On a sweltering summer day in Nebraska, we hiked at Scottsbluff National Monument all the way up to the top of Saddle Rock. Unfortunately, a natural roadblock forced a detour but that didn’t diminish our resolve. Just like the first pioneers, we approached the remarkable formation by crossing the rolling hills of a flower-filled prairie. Recent rainfall had transformed the vibrant grassland into a kaleidoscope of vivid color. The spacious summit was a unique habitat featuring steep ledges, ponderosa pine and dangerous rattlesnakes. Views were far-reaching as a wide vista included the Twin Cities and most of the North Platte Valley. I can only imagine what it must have been like to migrate across this vast landscape so many years ago. Things are different now but when you visit a place such as this, you still get a sense for what it was like when the West was wild.
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| Scottsbluff National Monument |
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| From the top of Saddle Rock |
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| The grassland was a kaleidoscope of color |
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| Steep ledges and rattlesnakes |
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| A wide vista featuring the twin cities |
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| I can only imagine what it must have been like |
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| A sense for when the West was wild |
