Pawnee National Grasslands!

Pawnee National Grasslands!
May 28th- 29th, 2016

Pawnee National Grasslands!  First time camping in this area and we really didn't know what to expect.  We weren't in the mountains, but instead out on the open plains with groves of massive trees nestled around river beds.  The campground itself was mostly flooded due to the high river levels and we weren't certain that we would even be able to stay the night, but upon talking to the camp host, he opened up the group sites for multiple families.  We joined four other families.  One of the families had a four year old boy that Jadeyn got to romp and run around with!  Down by the flooded river, we started noticing that almost everyone around us was toting huge cameras with long lenses and big binoculars.  This area is well known for its bird watching and we sure were surrounded by birders.  But the birds were amazing and plentiful.  Just holding still and listening to their songs was so rewarding.  We hiked a bit around the campground trying to make it to some of the nature trails but we were cut off by so much water.  Not sure what kind of snake it was that we came across but it was big and had an orange stripe all down its back.

We took the 21 mile road tour around looking for birds and were not disappointed.  Since we didn't know all the names of them yet, we called the dark brown ones Tie-Fighters and the lighter colored one Millennium Falcons!  There were Meadowlarks proudly singing they amazing song about every 100 yards!  Their song can carry so far.  Grasshoppers were everywhere on the road and a few even joined us on in the Jeep when we rolled down the windows!  That caused a bit of excitement! 

The hike we chose to do was to the Pawnee Buttes. Hiking out in the middle of nowhere.  The trail wound around through grasslands and strange rock formations and gullies carved by water.  The end destination was two huge buttes that rose out of the flat lands.  We stumbled upon an unhappy rattle snake just off the trail too! Excellent places for raptors and falcons to nest in.  Along the trail, we noticed small furry looking worm like shapes on the ground.  We examined them and found out they were owl pellets from the burrowing owls in the area!  Little rodent bones and teeth in them!

 
 During the hike, the wind really started to pick up.  By the time we got back to camp, it was whipping around so strong, we knew that a campfire was going to be impossible.  Jadeyn was so disappointed. We played Kub by the river and came across a few more snakes.  Back in the tent out of the wind we read some Harry Potter.  We had heard the frogs chirping so loudly during the day and head from a troop of Boy Scouts that they come out of the water at night.  When it got dark, out they came!  We walked all down by the river and their chirping was so loud it almost hurt our ears.  Then we started seeing them!  They were so easy to catch and we all sorts of sizes!

 
Back at camp, Jadeyn was still disappointed about the fire, so, we made the best of it.  We grabbed the camp stove, and all the s'more stuff and set up inside the tent awning.  We roasted those little guys over the propane and they were delicious.  

The wind blew all night long really hard.  By morning, it was still blowing so we knew it wasn't going to get any better.  We stopped along the way at a shooting range to let Jadeyn try out Grandpa Johnson's .22.  Perfect shot! Packed up everything, made it halfway home and decided to stop for breakfast at Panera.  Yummy!