7/12/16 - Valentine, NE

Today we drove to Valentine, Nebraska and went to Niobrara National Scenic River and Niobrara National Refuge.  We stopped at a refuge overlook and then drove to see Smith Falls, the tallest waterfall in Nebraska.  Then we drove through the Sand Hills to Snake River Falls, the widest waterfall in Nebraska.  We have now seen every National Park, National Historic Site, National Monument, National Scenic River and National Battlefield west of the Mississippi except for one in California. I guess we will have to make another trip to the West Coast and go by there to see it.

It was really cool this morning but it ended up being hot again today.  We went to the Vets Club in downtown Valentine for a beer.  I cooked supper and Jim washed our sheets.  At 9 pm we went for a walk to downtown after the sun started setting and it was cool enough for us to do it.  We walked on part of the Cowboy Trail that goes right by our campground.  This trail is a multi use trail for bikes, horses and walking.  It will be 321 miles long when finished.  It is now 195 miles long and is complete from Norfolk to Valentine.  Most of it is gravel but parts are concrete like the part in the town of Valentine.