Turns out that Nebraska has waterfalls. You have to go to a 20-mile stretch of the Niobrara but you'll find more than 180 of them.
This one is Smith Falls. We ported our canoe along the riverbank and hiked in to see it. The waterfalls in the Niobrara watershed are unique because of their convex faces, meaning that they bulge outward, which the opposite of what waterfalls usually do. Apparently they're convex because they're spring-fed falls and active year-round, which prevents freeze-thaw action from eroding their faces. Also, the faces are apparently protected by minerals from seeping groundwater and by the growth of algae, diatoms and lichens.
Do you feel like you've walked in on my science lecture/vacation slide show? Yeh, kinda. But I'm cool with that. Class dismissed.
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Really Excited About: http://zooniverse.org
Personal Soundtrack: So Hard by The Dixie Chicks. It's that part, near the end, that starts with "last night you told me you can't remember..." it gets me every time.
I went for a bike ride this morning in the cool, wet air. Decided to go a little retro and try out one of Lincoln's older trails in Pioneers Park.
Wow. The spin and roll of the hills made for a pretty tough ride. Gorgeous but tough. More contemporary bike trails sport a level terrain, slow with any elevation change, abandoned by the railroad lines generally. The whole idea that a person would exercise for fun is a pretty new phenomenon. We've tamed the experience to embrace more riders. But this trail was less welcoming. One built for athletes or thrill-seekers.
Silly as it sounds it was that notion that powered me through the terrain this morning. That I could be considered a thrill-seeker.
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Dinner Lineup: Penne pasta with creamy garlic sauce, steamed asparagus, white beans and tomatoes.
Recent Goodness: A Music Mix from the Lovely Ms. B
Sunday Bike Ride:13.2 miles. (Bison Trail & twice around the Pioneers Park Loop)
Excited About: The EN Thompson forum on World Issues topic this year is Water and Global Security
We ventured to the Nebraska Star Party last week. Spotted a distant galaxy, the planet Neptune, a fuzzy dot of a comet, and the Northern Lights. On Wednesday I got an earful about the role of citizen science aspirations to track variable stars in the night sky (See: AAVSO)
Spent four hours canoeing the Niobrara River. Hiked in to see Smith Falls. Practiced Tai Chi on a quiet outcropping of rocks. Studied fossils. N went swimming every day. We camped out at Merritt Reservoir for the whole week. The stargazing/observation field, crowded with telescopes and hot coffee, was open every evening from dusk until dawn.
Sigh. It was a lovely trip.
Turns out that Nebraska has waterfalls. You have to go to a 20-mile stretch of the Niobrara but you'll find more than 180 of them.
