NE Day 42, Tuesday July 19, 2022 At Gretna NE

 NE Day 42, Tuesday July 19, 2022  At Gretna NE 

As I mentioned yesterday , there are two National Wildlife Refuges near Omaha, both on the Missouri River. The first one that we visited , today, was called De Soto NWR. The name comes from the nearby town on the bend of the river (at that time) De Soto.

Baby Kingbird waiting for Mom and some food.

Missouri River looking across -(flow  R to L)

Missouri River looking downstream. (Near Lewis and Clark camping site.)

 

The Missouri River has had in it's history, many bends which have turned into many "ox bows". The Ox Bows determined properties over the centuries. One of these Oxbows is a feature in the NWR here at DeSoto. In the 1860's, right after the Civil War,  a ship named the "Bertrand" was loaded in St Louis and headed up the Missouri River toward Fort Benton, Montana. It was taking supplies mainly to the mining camps on the upper Missouri. At one point  (in the NWR now)it hit a large overturned tree in the river, and in one hour was sunk in the soft sand of the river. Everyone was saved but  all goods were lost.

Location of one stop.

The notes tell much about their stays here.

Short version of the Bertrand story.

 

Fast forward some some 120 years.  (1968) A young 'salvor' got permission to resurrect the ship's  cargo  of which there was 120 tons of it still intact. The sand had protected the cargo including dresses, shoes, miner's pick and shovels, some glassware,and personal belongings  among the salvage. Today that "loot" is in a museum in the basement of the Visitor's Center at DeSoto NWR . It is an amazing display.  The Oxbow today is completely cut off from the River which is still flowing nearby. The Refuge makes up most of the Oxbow.

The flip side of "IOWA"

The flip side of"Nebraska"

One of the Refuge Roads.Yes we crossed the state lines 4 times.

 

Ruth and I took the auto tour of the  refuge, and being in the middle of summer, the number of birds seen was fewer than the last time we were here in the spring. The main difference being  that the female were with their young and we did get to see both the Red Headed Woodpecker and the Eastern Kingbird feeding their young.  It is  13 miles around the auto tour and the water levels, as in much of the west, were down considerably. We stopped from time to time to listen to the songs to get our listening skills up a notch. We certainly now know the difference between the Dickcissel and the Yellow Warbler by song. Another bird that was common today was the Orchard Oriole. Its dark black colors and orange wing marking stood out consistently.

We saw no Eagles, and only the Turkey Vulture from the bird of prey and large bird

A baby Kingbird being fed by Mom.

A Red Headed Woodpecker feeding its young.

a Willow Flycatcher

 

We ate lunch while Ruth attempted to get some photos of a nesting Red headed Woodpecker and ts young.  She did!

It was a thrill to step on the ground that Lewis and Clark camped  at one point along the Missouri River. They had made 4 stops here along this point while trading with the 'Otoes' band of Indians (Sioux and Ho Chunk)). See photos for some of Clark's notes along this bank of  the Missouri.

The trip to the Refuge was a 40 minute one and rather ironic to take the freeway to get there. Considering Lewis and Clark rowed their  'pirogue' that moved at zero miles per hour. It was a cultural contrast for us to be in that historical, isolated area and then on the freeway on the way back to the trailer.

It was a good, hot, (93F) day and we ended it with Ruth's marinated Pork Loin chops on the grill with a side of potato salad, and that marmalade sauce.

Tomorrow we take  a look at the other NWR called 'Boyer Chute'. It got its name  from... Let's wait til tomorrow to answer that one.