Fast Forward

Alright.  I think the last posted ended in Nebraska, but I’m not sure which trip to Nebraska that was, so I guess all I’ve got for you is a little summary until we catch up to the present.

We went to a wedding in August in Indiana, very beautiful and lovely! 

[This is going to be a horrid summary since my memory is so bad, bare with me!]

And then we maybe met in Nebraska one more time…I think so. 

Okay, I’m confused!  Thank heavens for date catalogued pictures!  Ryan already posted about snake-filled Scotts Bluff, so that’s what that picture is from, and it’s after the August Wedding…Timewarp!

Before Halloween, or maybe early October, Ryan flew up and I picked up him at the Rapid City Regional Airport and we headed back to Kansas via Colorado.  I did my usually falling asleep performance right after Hot Springs and woke up in my usual place of Lusk.  I’m still not 100% sure of what that stretch of highway looks like!

We had a very nice visit in Colorado with the family.  I had been there a week before for a funeral for my great grandmother, who passed away at the age of 103. 

We made it back to Kansas.  And maybe went back to Colorado again? Maybe not?  But we did go to Indiana for Thanksgiving, I believe, and then Ryan’s family came for a visit before Christmas. 

Ryan started applying to NWS jobs when Burlington, VT opened up.  It was grouped with Charleston, SC and Wilmington, OH.  He had the option of applying to all three cities, but decided Burlington would be the safest bet, Charleston would be a shot in the dark since it was on the coast and warm, and Wilmington wasn’t a good fit because it looked like there was nothing there for me to do. 

So, he didn’t get Burlington like he thought he would, but instead he received a call from this place:

So we are in Charleston, SC now!  We’ve not explored a ton since we just arrived here, but we have hiked one trail and walked a couple beaches and a wee bit downtown.  Maybe the next post I’ll cover some of that!  Thanks for visiting!

Nebraska Part 2

Our trip south back to Scottsbluff, Nebraska was uneventful.  Saw some great countryside once again and watched a few storm clouds try to develop but fail, and that was about it.  However, we made it to Scottsbluff about an hour and a half before dusk, giving us just enough time to hike around Scotts Bluff National Monument.  (I just learned this two days ago: Did you know Theodore Roosevelt was the first President given the right to declare land National Monuments?  It was part of the Antiquities Act which was written to protect land of significant cultural or scientific value….primarily ancient Native American ruins.  The law allowed a President to declare a National Monument with the stroke of a pen, without any oversight.  Roosevelt loved nature and history and quickly took advantage of the new law declaring National Monuments throughout the country, primarily in the west.  The largest…The Grand Canyon.)

Anywho, Scotts Bluff National Monument is a small ‘park’ situated just outside of Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  The park contains many bluffs with sheer cliffs made out of sandstone.  A road has been constructed so you can easily drive up to the top to see the view, but sadly it closed at 4:30 pm and it was already close to 6.  However a nice 1.5 mile paved trail was also constructed, including a tunnel through the cliff face, which we took advantage of.  The park was only open until dusk, and there was a gate that we were afraid they would lock, so we were only able to hike one mile up the trail, but it was definitely worth it, primarily because of what we found along the trail.

Only a couple hundred feet up the trail Shaina was taking pictures of the cliffs and grasslands surrounding the area when she looked up ahead and asked me what was in the trail.  I said a stick…trying to be positive…but of course it wasn’t.  Instead, as Shaina guessed, it was a Prairie Rattlesnake stretched out across the trail.  Shaina sprinted towards the snake, running as fast as she could, to take pictures from less than 10 feet away.  The snake of course got pissed off and started to rattle its tail but slowly slithered away into the grass.

I don’t like snakes, never really have.  I don’t have a need to kill them, I just don’t want to be around them, especially poisonous ones.  I remember when I was a kid I used to allow Garter Snakes to crawl around in my clothes, but that was when I was young and naïve.  Now things have changed.  And now that there were obvious rattle snakes on the trail I had to keep my eyes open.  And believe me, I needed to!

We climbed up about a mile up the trail to the tunnel and looked out the other side.  We took a few pictures and noticed how many people had rubbed their fingers into the sandstone cliffs actually creating deep finger marks.  It is amazing how these cliffs haven’t disintegrated through the years.  If all you have to do is rub the cliff for a minute or two and you create a one inch gash, why can’t rain wash them away?  Amazing.

And then it was time to walk back, primarily because it was getting dark and we didn’t want to walk the 3 hour drive back to the hotel if our car got locked in the parking lot.  About 1/4^th of the way down again I heard that familiar question: “Ryan, whats that?”  Oh darn…a HUGE Bullsnake.  Not poisonous, but more aggressive.  Happily it quickly moved off the trail and up the cliff and away. 

But sadly that wasn’t all…only about a quarter mile from the end of the trail another rattler, a young one, across the trail once again.  Shaina walked right up near it and caused it to freeze in fear.  It rattled its rattle and stayed put, not allowing us to get back to the car.  We backed up hoping it would move, and after a good 3-5 minutes it did, turning around but perching itself up on some grass so it could see us.  As Shaina walked past it only rattled, not too upset, but when I past it stood up tall, rattled, and looked straight at me ready to strike!  Lucky for me, I have bullet speed and got buy in no more than a minute…and I was over 5 feet away from it.  So I am gladly here to tell the tale.

The Cliffs were great, Shaina loved em, but I could have gladly done with a little less slithering.  We are hoping to make a trip back to make it to the top in October, but we will have to see how our plans work out.  Only 3.5 more weeks and I will be flying up to South Dakota to meet her for the drive back to Kansas.   I am sure we will have plenty of new stories come November.

Western Nebraska Fun!

Two weeks ago Shaina and I took a trip to western Nebraska. We are currently living in separate states and this was the first time we had seen each other for over a month, so it was great to finally be back together again, even if it was only for a few days. We decided that it would be fun to visit the three primary National Park facilities in the western part of the state; Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Chimney Rock National Historic Site. Each site had its own special features and we made sure to make the most out of each visit. Additionally the road we took into western Nebraska was also the old Pony Express, Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails. So technically we visited 7 National Park entities in one day!

The first real place we visited however was Chimney Rock. As we pulled up Shaina said the one thing she says about every natural or man made landmark, that it looks a lot smaller than she would have expected. But in this case, it really is! Chimney Rock has slowly been shrinking over the years due to erosion and it will only be a matter of time, due to its sandstone, clay and ash structure, until the monument withers to a mound of dirt. However, it still stands tall as a reminder to us of the many people that once followed the Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails and how it inspired them on their trek west.

Chimney Rock’s visitor’s center was fairly nice and the video was informative. The only major problem was the damage to many of the displays. It seems people can’t keep their hands to themselves and now some of the pictures are difficult to see. Shaina and I looked through the visitor’s center, saved a few grasshoppers, took a few pictures, dodged some bees (Ryan), petted some bees (Shaina), and then headed off towards Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

In Scottsbluff we stopped at Target and had a nice lunch at Chilli’s. Then it was off to Agate Fossil Beds 35 miles north. On the way there Shaina took some pictures of the rolling Sand Hills along with some Pronghorn. I think we might have seen 4 cars on our way north. Finally we arrived at the fossil beds, watched the video (I swear it was from 1933…ok, maybe not that old) and then took a 2 mile round trip hike to the fossil beds. The park provided a nice booklet for you to read while on the hike with descriptions which were meant to be read at specific landmarks. I took over the tour and gave Shaina a tour instead of her having to do something she has to do at work. I think she enjoyed it, but you will have to ask her.

Sadly very few fossils are visible at the fossil beds primarily because they have all been excavated. Instead it was a battle to not step on the grasshoppers, which was impossible. Sadly 4 grasshoppers were sacrificed due to our lack of avoiding abilities. However, about 1,000 jumped in front of us during the walk, so I guess it wasn’t too poor an effort. The car did much more damage on the roads.

And here is where this story ends. I know, I know…what about Scotts Bluff National Monument!? Well, that is the best story…so this is called a cliffhanger. So hold on tight, the cliffs are coming.

Hello World!

Well, this is the first post of our new blog.  Shaina and I were married a little over a year and four months ago and we thought this would be a great way to start sharing what we have been up to.  Already we have moved to South Dakota and then to Kansas.  Currently I am working in Wichita, Kansas at WeatherData while Shaina is back up in South Dakota for the summer working at the Badlands National Park.  We are both enjoying our jobs but are looking forward to the Badlands job to be over in October.  Only another month and 10 days to go!

Otherwise we have been meeting up once a month through the summer in different exotic locations including Columbus, Ohio; Fort Wayne and Bloomington, Indiana; Gothenburg and North Platte, Nebraska; and the Black Hills of South Dakota.  This spring and summer we have attended two weddings, dealt with a broken down car in the Badlands, visited 5 National Park Service properties, and seen two tornadoes.  Shaina has been interviewed on CNN and I might have a tornado video on Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel.    All and all it has been a very busy last year!

This blog will hopefully allow you to keep up with our busy lives and see where the future might take us.  In October we will go to Colorado to visit Shaina’s family as well as hike in the mountains.  Later in the next 8 months we will take another trip to Indiana, one to Arkansas, and another to Yellowstone National Park.  And that is only what is planned so far!  Hope you enjoy the blog.

- Ryan