Wanderlust in Full Force

(this is part 3 of an ongoing story; you might want to check out part 1 and part 2 first)

Stardate 100177.95... er, um, Sunday, July 31, 8AM. I was awake, and I still had no plans. So, let's just do what Beefy wants and drive west.

This resulted in I-70 towards Kansas City, and I got off the interstate at Boonville to see that area of the Katy Trail, which is one of many former railroad rights-of-way that have been converted to a hiking trail. 

Here, I learned about the town of Franklin, which was the seat of Howard County in the Missouri Territory and the largest town west of St. Louis. Oh wait, you haven't heard of it? It's not on a map? That's because it was destroyed by Missouri River flooding. The last straw was 1828, and those who survived just abandoned what remained and started New Franklin instead. 

A flourishing town used to exist here.

Tall bellflower along the rail trail

I decided to go back into Boonville proper and see what else I could learn about the Katy Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and how the Boone family related to the area. Of course, the first thing I notice is the Isle of Capri Casino, a "stationary boat on the Missouri River" docked at Boonville. I ignored it and followed the Katy Trail to the former Boonville Depot.

The full name of the Katy Trail is the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, or MKT Line. 

I then followed the spur trail over to the lift bridge across the Missouri River. It is currently "permanently" in the raised position. 

Looking at the Missouri River (upstream)

The lift bridge from the current road bridge across the Missouri River

I went over to the Boonville Rivers, Rails & Trails Museum (and Visitor Center) after perusing the bridge. There's a lot of history in the area! From Lewis and Clark making their way up the Missouri River, to Civil War History, to the MKT Railroad, to Will Rogers attending the Kemper Military Academy.... there's a lot going on here. 

The original plans for the MKT railroad lift bridge over the Missouri River

Evidently, before the lift span, there was a pivot bridge for the railroad river crossing, and the lift bridge was designed around 1932. 

A recreation of Lewis and Clark's river boat was present

A door from Kemper Military Academy, from when Will Rogers attended

Boonville was involved in the Civil War from the start (1861) through the bitter end (1864)

From the town proper, I decided to go out to the Boone's Lick State Historic Site to see what that was about, since it was mentioned at the Visitor Center and at the interpretative panels about Franklin that were at the Katy Trail trailhead. It was about fifteen minutes away.

Daniel Boone's sons set up salt extraction here, as did many other pioneer families in the area. Not much remains on the short loop hike. 

Part of the Lower Spring Complex

The lower spring complex would pool the salty water of the spring. The water would be sent to the close by salt furnaces via a sluiceway. There were upper spring complexes too, but not part of this hiking trail.

The salt furnaces were next to this part of the stream

This lump is what remains of the ash pile from the salt furnaces

On the way back up to the parking area, I discovered a veritable forest of tiny pleated mushrooms. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I'd discovered the Smurfs' village. 

There was also a toad in the area. I couldn't get a photo of it with the mushrooms.

Not much else caught my eye as I headed further west along I-70. I decided to stop for the night in Grand Island, Nebraska, which necessitated a shift up to I-80 outside of Kansas City. I pulled into the campground at sunset. 

Sunset in Grand Island, NE

Ursa Major at Grand Island, NE

I was greeted by another toad in the morning. 

I'm assuming it's a different toad since I'm a few hundred miles away from the other one

After a small breakfast and a short stop at a Cabelas in Kearney, Nebraska, I decided to see what was going on at Niobrara Scenic River. Before I got there, however, I entered the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey, where I ended up stopping for a while. 

Outside the ranger station, there was a very noisy cicada that I examined. It sounded and looked different than what I was used to back in Maryland, and Seek (iNaturalist) identified it as a Plains Cicada. The ones here in Maryland are more black and green, with dark eyes. 

Plains cicada

I went up to the Fire Tower so that I could see the surrounding Sand Hills. It was a good choice. 

The inside of the fire tower looks like a time capsule

The Sand Hills cover almost 25% of Nebraska

Niobrara wasn't much further away. The historic Bryan Bridge was one of the first structures I encountered. 

Built in 1932

After stopping by the visitor center in Valentine to say hi to Ranger Perrett, who was part of the #STEAMinthePark Mammoth Cave group, I headed out to Fort Falls to hike around a bit. This section of Niobrara is really a mixture of National Wildlife Refuge and National Park Service Site. 

Fort Falls

Beefy on the banks of the Niobrara River

My final destination for the night would be the Black Hills of South Dakota. I wanted to see sunset at Norbeck Pass again. From Niobrara, it was an easy trip, cutting through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where I briefly stopped for some groceries. I got to the Badlands KOA with plenty of time to check-in, eat a quick dinner, and set up my tent. Then, it was time to head over to the Badlands to see the sun set. 

I stayed until nightfall

A panorama of the sight

As night fell, I started to head back to the campground.

Moon over Badlands

The Badlands are one of those places where you can actually see so many stars when the clouds stay away. It looked a little on the cloudy side, so I didn't think the nightly ranger program would have much to say (like the last time I was there in 2018). I should have gone, because the clouds thinned out and even at the campground, I could see so much. 

I knew I'd be going through the rest of the Badlands in the morning, with little plans after that. Maybe Wind and/or Jewel Cave? Maybe.

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