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Nebraska: Lewis
and Clark, Creating a Family Field Trip.
Getting out and doing as well as
seeing the real stuff is energizing for everyone, which is why field trip days
during the school year are happy days for kids. Organizing a family version
takes a little more time but is definitively worth the effort, add a few real
fossils and it is a trip of a lifetime.
Flowers, bones and Lewis &
Clark. The Corps of Discovery Welcome
Center is located at the intersection of The Lewis & Clark Trail and The Pan
American Highway (US 81). The facility features exhibits about the Missouri
River and the culture and heritage of the area. A dedicated staff of volunteers
provides ongoing programs that are both entertaining and informative. From wild
flowers to fossil bones this facility serves as an excellent resource for a
vacation along the Lewis and Clark Trail. The bookstore has an inventory of
local crafts and books unique to the area. (89705 US Highway 81, Crofton.1
(402)-667-6557 or
www.crofton-ne.com/discover.htm)
First
encounter of the Sioux kind. The
Lewis and Clark Visitor Center was built on a bluff overlooking Lewis and Clark
Lake and Gavins Point Dam, on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River across
from Yankton, South Dakota. The Visitor Center is an ideal place to learn more
about the expedition, the tribes they encountered and the river itself. Near
this site Lewis and Clark met with the Yankton Sioux and as the exhibits explain
there were many discoveries made. There is a 30-minute video presentation about
the entire Lewis and Clark expedition. Adjacent to the Center is a short trail
leading to the Dorian Prairie Garden with a variety of grassland plants labeled
to make identification easy. The Lewis and Clark Recreation Area frames the
Missouri River (Nebraska and South Dakota) upstream from the Visitor Center. The
area offers a full-service marina, sandy beaches, hiking/biking trails and a
paved trail that traces the South Dakota shoreline. (121 Hwy, US Army Corps of
Engineers Gavins Point Dam. 1(402) 667-2546 or
www.nebraskacity.com)
Look for
the vanishing river. Missouri
National Recreational River (administered by The National Park Service) is one
of the longest remnants of the original Missouri River outside of Montana. Based
at Lewis and Clark Visitor Center near Yankton staff members provide useful
information and maps that identify lesser-known Lewis and Clark sites along the
Nebraska and South Dakota border. Rangers conduct daily programs for visitors
during the summer months Topics relate to the Missouri River as well as the
Corps of Discovery encounters unique to the area. (121 Hwy, US Army Corps of
Engineers Gavins Point Dam. 1(402) 667-2550 or
www.nps.gov/mnrr)
Niobrara, fossil hunting made easy. On one of our
cross-country junkets we had the good fortune to discover the Ashfall Fossil
Beds. It is pure bliss for kids that love rocks and dinosaurs and just plain
cool for everyone else.
It is solidly in the not-to-be-missed category.
Ashfall Fossil Beds
State Historical Park.
The complex is a working site with more fossils being unearthed each summer. It
is small in size thus making it easy to see real fossils, touch specimens and
talk with scientists. The science they are doing is real and they are willing to
talk about it. The best thing to do is follow the marked interpretive trail. The
years diminish as the path leads to the excavation sites.
Prehistoric mammals
gathered at this site, once and ancient watering hold. A sudden volcanic
eruption from the Cascade Range brought ash so thick that the animals were
covered before they could escape. Onsite is a visitor center as well as a
working paleontology lab and field office.
Part of the
excavation site known as the “Rhino Barn” is under a roof and protected from
wind and rain. Scientists work under this roof as well as in open areas along
the pathway. One of the most amazing skeletons is of a Rhino that was pregnant.
Both mom and baby may be seen from the viewing platform. Royal. This is really
a surprising place to go with kids. Bonus points: When we were there it
was possible to talk with scientists when they were taking their breaks from
digging. The lab has observation windows. So visitors may watch the whole
process of preserving the fossils or bones found at the site.
Kid's Note: The fossils are so cool. We saw one
just discovered three years ago. It was a Saber -Toothed Deer. There were also
lots of Hornless Rhinos fossils because they died at this watering hole.
1 (402) 893-2000.
Sleeping Places
Not far from there is a
beautiful state park called Niobrara. Located on the bluffs that contain the
Missouri River the facility has both campsites and cabins that are terrific for
families. A bonus for the location, it is also on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Agate Fossil Beds
National Monument. Also worth a look, this monument features one of the richest mammalian fossil
bone beds ever found in the United States. Among the fossils are fossils of such
mammals as Menoceras and Moropus. The dig site is still active,
and paleontologists can sometimes been seen at work. Gering. 1 (308) 668-2211,
www.nps.gov/agfo or
www.ded.state.ne.us
Other good stuff.
Lewis and
Clark Audiotape. A useful
companion on the road the audiotape is available on loan at any of
the South Dakota Information Centers along I-90 and I-29. Listen
to the stories about the Corps of Discovery as you drive the trail. Additionally some
businesses along the trail also sell the tape or you may order one
from the Southeast South Dakota Visitors Association.
1-888-353-7382. The cost is $7.99 plus shipping of $2.50.
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