“OH MY!!!......Mother Nature how you never cease to amaze me and to take my breath away here in this beautiful area I am beyond blessed to call my home.”
Wow.....just wow!
North Central
Nebraska.
You are fabulous!
Wow.....Mother Nature YOU ARE amazing!
Oh. MY. WORD!!!!!......Mother Nature, how bout her? She is ever changing. Don't like the weather....wait 10 minutes. LOL! But seriously folks, how beautiful is my region of the state?? By golly, how I love where I live. I believe we have unique pristine areas of this beautiful state of Nebraska and I am lucky enough to live in one of them!
So earlier this week on Tuesday as I was on my commute I came over the big hill on Hwy 12 and noticed the Niobrara River channel looked different beyond the refuge turn. I noticed this because this is one of my favorite views on my drive to Valentine. I really do love my commute and think I have one of the best views on my drive. I figured by the way it looked there must be some ice down river and thought I would check it out on my way home later that day. Seen a post on FB by the area NPS office later that afternoon and had it confirmed! HOLY MOLY!! Ice galore!!! At Cornell Bridge!!!
I have been in this region for over 20 years and I have never NOT been able to see the top of Cornell Dam from the Cornell Bridge on the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge (FNNWR). So I definitely knew this was something I wanted to document for the historical factor. This might be a once in a generation thing to see. So sure enough I did get some pictures later that day and the two days that followed. Wow!!! Mother Nature never disappoints. Ice jammed and near the bottom of the bridge. Very cool!! A little bit weird too, most times when I was there it was dead still. No popping, cracking or hissing. No movement or shifting of any kind the multiple times I was there. I was a bit perplexed by this but got some great looks at a beautiful spot on the Niobrara River. When I visited with FNNWR staff on Wednesday morning they had indicated the river was open on Monday and had filled in very quickly. Tuesday morning was when I noticed the change and seen the ice up close later that afternoon. What a difference a day can make?
After day 2, I knew I wanted to include notes to indicate what pictures were taken on what day & the time as I shared the pictures of this event. I emailed 1011 News personality Taryn Vanderford on Wednesday night because I thought they may find this interesting. Pure Nebraska shared the photos on the Thursday morning broadcast and on their Facebook page.
A little note about this spot. Thousands of people float the Niobrara River every year in the Valentine area. A large number start their trip at the Cornell Bridge Launch site. If you have ever floated through the refuge then you most likely floated under this bridge at the beginning of your trip.
Here are a few of the pictures from this historic event. Plus a few summer pictures for you to compare so you can see just how much ice we are talking about. I also have three albums on my SCP Facebook page. One album for each day of the ice jam starting on January 16 and ending with January 18 when the channel started to break through. Please check them out for more photos of this event. Hope you enjoy!
PS....I'm writing this after a day of getting caught up in my home office and as we have a massive winter storm watch out for later this weekend. Be safe out there friends!
Have a great weekend.....Janette
