Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park
Official Ashfall Fossil Bed Website
On June 22, 2003 we woke to thunderstorms at Blue Mounds. The rain wouldn't quit so we decided to hit the road and check out the Ashfall near Royal, NE.
On the way, we drove through Mitchell, SD and Niobrara, NE. We were amazed how beautiful the Missouri river was near Niobrara. Not at all what we're used to expecting from the Missouri around home.
At Ashfall we learned about the super volcano that erupted in southern Idaho 12 million years ago and spread ash across the midwest. The hotspot that caused that eruption is now underneath Yellowstone. Can't wait until it erupts again!! Ash from Idaho accumulated up to twelve inches across northern Nebraska. The wildlife soon succumbed to the ill effects of breathing in all that ash. When they died many of their remains were preserved in deep pockets of ash. This was all quite fascinating.
After viewing the dig site we checked in at the
visitor center and went hiking on their nature trail. The ranger seemed
surprised that we were going hiking. Apparently the trail doesn't see a whole
lot of use. She warned us that the ticks might be rather thick. I guess that's
enough to scare most people away--but not us!
The wild flowers were blooming like crazy! The hike
was awesome, and there were plenty of ticks to go around. (Later found some
crawling around in rather private places.) We learned about a
new flower (new to us, that is), the Hairy Vetch. This plant thrived along the
trail. It was everywhere.
This is definitely a cool place worth checking out if you haven't been there.
