Western Nebraska trip with the boys (pics)

This last weekend I finally got to take my trip to the western end of the state with the boys, we've been wanting to do it since last summer but haven't been able to for one reason or another. But we finally made it, and it was awesome. We camped along the north Platte the first night, then climbed up courthouse and jailhouse rock, visited chimney rock,and wandered all over Scotts bluff the first day, and camped just south of Scotts bluff. The second day we went to agate fossil beds, and wandered all over toadstool geologic park, abd headed back to the north Platte to camp, and returned home the next day.

Sunrise over the north Platte, and a perfect camp breakfast of coffee and eggs in a bag.



Courthouse and jailhouse rocks....lots of climbing, though we didn't make it to the top of either one. Of course we carved our names into it. Normally I wouldn't condone defacing a natural monument like that, but people climbing as high as they can and carving their names in it is a big part of the history of the place, so I figured it was the appropriate thing to do, to take part in that history.



Chimney rock. You can't get anywhere near it, and at $16 for the three of us, the museum wasn't really worth the cost either. You can pretty much see what you need to see from the road. Good waffle cones nearby though.


Scotts bluff


Camping just south of Scotts bluff....beautiful spot, lots of rocks to climb.




Agate fossil beds...really not a ton to see here, but for me it was the highlight of the trip. It's such isolated country, the solitude was amazing. Something indescribable about sitting on the hill taking in the heat, the sun, the sounds, and the smells, with no people (except the visitor center, but you can pretend they're not there) for miles around. I could have sat at the top of that hill forever. The niobrara river runs through there, but it's basically just a creek there, not much of river.




Toadstool geologic park. Very isolated, very hot,and very moon like. This was the boys favorite. There's a trail of sorts that runs through it, but you can go pretty much wherever you want and clump on whatever you want.





Worked 'em hard every day, they conked out in the truck everywhere we went,and slept hard at night.

Cool scenery out there. My son plays baseball for WNCC in Scottsbluff and I love trips out west.
Hard for me to drive because I keep looking out the side windows for mulies and antelope.
Thanks for sharing the pics!

Great pics!

Way to go dad, I say you will never regret a trip like that!

Looks like excellent trip. Good on you for making the time to get them boys out there. NICE country, by my reckoning.

Jack

Thanks for sharing . . good memories for them

Looks like fun, cool pics.

Nice! Like the truck also

Love it
Grew up in Omaha
Spent many days out west. Total contrast.
Colorado next?

Every Mountain man you ever read about, has been through that valley.


A lot of American history there.

Pair of lucky boys. I wish every American kid got to do stuff like that. good on you.

Great pictures and very interesting country. thanks for sharing

Good times! Love western Nebraska.

Show us some pictures of your old truck.

Yep, being empty and able to see across it not filled with trees or a mountain range is pretty neat. Maybe its just me being a "plainsman"...

Yeah Goose lets see some more of that ride!

Very nice pictures. Took a short jaunt into western Nebraska two years ago when I attended John Graham’s Coyote Days in eastern Wyoming. I would like to go back and spend more time exploring in that area.Your pictures gave me some ideas. Are there any places you missed that you would have liked to visit?

Nice trip Goose. Great geology. Why do I feel like screaming SNAKE ?

Not particularly, but I would have like to spend more time exploring our camping spot at Scottsbluff (cedar canyon wma) and more time at agate. Cedar canyon is a big place, there's lots to see there. There's a few other bug wildlife management areas there with neat geology we didn't visit them because camping isn't allowed at them.

Nothing too special. 1977 f150, rusty but trusty. Fuel injected 5.0 and an AOD, out of an 87 grand marquis.

Plenty of spots for a good cat or yote set. Did you teach them any open country trapping? Why can't you get to chimney rock? I hope the western part of my home state isn't a big park you can only look at!

Some of my fondest memories are hunting in Nebraska with my boys. It goes fast . Great pics

WOW -- did you find the only hill in Nebraska -- JK only been there a few times mostly around valley and zimmatic (center pivots) . I don't think I 've been to Omaha other than when it was white. Great country and great people (out of town), even some in town. Definetely different than what I am used to,

Chimney rock was kind of a disappointment. They won't let you get up to it, and the vistors center is probably half a.milr away, so that's about the closest you can get. Apparently on the west side it's private land and if you find the land owner they'll let you get up to it.

looks like a great trip , thanks for taking us along