April 2021 • Nebraskaland 33
My fi rst vivid memory in our
state parks system was with my
grandparents who took me to Fort
Kearny State Recreation Area when I
visited them. I'd run my legs off around
the interior of the fort grounds, then
bobber fi sh for bluegill in the sandpit
lakes, and usually wrap up with a
snack and lemonade under the cool
shade of a stately cottonwood tree.
And I remember the fi rst time my
folks and I took a trip to the Black Hills
in South Dakota, spending an
afternoon at Fort Robinson State
Park along the way, where I hiked to
the base of the Red Cloud buttes. My
imagination soared with a golden
eagle fl oating eff ortlessly among what
looked like sandstone castles rising
from a prairie sea.
Later in college, I worked my way
through school as a trip leader for
the Outdoor Adventures Program at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
where each fall we led canoe trips
down the Niobrara River and pitched
our tents in a magical place that soon
would become Smith Falls State Park.
After college, my wife, Patty, and I
spent part of our honeymoon camped
at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation
Area deep in the heart of the Sandhills
under the brightest blanket of stars
we had ever seen. And years later, as
a dad, my two buddies and I would
always have our end-of-summer
excursion to camp with our passel of
young children along the banks of
the Platte River at Louisville State
Recreation Area.
Over these last few decades I've
pedaled and paddled, wandered and
wondered, and learned so much being
in these parklands across the state.
And while my work as a photographer
has broadened geographically and
has taken me on many adventures far
from my home state, my anchor has
always been in Nebraska, and I am
Time-lapse photos of the Platte River from Eugene T. Mahoney State Park's tower,
showing three seasons: summer, fall and winter
