Nebraska: On the Niobrara River

We were so lucky!  Wednesday dawned clear and warmer.  The rest of the week before (and after) Wednesday were colder by at least ten degrees and more cloudy than not.

I have dreamed about canoeing on the Niobrara.  We had a great day on the water.

There are Mule Deer in the river in the last photo; blow it up for the full effect.

Current River

We are canoe enthusiasts and were sad to leave our familiar Adirondack lakes when we moved to Missouri.

We soon learned that Missouri has beautiful, clear swift rivers including three designated and protected riverways, the Current and Jacks Fork (Ozark National Scenic Riverways), and the Eleven Point (National Wild and Scenic River).

We made an exploratory trip to that southern region to test the distance, learn more about the area, and most important, to give Joli some river time.

This is a popular area, and we could see that there were hundreds of people in canoes on the rivers on a warm July Saturday.

We will go back with our canoes this fall when things are quieter. Meanwhile we will explore the Bourbeurse, Gasconade and Meramec closer to home in coming weekends. They will also surely be busy as the summer heat builds.

Here is Round Spring, at the head of a tributary of the Current River.

Our glasses fogged up when we got out of the car and stepped into the humid air of the river bottomland.