Yesterday we decided to take advantage of a beautiful November day and take a drive to the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in western Nebraska. (Click here for a link to the NPS page) It turned out to be a spectacular trip, warm sunny weather, great scenery on the drive, and lots of interesting things to see.
We retraced part of the route we took on our trip last week to Fort Laramie, heading north through Wyoming on 1-25, driving about 50 miles further yesterday before heading east on US 20. As you can see in this picture, a few patches of snow were still around from last week's storm. Temperatures were in the 40s/50s, and it wasn't nearly as windy (or as clear) as it was on our trip last week.
The fossil beds at the monument are located in these two hills, and they contain the bones of many mammels that lived in this area during the Miocene epoch, about 19 million years ago.
The visitor's center has exhibits of excavated and assembled skeletons of many of the animals represented in the fossil beds, along with examples of what the beds actually look like, which are preserved jumbles of bones several feet deep. The skeletons are all quite bizzare-looking, with obvious similarities to modern day mammels, but enough differences to make them instantly look alien.
Here are some representations of what these animals might have looked like, from the brochure handed out at the monument:
After time travelling in the visitor's center, we decided to take a short hike and check out the area's current conditions. These sobering reminders were in evidance throughout the monument:
Good advice when its not too cold or too high for snakes...
We hiked part way up to the fossil hills, on a paved trail that crossed the Niobrara River and its adjoining wetlands.
Niobrara River
another view of the river, with monument service buildings in the distance
The late afternoon sun enhanced the golden tones of the landscape
a landscape full of seeds
and evidence of its residents, like this hoof print (an antelope?)
and this burrow entrance (pocket gopher? or snake?)
and this anthill
Not surprisingly for a warm sunny afternoon, there were clouds of bugs near the river, and lots of birds everywhere. Otherwise we didn't see any wildlife on the trail, including any rattlesnakes, which of course we were keeping an eye out for.
We enjoyed our time at Agate Fossil Beds, but wanted to leave early enough to allow us to make most of the drive (south to I-80) through Nebraska in daylight. The route took us through Scottsbluff, and we wanted to get a look at the area. The entire trip (NE hwys 29 and 71) was gorgeous, and we timed it perfectly, with daylight fading as we got on the interstate and headed for home. Roundtrip, Joe drove about 490 miles yesterday.
NE 29, the road stretching out to the horizon
"Bring me the horizon"
--Captain Jack Sparrow
Took a day trip to Fort Laramie, a National Historic Site north of Cheyenne. 340 miles round trip through absoloubtly gorgeous country on a perfect day weatherwise. Very windy in sections on the way up and back, and quite breezy while we were walking around the fort, but of course we were in Wyoming!
We took I-25N to US Hwy 26 E to the fort, then continued east on 26 to Torrington, where we turned south on US Hwy 85 which took us back to Cheyenne and I-25. The scenery was magnificent, it was a great road trip.
Fort Laramie was interesting. We read a bit about the history before visiting so we would have an idea of the significance of what we were seeing, then spent a few minutes looking at the displays in the visitor's center. Enough of the fort's buildings have been restored to allow easy imagining of how things looked there at different times in the past. Most of the buildings were furnished inside as they would have appeared in different years. Plenty of informational signs everywhere, and everything was very well done. Fort Laramie played different roles at different times which just adds to the interest and significance for the visitor. There are also lots of ruins, some with walls, some just foundations, all interesting to see. And of course the surrounding area, the confluence of two rivers, is also very scenic.
This is the "Army Bridge" across the North Platte river a few miles northwest of the fort. Built by the US Army in 1875 to aid stagecoach travel to the Black Hills
View of the N Platte from the bridge
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Some of the buildings at Fort Laramie:
The old guardhouse (1866), confinement on the bottom floor, office and sleeping quarters for the jailers upstairs.
window
a locked door
the same door, seen from the inside
inside the general confinement area, two small solitary cells behind Joe. No furniture, heat or light provided to prisoners
new guardhouse (1876) with much better conditions for prisoners
Captain's quarters (1870)
the most famous building (and oldest military building in WY) "Old Bedlam" (1849) used as a BOQ and other types of quarters over the years
decorative shingles! Note the lightning rod, all the restored buildings had at least one
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Some views of the scenery and rivers surrounding Fort Laramie:
We totally enjoyed the day and our trip, 5 stars! Hope you enjoyed the pictures
Click here to visit NPS Fort Laramie website
Today is Colorado Day, this year celebrating of 133 years of statehood. One of the traditions of the day is that admission fees to state parks are waived, so we decided it was time to visit a nearby state park, Lory, which has long been on our list of places to investigate. Lory SP is located on the northwest side of Horsetooth Resevoir, and the park entrance is just outside Bellvue. We pass a sign telling us we are 5 miles from Lory whenever we drive up to visit G + M in Bellvue, so we are often reminded of its presence and the fact that we hadn't made it there yet.
So, today was the day, and we had an enjoyable time visiting a very pretty part of Colorado. Lory has a real feeling of being in the foothills, lots of hogbacks, meadows and on the western edge, the very first hills that become (eventually) the Rockies. There is a single unpaved road that runs the length of the park, parallel to Horsetooth, but most of the park is accessed by 12 hiking trails of various lengths and difficulty (most also accomodate bikes and horses), covering a wide variety of terrain. The road provides access to the trailheads, as well as a number of nice picnic areas.
We had planned to spend a couple of hours hiking, but after awhile storm clouds started rolling in and cut our hiking plans short. We could hear thunder and see flashes of lightning in the distance by the time we got back to the car, so we drove around to several different parking areas and pull offs and made do with sightseeing from the car while the storms blew over us. Too much danger from lightning to risk being out in those conditions. After an hour or so we decided the storms would probably continue into the evening, so we headed for home. It was a very enjoyable day.
the storm clouds roll in
The shortest trail in Lory is the Waterfall trail, 1/10th of a mile each way, located just past the park entrance and visitor's center. Most years the waterfall only runs in the spring, but because we have had so much rain this year, it was still going strong when we hiked up today. A very easy, pretty walk, mostly terraced steps and sturdy wooden bridges. We saw a ruby throated hummingbird and a tiny toad near the falls, and some bugs that could walk on water (and who generated giant shadows which made them very visible) in some of the pools below the falls.
Joe at the falls
and, your intrepid blogger
typical view from the road, meadow and hogbacks
coves and inlets of Horsetooth make up the park's eastern boundary--and make for some very scenic views!
I brought my camera hoping to find some flowers to photograph, and I wasn't disappointed. The vegetation was unbelievably lush for early August due to such a wet spring and summer and I managed to find quite a few flowers, interestingly, most were yellow or pink.
a single wild rose, looking just past its prime
sunspots (Gymnolomia multiflora)? or small wild sunflowers??
saw lots of these very tall plants, perhaps common or wooly mullein (Verbascum blattaria)?
prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha)
close up
lacy looking pink flower, possibly blazing star (Laciniaria punctata)
very pretty grass flower
and of course, plenty of my favorites, thistles!
a particularly thorny plant with buds ready to bloom
close up of one of the buds
a different type of pink thistle, with 2 pewter-colored ants climbing on the purple spikes
this one had a beautiful bee with an orange stripe climbing over it
saw lots and lots of these beautiful yellow flowers, no idea what they are
a view of the plant
