I've started my new job at Scotts Bluff National Monument and am really excited to live and work here in western Nebraska. There's just so much to do in the region and I can't wait for Noelle and Sierra to get out here with me. First things first, I thought today I had a great opportunity to get out and explore a lesser visited part of the monument: the badlands between the canal and the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
I wasn't sure exactly how to get back there and so I drove Country Club Road to the point where it dead-ends at the monument boundary. I didn't see an obvious way to proceed from that point, so I walked Country Club Road to the point where it crosses the canal on a bridge. I turned left onto the canal, and to my surprise, walked past a few homes on a section of canal road that seems to be a public road.
After a short walk, I came to a gate.
I went around the gate and shortly thereafter came to a sign marking the monument boundary.
Immediately, there were great views of the surrounding badlands.
There were also periodic views out towards the bluff.
I continued to walk the canal road west,
stopping every now and then to admire the views.
I saw a few mule deer along the way, but not much else in the way of wildlife. Then, as I made my way towards the western boundary of the monument, I found very large animal tracks, paw prints, in the mud.
At first I thought they might be mountain lion tracks, but I quickly noticed claw marks. I later learned that some one who lives nearby has a Great Dane, and so I think it was the large dog that made them.
I turned around at the monument boundary and started to make my way back to the car under increasing cloud cover. It was an interesting hike and one I am looking forward to do again with Noelle and Sierra.
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