When you don’t own a drone, you take pictures like this:
the old fashioned way — you earn it.
After 100+ hard-won steps, I reached the tippity top of the lookout tower
at Platte River State Park, near Louisville, in eastern Nebraska.
The first tall tower of the day belonged to Mahoney State Park,
just west of the above, and only 30 miles from home.
We “children of the corn” live a ways away from the river,
as do the cows, pigs, and soybeans you can’t see from up here.
Slow and shallow runs this river through the heart of the country.
Nebraska rates 2nd in cattle population, but 37th in peoples.
Per land area, we rank 15th, and 3rd for growing corn.
But when it comes to college football…well?
We are mostly famous for that.
When you bleed HUSKER red,
you’re always on top of your game.
Photographs by Uncle Tree
GO BIG RED!!!
( #1 )
♥
Uncle Tree's House 
You sure do – I’m ashamed to admit that I’m afraid of heights…
This as high as I get in the flat lands, Maureen, and there’s a 5-foot fence around the top, so one can’t just fall off. 🙂 I liked that!
Those are beautiful pictures. My family drove through Nebraska to Colorado Springs to see where our dad grew up. Stayed overnight in Cozad, NE. Ever hear of it? Looked nothing like your photos.
Glad you liked these, ekurie! 🙂 Thank you very much!
Nebraska gets weird out west after passing Cozad, no doubt.
Hard to believe you’re even in the same state. But driving into Colorado is like a dream. Only been there twice…a long time ago.
I love Nebraska’s great river, Uncle Tom, even though I have only visited its western portion. My husband and I wanted to see the confluence of the South and North Platte Rivers, but were very disappointed that there was no public park, or even public access in North Platte. I thought about starting a petitions to create Confluence Park. 🙂
Beautiful view of that countryside from your high perch Uncle Tree.
We have visited Nebraska’s River, Uncle Tree. In North Platte, we were disappointed not to be able to access the point where the South and North Platte merge. I was thinking about petitioning Nebraska to open a Confluence Park at that location. What do you think?
respect Uncle Tree! Great you climbed up like that. My brother is a forester and I remember climbing fire towers with him in KwaZuou-Natal RSA, to look at views and the whole thing would sway!
Beautiful pictures, love the view!😊
Fabulous photos you live in a very beautiful area. Blessed
Great idea! 🙂 Thank you for chiming in!
Thank you kindly, Linda! 🙂 Glad you like these tree shots.
I think it’s a fabulous idea, Tanja. 🙂 Nebraska has a lot of state parks, but they are mostly concentrated in the eastern to northern parts of the state.
Hope you get a chance to come again. Thank you!
Congratulations. Your photos look fab, worth every step you took. You make it a point to add a dash of red in your photos. Charming.
Awesome view!
Loved your river photographs and poetic comments. Awesome. Made me homesick for an area I’ve never known. My people came from farmlands around Syracuse, Kansas near the Arkansas River.
We just spent time in your home state again in May, and my next several posts will touch on some of our experiences. I also hope to return for the cranes in the spring!
Thank you, Jan! 🙂 Good to know you know how it feels AND looks. Thankfully, it wasn’t windy that afternoon. Being able to stand still is certainly helpful for taking pictures of the larger view.
The tower stands on the highest point in the park, so it doesn’t have to be super-tall to do the job. It’s maybe 6 stories high, but if it were 10 stories , I’d still do it! We’ll have to stay in one of their cabins overnight sometime, so I can sneak up there before, or after hours (if necessary 😉 ) to get some sunrise and sunset shots.
Thank you, much, John! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed these.
Thank you bunches, puzzles! 🙂 Wide-open spaces have their places, true, but I can’t help but love living the Arbor State. Nebraska started the tradition for planting trees annually, and we continue to celebrate Arbor Day on the last Friday in April, year after twiggy year.
What a nice compliment! 🙂 Thank you truly, angelbeam!
Most of my backgrounds revolve around Mother Nature’s greens and Father Sky’s blues. I love the brightest colors thereon. Red and yellow in all their shades and combinations fill out my colorful palette quite nicely, methinks.
Glad you liked. ❤ Much appreciated.
Thank you, Lloyd! 🙂 It was my funnest day of paid vacation last week.
Thank you very much, Barbara! 🙂 Glad you found my pedantry poetic. LoL I was trying to be informative, but I’ll always enjoy quaintly sounding off my vocabulary.
I was born and raised in Sedalia, Missouri. One of my great-grandmothers was from Sabetha, Kansas. another set of great grandparents were from Weeping Water, Nebraska. I like how folks living in Kansas say, “Our Kansas”, instead of “Are-kunz-saw”, like the rest of us.
Cool! Great to hear that, neighbor! 😉 I look forward to seeing your posts.
I’ve got the feeling — I’ll be seeing those Cranes every year, long as I live. It is just so unbelievably awesome!
Speaking of Mother Earth’s greens and blue skies, perhaps you will enjoy this latest one of mine.
LOOK UP
© 2018 Barbara Grace Lake
So beautifully this day bestows
Shape-changing clouds upon a base
Of brilliant turquoise tinted sky
Repeated in compressed blue ice
Of ancient glaciers endless flow
Horizons edge begins and ends
Where blue-green sea meets aqua loft
No separation line is seen
Far distant color thins to air
To merge into a spatial void
Pristine the night, both clear and cold
A meteor from distant space
Streaks etching fire across the vault
Whose roof of iridescent stars
Are beacons, bright and beckoning
From garden’s bower in leafy shade
My dogwood’s tallest branches sway
Its shadows cast upon broad sweep
As home to mockingbirds their songs
Awaken every living being
Warm summer evenings into dark
Plum mountain peaks impale the night.
As sun resigns, its last full rays
Bring alpine glows magenta, red
Majestic gifts for looking up
I did like them very much Uncle Tree.
I am envious!
A lovely tradition something to truly celebrate.
Now, that is poetry! 🙂 Exceptional piece, Barbara.
Here I am drinking coffee, looking outside as the sun rises —
a rare summer fog blanketing the golf course in dew —
hoping this day is full of sweet surprises —
then finding my head is in the clouds, thanks to you —
your marvelous descriptions of our dream world
highlighting the precious gifts of sight and sound and life.
Thank you so much for sharing! ❤ A beautiful way to start my day.
Wish I had more to show for all my time off, Linda.
I will return to Platte River State Park for an overnight stay one of these days.
You can rent a tipi (teepee) for $20, or a cabin for $60 to $100, and they just built 3 “glamping” cabins that’ll cost $165. Boy howdy! Are they fancy?!!! Yes.
Reservations can be made a year in advance. I did check them out. They’re all booked every weekend until November. Bummer!
http://outdoornebraska.gov/platteriver/
Beautiful part of creation…keep flying that drone!
Thank you kindly, George! 🙂 The drones can fly themselves.
I’ll keep walking the walk, and talking the talk, faithfully.
And time off goes by so fast doesn’t it? You think you have all these days and they are gone before you know it.
I have read or heard about the “glamping” cabins but never seen them. That’s really something … out in the wilderness and living like at a Hilton. But I’ll bet those pricey rooms are the first ones booked. The scenery there looks very beautiful, especially the rocks and waterfalls. So much to see and so little time Uncle Tree.
True that!