Sunday, August 26, 2018

Calumet Bluff Trail, Gavins Point Dam, Lewis & Clark Vsitor Center - Crofton, Nebraska

August 26 

Today we drove over the border to Nebraska to hike the Calumet Bluff Trail. Lewis & Clark spent time there on their journey. 

On our way into the parking lot, we passed a couple of turkey hens with 5 or 6 young ones. The trail was a moderate hike with a few hills and a creek crossing. Lots of wildflowers along the way as well. We saw quite a few birds as well. 3 Yellow-billed Cuckoos, one of which was young. I was scanning the trees with my binoculars and this huge red gaping mouth came into my sight. The parent was below it on a branch feeding it. Cuckoos don’t sit still very long and are hard to photograph. (or even see clearly) There were quite a few Catbirds, House wrens, Brown Thrashers, Nashville Warblers and a couple of hawks. One was an adult in the forest and the other was a juvenile flying high overhead.

 turkey hens & young (we saw 2 males in the woods




 Nashville Warbler



 makeshift bridge over the little creek
 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

 Yellow-billed Cuckoo
 trail
 House Wren was taking a dirt bath
 Catbird was hanging out with the House Wrens
 House Wren
 view of the dam from the trail
 Broad-winged Hawk

 golf course 



 Broad-winged Hawk - juvenile


 mating insects




 After our hike we went to the Lewis & Clark Visitor Center. Great views of the Dam. It was a very well done Visitor’s center and we watched 3 films. One on the Lewis & Clark expedition, one on the building of the dam and the other on the 4 seasons of the Missouri River. Then, we toured the small museum there.



If you want a refresher course in Lewis & Clark & their Corps of Discovery Expedition: “The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission. The excursion lasted over two years: Along the way they confronted harsh weather, unforgiving terrain, treacherous waters, injuries, starvation, disease and both friendly and hostile Native Americans. Nevertheless, the approximately 8,000-mile journey was deemed a huge success and provided new geographic, ecological and social information about previously uncharted areas of North America.” 







It was lunch time and we went to the Dam Fish Shack which was a food truck, a separate bar, a bait store and an indoor and outdoor seating area. After you order your dam food, they call you up by yelling your dam food is ready or your dam order is ready. Yeah, it didn’t get old. Food was fast and very good. Greg had a Walleye basket and I had a shrimp basket. Both were dam good. 

 Dam Fish Shack
 Dam Bar


We then drove across the Dam and saw it from the other side which put us much closer to it. Lake Yankton is below the dam and Lewis & Clark Lake is above the dam.

 driving across the dam



Then, we wen to the Gavins Point Fish Hatchery and Aquarium. They had about 50 kinds of local freshwater fish and turtles, frogs and toads. We went inside the hatchery, but not much was going on this time of year. Then we walked around the outside ponds. 


 cone flowers

 fish hatchery


 fish ponds

 ducks of some kind....

 Spotted Sandpiper
 there were tons of blue dragonflies
 Cliff Swallows

baby swallow





Tomorrow, we may return to the Calumet Bluff Trail, as it was a pretty nice hike. Then, we get ready to move to our next stop in Greenwood, Nebraska. (near Lincoln)

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