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The Corps of Discovery camped very near here on August 22, 1804, just as their trip began in earnest. I can imagine their overnight was a bit somber, for they had in fact buried Sgt. Charles Floyd only a couple days earlier. As you probably know, Floyd was amazingly the only American casualty on the entire two year foray, having probably succumbed to appendicitis. Given the state of medicine in those days, he would have died of it no matter where he was at the time.
Today, Ponca is a Nebraska State Park only a couple miles from the town of the same name. We visited here in June of 1998, as part of our first exploration into that state as a team. The weather was wonderful and the sights breathtaking.
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The picture above shows how the Missouri appears from one of the overlooks. (Remember, you can click the thumbnail image to enlarge it to full size.) The concrete pylon in the middle of the river marks the Nebraska/South Dakota boundary. A little further down the line is a superior observation deck decorated with beautiful Lewis & Clark interpretive placards. And at water level, there's a boat launch ramp; we walked down here in the afternoon just to enjoy watching the waves.
Memories of Ponca
I have lots of good memories of Ponca State Park, including:
- seeing my first Hackberry butterfly
- just in general observing more species of butterflies than I've ever seen at one time
- the coyotes singing at night, very close by
- an afternoon rain shower shortly after we ate a homecooked oriental lunch at camp
By the way, the camping was excellent. We found a nicely secluded and shaded site. (Apart from the river, one of the things you'll remember about a trip here is the large quantity of trees). It was a very peaceful night, too, since no other neighbors ever showed up. All in all, we had a wonderfully relaxing stay here and expect to return for more explorations another time. What's tugging at us to return is the horseback riding along the bluffs; trail rides are available during most of the summer and at a very reasonable cost. And then there are the 17 miles of hiking trails...I think we'll have to spend a week here to do Ponca justice.
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