Day #5, Part #2   Robert Leverett
  Sep 01, 2006 12:40 PDT 
ENTS,

Day#5-Part #2:

After leaving the Valentine Wildlife Sanctuary, Monica and I headed
north toward the attractive little town of Valentine. Our ultimate
destination was the Fort Niobrara Wildlife Sanctuary. Rolling northward,
we gazed at the expansive Sand Hills that surrounded us in every
direction. The country looked so spacious. It reminded me of just how
large Nebraska is. The Cornhuskers have 77,421 square miles to move
around in, making Nebraska one of our larger states. To be more precise,
it is ranked #16. It once was ranked 15th, but Michigan is now listed as
larger. How did that happen, you ask? In earlier listings, the areas of
the Great Lakes were not figured into the total areas cited for the
states, nor were the coastal waters included. However, geographers
needed to show the areas of the Great Lakes that fall within the
territorial boundaries or the United States as belonging to the
individual states. So the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York
became instant beneficiaries of the vast acreages of the Great Lakes.
But no state benefited so much as Michigan. The Wolverine State’s area
skyrocketed to 96,810 square miles. It had previously been listed at
slightly over 58,000 square miles, falling just behind Georgia and
Florida. Wisconsin and Florida also made substantial gains by their
adding water acreages. New York made a more modest gain. Small states
like Massachusetts that border the ocean gained significant area at
least as a percentage increase. For instance, as a consequence of adding
the water acreages, Massachusetts leapfrogged both New Hampshire and
Vermont in the total areas quoted. But I have mixed feelings about the
addition of the water. For me, it sems odd to think of Michigan s larger
than Minnesota. Something unnatural about that, huh, Lee?   

Well, back to area statistics for Nebraska. The length of the Cornhusker
State is an impressive 430 miles. Its width is 210. So for those all
important comparison purposes, Nebraska compares favorably to my home
state of Tennessee which has a robust length of 440 miles, but a whimpy
width of 120 miles. The narrow width limits the Volunteer State to an
area of 42,169 square miles. However, what Tennessee loses in total area
relative to Nebraska, it makes up a tiny bit in altitude. Tennessee's
high point is Clingman's Dome in the Smokies at 6,643 feet, while
Nebraska's high point is a nondescript point in the southeastern corner
of the state at 5,424 feet. Win some lose some. But that is not the
real story for the maximum altitude of Nebraska. What is most
interesting about Nebraska's high point is that, in general, altitude
increases gradually from east to west. The increase is so slow that
travelers fail to notice a change at all. Nebraska’s lowest point is in
the extreme east and is 840 feet above sea level. But no mountains are
encountered going westward, just an imperceptible rise. The average slop
is on the order of two tenths of one percent. So, passage across
Nebraska puts one on a very gradual incline, but it is sustained long
enough to a mile above sea level. More than Kansas to the south or the
Dakotas to the north (leaving out the influence of the Black Hills in
South Dakota), Nebraska is the start of the high plains.

I could go on with statistics, because I do love the numbers, but I
would like to point out that I must be careful in doling them out when
in Monica's company. Monica is extremely good with numbers, true to her
professorial status, and she remembers them as well as anyone. But for
Monica, numbers hold limited emotional appeal, so I have learned to
moderate my daily output of ciphers when in her company on our trips.
Monica likes to get to know the soul of a place, to experience its
essence in a gestalt kind of way. The sound of the wind, fragrances
carried on gentle breezes, the interplay of sunlight and shadows, the
far horizon, the enormity of the sky above, muted earth colors here and
bright ones there, sparkles on water, and the familiar songs of birds
combine to induce a reverie in her. She lets go of her cares and merges
with the spirit of the place. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who so
completely merges with the spirit of the land. I could learn much from
her.

After passing through Valentine, we headed out onto the Fort Niobrara
Wildlife Refuge, a 19,000-acre preserve that features gorgeous views,
impressive wildlife, and a bit of American History. After a
distinguished history as a military outpost, Fort Niobrara was converted
to a wildlife refuge on January 11, 1912. Today, a herd of about 350
bison, a few elk, and a growing number of prairie dogs are the wildlife
mainstays. One can drive across rangeland and see buffalo on their
terms. It is the safe way to see these great beasts of the plains. The
bulls can sometimes reach weights of 2,000 pounds and stand 5 to 6 feet
at the shoulder. We got to see part of the herd, although at a distance.

After ogling the buffalo, we headed to Fort Falls, a scenic little
waterfall hidden in a nearby limestone canyon which is cloaked with
old-growth ponderosa pine, juniper, box elder, ash, cherry, and several
other species. The stream making the waterfall drops into the Niobrara
River, a 430-mile long stream in northern Nebraska that heads in Wyoming
and then flows eastward to ultimately join with other small rivers
before dumping into the wide Missouri.

Least we ignore our avian friends, Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge is also
a favored birding spot with over 220 species accounted for of which 93
breed in or near the refuge. I am unsure of how impressive that number
is. Through Monica, I am gradually getting a feel for what represents a
good birding place and what is just run of the mill. However, I gather
from the literature that the Refuge is a pretty hot spot in Nebraska.

A particularly noteworthy feature of the Niobrara River Valley, and of
the Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge in particular, is that it is where
east meets west in terms of plant communities. The shallow canyons of
the Niobrara have served as a refuge for isolated plant communities
dating to the last ice age. The Refuge deserves a lot more time that we
were able to give it. But our time had run out and we rolled westward on
familiar U.S. 20 toward Chadron, Nebraska and the famous Pine Ridge.

In Wikipedia, the Pine Ridge of Nebraska is described as follows: “The
Pine Ridge is an escarpment between the Niobrara River and the White
River in far northwestern Nebraska (a small section extends into South
Dakota). The high tableland between the rivers has been eroded into a
region of forested buttes, ridges and canyons.” To our south, the light
green of the Sand Hills grasses suddenly gave way to the dark green of
the ponderosas, signaling that we had reached a very different kind of
landscape.

Pine Ridge has many attractions to include scenic views, old military
forts, the Museum of the Fur Trade, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument,
and other wonders. Lingering and exploring the Hills would have required
that we had more time, but because we were on a tight schedule, we could
only cast wistful glances at the dark, ponderosa-covered ridges as we
sped by them. For instance, in the ridges, one can find bighorn sheep,
elk, and mule deer. Such wildlife scenes harken to an earlier time when
the region was truly wild as evidenced by the notorious Fort Robinson
where Lakota war chief Crazy Horse was killed in 1877 and the chief of
the Northern Cheyenne, Dull Knife, led a breakout in 1879 from a
stockade. The U.S. Army wanted to herd the Cheyenne back to Oklahoma to
a miserable, alien reservation. Dull Knife and his people just wanted to
go home to the Yellowstone Country. That was an exceptionally dark
period in our nation’s history.   

It was tempting to for us to turn south, but we were pressing on toward
the Black Hills. So at Chadron, we turned northward and in short order
were in South Dakota. The grasses on both sides of the road appeared
shorter. The land was drying out. We were in short grass prairie country
where buffalo grass dominates. Ah yes, buffalo grass. Buffalo grass is a
western mainstay. It is extremely important to the dry, short grass
prairie because it is drought resistant. It develops well on sites that
receive from 10 to 25 inches of moisture per year. It does not grow well
in shade. It is resistant to overgrazing and retains its nutritional
value after curing on the stem. Its golden brown color in the late
summer and fall is most pleasing to the eye and it holds on to that
color when lawn grasses have greened up. Its range is northeastward to
Minnesota and Wisconsin and southward through Illinois and eventually to
Louisiana. It is established westward to Nevada. The range maps show
separate populations in Georgia and Virginia. Buffalo grass is way
cool.    

As we approached the Black Hills of South Dakota, I pumped Monica as
full of statistics as I could get away with. The distant outline of
sharp granite spires signaled that we were approaching the end of the
Great Plains and were about to enter a mix of mountains and high plains.
The Black Hills are one of my spiritual homes and there was much to
share with Monica. But the hour was late so we chose to rein it in the
delightful little town of Hot Springs. It was hotter than blazes, so I
was thankful for a motel with air conditioning. Camping would have to be
postponed for another day. We had a simple picnic meal at a table in
front of the motel as Monica gazed at the pine-covered ridges. Some of
the pines showed characteristics of great age and the vast majority had
been living when Custer met his demise on the Little Bighorn River in
Montana. That was a goodly distance away, but it was the discovery of
gold in the Black Hills that set up that historic confrontation, of
which more will be said later.

I’ll stop at the eastern edge of the Black Hills and pick up the trip
into the interior of the Hills on Day #6.

Bob


Robert T. Leverett
Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society