Last time, I shared with you my adventures at Sherman Reservoir, Buffalo Bill State Historical Park, and Merritt Reservoir. You may also remember that I discovered McKalvie National Forest and have vowed to return. 

So after the secret forest, we continued our journey another hour through the Sandhills, through Valentine for a quick lunch, and then to Smith Falls State Park. While there, we learned a lot of interesting things about the park. It boasts the tallest waterfall in Nebraska, at 63 feet high, is the newest state park at only about 30 years old, and is also the only state park in Nebraska leased from a private owner. It is a relatively small park compared to others in our state and has some camping available. It is accessible to everyone, with paved paths that take you right up to the falls and an easy hike of under a mile. The walk takes you over a bridge that crosses the Niobrara, a river we will cross paths with numerous times on the remainder of this journey. Once you reach the falls, the boardwalk takes you right up the base, with stairs that invite you down into the calm, clear waters at the bottom. Because it's November, we decided to return another day with the kids and let them experience that in warmer temperatures!

We took Highway 12 east to 183 and south to Keller Park State Recreation Area. Keller Park was a smaller area, but I was no less impressed by the nature surrounding me. We found ourselves out of the Sandhills and in hilly, lush, evergreen-covered terrain. Even the fall colors were desperately hanging on. Keller Park brought you into the Bone Creek River basin, giving you many camping opportunities. There were many primitive camping sites available, tucked into the huge burr oaks that grew there. There were also some electric sites available. Some short trails took you to one of five available fishing ponds. There was also deer hunting, as evidenced by the dead deer carcass hanging from a tree next to one of the sites. (That was a new experience for me!) This camping area felt remote and buried in the trees, which spoke to my soul more than the other places we had visited thus far. 

From there, it was a short 15-minute drive to Ainsworth, where we stayed at the Rodeway Inn, a simple but clean place that met our needs for the night. We had a quick dinner in town and then headed to the Silver Circle Bar for some pool and shuffleboard. Special shoutout to Marty, who made us feel welcome!

Stay tuned for the last leg of the trip!