Rovering and Four-Wheeling The Nebraska Sandhills in June 2014
- Thread starter roverrocks
- Start date
whiskeycutter
Observer
Sandhills
Very nice post. This is a trip I have been planning for years but never take. It's on my list for next spring. What resource did you use to plan your route? I would be happy to use the same route except I will be coming from the east heading west. Thanks for posting all of your great photos and many more happy trails.
Very nice post. This is a trip I have been planning for years but never take. It's on my list for next spring. What resource did you use to plan your route? I would be happy to use the same route except I will be coming from the east heading west. Thanks for posting all of your great photos and many more happy trails.
roverrocks
Expedition Leader
These are what I used.
Attachments
whiskeycutter
Observer
Thanks already started planning !
roverrocks
Expedition Leader
Additional Sandhills Pictures
1)-A Common Snapping Turtle walking on a remote roadway in between wetlands. Made it plain he did not want our company. One of two we saw walking along roads.
2)-Another common snapping turtle observed swimming and feeding in the Niobrara River.
3)-Beautiful Spiderwort flowers which were very common on our trip. Marvelous blue color amidst the green grasses.
4)-A pair of Trumpeter Swans. These magnificent birds nest on the Sandhills lakes.
5)-An Ornate Box Turtle. Common in the Sandhills. Often find themselves trapped on roadways and we always stop and move them off. Occasionally see Blanding's Turtles or Western Painted Turtles in the same trapped predicament.
6)-A Long-Billed Curlew. Fairly common in the Sandhills nesting in the prairie grasses. Rather territorial and they often screeched at us as we passed by. Amazing birds. One often sees another shorebird nesting in the Sandhills far from water called the Prairie Plover but we got no good pictures. Lots of Killdeer as well.
7)-Another Curlew picture set against the ever-present windmills. The Oglala Aquifer underlies the whole region so water is very easy to drill for.
8)-Blowout Penstemon which is rare and endangered in the Sandhills requiring the loose sands of once numerous blowouts in order to exist. The stoppage of fires and more controlled grazing has led to a decline of blowouts which have their own distinctive plant life.
9)-A Western Painted Turtle found trapped on a roadway.
10)-A beautiful Western Painted Turtle found trapped on a roadway.
1)-A Common Snapping Turtle walking on a remote roadway in between wetlands. Made it plain he did not want our company. One of two we saw walking along roads.
2)-Another common snapping turtle observed swimming and feeding in the Niobrara River.
3)-Beautiful Spiderwort flowers which were very common on our trip. Marvelous blue color amidst the green grasses.
4)-A pair of Trumpeter Swans. These magnificent birds nest on the Sandhills lakes.
5)-An Ornate Box Turtle. Common in the Sandhills. Often find themselves trapped on roadways and we always stop and move them off. Occasionally see Blanding's Turtles or Western Painted Turtles in the same trapped predicament.
6)-A Long-Billed Curlew. Fairly common in the Sandhills nesting in the prairie grasses. Rather territorial and they often screeched at us as we passed by. Amazing birds. One often sees another shorebird nesting in the Sandhills far from water called the Prairie Plover but we got no good pictures. Lots of Killdeer as well.
7)-Another Curlew picture set against the ever-present windmills. The Oglala Aquifer underlies the whole region so water is very easy to drill for.
8)-Blowout Penstemon which is rare and endangered in the Sandhills requiring the loose sands of once numerous blowouts in order to exist. The stoppage of fires and more controlled grazing has led to a decline of blowouts which have their own distinctive plant life.
9)-A Western Painted Turtle found trapped on a roadway.
10)-A beautiful Western Painted Turtle found trapped on a roadway.
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roverrocks
Expedition Leader
Additional Sandhills Pictures
1)-A shy colt not straying far from Mom. Many many beautiful horses in the Sandhills as they are the staple of moving cattle here and yon.
2)-Inquisitive calves at a windmill.
3)-A massive bull with cows and calves.
4)-A herd of cattle grazing in the Sandhills. An ever-present sight with the multitude of large well-tended ranches and livestock.
5)-A deer in the bulrushes with a small flock of White Pelicans resting on the far shore. There were nearby Canada Geese and various duck as well. The Sandhills are a prime viewing ground for birders.
6)-Argemone also known as Prickly Poppy adding a splash of color throughout the Sandhills.
7)-Purple Coneflower. A beautiful wildflower.
8)-A yellow Evening Primrose. There are several yellow species plus white species of the Evening Primrose in the Sandhills.
9)-The often common Prairie Coneflower which adds lots of color to the swaying grasses.
10)-The White Prairie Larkspur. Often quite tall and in groups of singular stalks.
1)-A shy colt not straying far from Mom. Many many beautiful horses in the Sandhills as they are the staple of moving cattle here and yon.
2)-Inquisitive calves at a windmill.
3)-A massive bull with cows and calves.
4)-A herd of cattle grazing in the Sandhills. An ever-present sight with the multitude of large well-tended ranches and livestock.
5)-A deer in the bulrushes with a small flock of White Pelicans resting on the far shore. There were nearby Canada Geese and various duck as well. The Sandhills are a prime viewing ground for birders.
6)-Argemone also known as Prickly Poppy adding a splash of color throughout the Sandhills.
7)-Purple Coneflower. A beautiful wildflower.
8)-A yellow Evening Primrose. There are several yellow species plus white species of the Evening Primrose in the Sandhills.
9)-The often common Prairie Coneflower which adds lots of color to the swaying grasses.
10)-The White Prairie Larkspur. Often quite tall and in groups of singular stalks.
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More maps
Rover and whiskeycutter: In the process of planning a Sandhills traverse in 2010, which was unfortunately OBE (Overtaken By Events), I acquired a set of County road maps for Cherry County and a couple or three neighboring Sandhills counties. The source was the Nebraska Department of Roads in Lincoln and I recall arranging a telephone order which was promptly filled. I also telephoned the county Road Commissioner for Cherry County in Valentine, NE, with a few questions about full-scale public roads vs nonpublic "ranch roads" as related to the maps I'd ordered, received, and reviewed along with the DeLorme Nebraska Atlas & Gazetteer. I'm not where my notes are, but I recall some comments with complete clarity:
Road Commissioner: You're calling from North Carolina, and you want to drive where?
Road Commissioner: You won't come out here with some silly GPS gadget as your only map, will you?
Road Commissioner: You do know your cell phone is useless out here, don't you?
Road Commissioner: The Cherry County road maps I've seen from the Department of Roads are pretty good, but they show lots of public roads, private ranch roads, roads which don't exist, and they're missing roads which do exist. There is no clear distinction between between the maps' depiction of public and private roads once you get off of numbered state routes and some of the more prominent public county routes. Just plan bring some maps, a compass, and plan on spending some time scratching your head. There's a good chance you'll end up on somebody's private road at some point, but if the rancher encounters you, make sure you're behaving by not driving like a fool on these narrow sand roads with blind hills and curves everywhere, let him know you're interested in the area, and are hoping you're on either a public road or that you can obtain his permission to pass through if not. More often than not, the rancher will be tickled to see you and is likely to invite you over for lunch, dinner, or a cup of coffee.
I hate that my only exposure to the Sandhills back then was running NE-2 enroute from NC to Montana, as I'd hoped to stitch together a 2-3 day off-highway traverse on the return trip. Presently scheming for a return to MT in 2015, so can hopefully get the old Superduty out into the Sandhills then.
Foy
Rover and whiskeycutter: In the process of planning a Sandhills traverse in 2010, which was unfortunately OBE (Overtaken By Events), I acquired a set of County road maps for Cherry County and a couple or three neighboring Sandhills counties. The source was the Nebraska Department of Roads in Lincoln and I recall arranging a telephone order which was promptly filled. I also telephoned the county Road Commissioner for Cherry County in Valentine, NE, with a few questions about full-scale public roads vs nonpublic "ranch roads" as related to the maps I'd ordered, received, and reviewed along with the DeLorme Nebraska Atlas & Gazetteer. I'm not where my notes are, but I recall some comments with complete clarity:
Road Commissioner: You're calling from North Carolina, and you want to drive where?
Road Commissioner: You won't come out here with some silly GPS gadget as your only map, will you?
Road Commissioner: You do know your cell phone is useless out here, don't you?
Road Commissioner: The Cherry County road maps I've seen from the Department of Roads are pretty good, but they show lots of public roads, private ranch roads, roads which don't exist, and they're missing roads which do exist. There is no clear distinction between between the maps' depiction of public and private roads once you get off of numbered state routes and some of the more prominent public county routes. Just plan bring some maps, a compass, and plan on spending some time scratching your head. There's a good chance you'll end up on somebody's private road at some point, but if the rancher encounters you, make sure you're behaving by not driving like a fool on these narrow sand roads with blind hills and curves everywhere, let him know you're interested in the area, and are hoping you're on either a public road or that you can obtain his permission to pass through if not. More often than not, the rancher will be tickled to see you and is likely to invite you over for lunch, dinner, or a cup of coffee.
I hate that my only exposure to the Sandhills back then was running NE-2 enroute from NC to Montana, as I'd hoped to stitch together a 2-3 day off-highway traverse on the return trip. Presently scheming for a return to MT in 2015, so can hopefully get the old Superduty out into the Sandhills then.
Foy
roverrocks
Expedition Leader
You are most right Foy. I have hit a number of dead end or nonexsistant routes in my Sandshills travels over 2013 and 2014 but in a way that adds to the mystery and charm of the area in some peculiar way. I met and talked to several helpful ranchers or ranchers wives who were friendly and helpful. One truly is exploring for the most part as the maps often don't live in reality. That includes my 2014 wandering on Federal lands where I expected the maps to be truer to reality. NOT!!! The greatest thing to be aware of on the Federal Nebraska lands is that the windmills which are numerous are NUMBERED. That is the best way to navigate: keep track of where you are on the Federal lands by the windmill #'s which are well marked at each windmill. The trails both marked and unmarked may make no sense from map to actuality out on the ground but the windmills all seemed very accurate in map placement.
Always be prepared in the Sandhills to turn around due to map/real world road discrepancies. Use your trip odometer constantly so you know how far you have gone and write these mileges down on your maps and don't be afraid to mark up your maps to show the actual road realities.
Always be prepared in the Sandhills to turn around due to map/real world road discrepancies. Use your trip odometer constantly so you know how far you have gone and write these mileges down on your maps and don't be afraid to mark up your maps to show the actual road realities.
Preaching to the choir, Brother Rover
A thoroughly marked-up map is an asset to hold on to, and fine memento of a true exploration. I've got marked up topos from the Blue Ridge in NC and VA, the Cumberland Plateau of East TN and SE Kentucky, the Wind River Range in WY, Rocky Mountain NP from my honeymoon, and Southwest Montana from mapping school, all from back in the 1970s. Complete with odometer readings, "WTH?", "DE", "TAP", "NB", "WO" and similar notations (What the ?, Dead End, Turn Around Point, No Bridge, and Wash Out). I'd rather have them than all the GPX files on Earth.
That's some FINE intel on the numbered windmills. Try finding that stuff on a gadget.
Foy
A thoroughly marked-up map is an asset to hold on to, and fine memento of a true exploration. I've got marked up topos from the Blue Ridge in NC and VA, the Cumberland Plateau of East TN and SE Kentucky, the Wind River Range in WY, Rocky Mountain NP from my honeymoon, and Southwest Montana from mapping school, all from back in the 1970s. Complete with odometer readings, "WTH?", "DE", "TAP", "NB", "WO" and similar notations (What the ?, Dead End, Turn Around Point, No Bridge, and Wash Out). I'd rather have them than all the GPX files on Earth.
That's some FINE intel on the numbered windmills. Try finding that stuff on a gadget.
Foy
roverrocks
Expedition Leader
Got no grouse pictures. We only saw one lone sharptail grouse which we saw crossing a back road at the Crescent Lake National WL Refuge. I got out of my truck and flushed it out of the tall grass. Reminds me of hunting sharptails (really good eating) when I was younger. A lot of fun walking the choppy dunes or in stubble fields near the Sandhills and hunting them. Saw a fair number of pheasants in the Sandhills. Glad you've been to the Sandhills. A special region.
roverrocks
Expedition Leader
Lonely Sandhills Prairie Windmills
#1-The vast Sandhills say HOWDY.
#2-This mill had a large nesting box that contained a Great Horned Owl that burst out as we got to the mill. Startled the heck out of us.
#3-Another mill close by with another nesting box.
#4-The local watering hole/bar for courting bulls and cows. Too many noisy kids for a good water bar romance though.
#5-My mill, my valley!!
#6-This is my mill not yours! Begone, vamoose, bug off!!!!
#7 & #8-Ye old English vine covered windmill on the American Prairie.
#9-Filling up the water jug with cold pure well water on a hot day.
#1-The vast Sandhills say HOWDY.
#2-This mill had a large nesting box that contained a Great Horned Owl that burst out as we got to the mill. Startled the heck out of us.
#3-Another mill close by with another nesting box.
#4-The local watering hole/bar for courting bulls and cows. Too many noisy kids for a good water bar romance though.
#5-My mill, my valley!!
#6-This is my mill not yours! Begone, vamoose, bug off!!!!
#7 & #8-Ye old English vine covered windmill on the American Prairie.
#9-Filling up the water jug with cold pure well water on a hot day.
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