Box Butte

Another NEGPP stop on this vacation was at Box Butte SRA. This lake is behind a man made dam built off the beaten path in the panhandle of the state. We went with the intention to have a picnic and enjoy some quiet time, so we had a pretty good time, though the camera was nearly out of battery, so there weren't many pictures to share.

Merritt Reservoir

After visiting Smith Falls, we headed for Merritt Reservoir south of Valentine. Aunt Kylie, Mason, and Kinsley followed us to this stop as well. When we arrived, we spent a little time hunting for the marker. We finally found "the path" and ran out to get our rubbing.

Sometimes slow and steady wins the race, but Felicity and Kinsley were just enjoying a nice walk.

We found our marker!

Zellie was just enjoying the great outdoors.

Next, it was on to swimming. This was what all of the kids were looking forward to.

Smith Falls

After overnighting at Grandma and Grandpa’s, we got up and headed toward Valentine, NE. Aunt Kylie and her kids were looking for some entertainment, so we asked them if they would want to accompany us. Though we had to drive separately, we arrived at the park around the same time.
The girls really enjoyed the company of their cousins, Mason and Kinsley.

We crossed the bridge over the Niobrara River.

We stopped to look at the river.

We saw canoes and tubes floating downstream and made a mental note to take part in one of these activities sometime in the future.

We found our post without issue and Mason helped us to get the rubbing.

Then we continued up the path to the falls.

There are two smaller falls along the path. This was the middle of the three.


Soon we approached the big falls.

The girls wanted to get up close. So did Mason and Kinsley.













Aunt Kylie kindly offered to take a family picture before we left.


Zellie enjoyed seeing the falls as well.

She appreciates the beauty of nature.

Finally, we checked out the lowest of the falls.

Mason, Lissie, Clare, and Bernadette posed on the lowest falls.

Rhylander Park

We visited Rhylander Park in Plattsmouth on a sunny summer day as another stop on our Park Pursuit. It consisted of a neat playground, a beautiful garden, and a nice walking path around a kids soccer field.



Felicity was in rare form showing all of her attitude.


We spent a long time at the playground.


Papa told us all about how railroad tracks work.
































We had a picnic in the gazebo.


And got our rubbing.


We enjoyed the slides


and the swings



Even Zellie got a turn


They had a rock wall


Which we all had to climb





It was a fun stop to start off a weekend.

Chalco Hills

One Saturday in mid-July, Mama and Papa had worked very hard around the house all morning. Mowing, cleaning, weeding, and various other chores took them into the early afternoon hours, and the girls were feeling like some fun was needed. It was decided that we would make the drive over to Omaha to get another Park Pursuit stop in. Our destination was Chalco Hills. Chalco Hills features numerous play areas and a lake that can be used for fishing. We opted not to fish on this day, since evening was quickly approaching, but instead we headed for the play ground.




After a stopover there, we headed out to find out post. We started down the hiking/biking path, but Papa's GPS told us that this wasn't the way we needed to go.


Doubling back, we found a secret path that lead into the woods.


Along this path, near a bench, we found our mark.


The girls got their rubbing quickly, trying to avoid the ticks in the area.


After that, we headed back to the play area for one last go-round before we returned home. It was a somewhat quick trip, but it was still fun for all.