying a kite. We will explore more of the Badlands tomorrow.
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