Sarah Lynn's Nature's Splendor: Photos of Labor Day Trip to Smith Falls and Nebraska National Forest at Halsey

Today we took an excursion into the Sandhills. We left home at 8:00 a.m., and the countryside was covered with a misty fog... so ethereal and pretty.

In Albion. See anything wrong with the words painted above this mural?

Editors and Proofreaders of the World, UNTIE!

Approaching Spalding, Nebraska

Near Ericson, Nebraska

In Taylor, Nebraska. These old-time silhouettes popped up all over the place.

No, that's not a real cowboy on the post -- just another silhouette.

We are on the wrong road, heading north on 183 from Taylor to Bassett instead of Rte. 91 from Taylor to Brewster, but nobody will notice until we get to Bassett. Larry had intended to go to the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey.

Windmills are short to preserve them from the high winds in the Sandhills.

We decide, since we are nearly there anyway, to continue on to Smith Falls. Since that's where I wanted to go in the first place, Larry of course accuses me of deliberately leading him astray. Or at least not telling him when I knew he was going astray. :-D

Soldier beetle on goldenrod

Canada thistle

Victoria, Larry -- it's a BSD (Bug-Swatting Day)

Female Melissa Blue (Plebejus melissa)

Larry, Victoria -- high-stepping over the Buffalobur Nightshade (which everyone mistakenly calls 'cocklebur' around these parts)

I refuse to attempt to identify grasshoppers, as there are over 11,000 known species on earth, and it would be just my luck (which I don't believe in, but can't think how better to state it) to have taken photos of some species not yet identified. Besides, looking at close-ups of grasshoppers is not my favorite thing to do.

Yellow wild asters

Red sumac

Male bluetail damselfly

wild Concord grapes (and yes, they tasted good)

wild Concord grapes

Juniper

Juniper berries

Goldenrod -- Nebraska's state flower

mud dauber

Paper wasp

Gray hairstreak

BOO! -- Yellow jacket meets Gray hairstreak

Yellow jacket

The Gray hairstreak decides it is high time to take wing and leave the pollen to the Yellow jacket.

mud dauber

Double-banded Scoliid wasp (Scolia bicincta) on goldenrod

Our Jeep Commander with kayak and four-wheeler

acorns on oak tree

This information is from Nebraska Public Power District's website:

Nebraska’s first wind-energy generation facility was constructed in 1998 west of Springview, Neb. After 10 years of operation, the 1.5 megawatt facility was decommissioned and sold, primarily due to the lack of spare parts needed to keep the turbines operational. In 2011, the facility figuratively rose up again as Blue Stem LLC, installed two, 1.5 megawatt direct-drive wind turbines, a new technology that NPPD will be looking at for future possible use, at the site.

Heading toward Smith Falls

Smith Falls State Park

The historic Verdigris Bridge

Sarah Lynn on the historic Verdigris Bridge

At 70 feet high, Smith Falls is Nebraska's tallest waterfall.

Victoria sat on a walk bridge with her water-filter bottle... I cooled my feet in the cold water of the little waterfall below.

Bull snake, about 5 feet long. They are nonvenomous.

Red-Shouldered Bug (Jadera haematoloma), also known as the Golden Rain Tree bug. Nymph at top left. The adult bug does not appear to be fully mature, as its wings are quite short. Probably first and second generations of this season.

Niobrara River

Loose dog... friendly little guy. We caught its leash and waited for its owners to catch up, which made poor pup look even more chagrined than he was born doing. Looks like a white or golden Lab mix. Several mixed ancestors, most likely.

Back: Four-tusked elephant jaw

Front: Rhinoceros tailbone, four-tusked elephant tooth, petrified wood

Middle: Rhinoceros arm bone

(Arm?? Don't blame me; I'm just telling you what those little scribbled paper labels say.)

Front: bison teeth

Rattlesnake rattles

Badger skull and jaw

Deer teeth

Rattles

The world-famous Sandhills Jackalope

The old 148-foot-high train trestle near Valentine, Nebraska, crossing the Niobrara River. It is now part of the Cowboy Trail, used for biking and hiking, which stretches 321 miles from Norfolk to Chadron.