58 Nebraskaland • October 2025
THE LAST STOP
Everyone else had left the campfire,
leaving just Nic and me. The skies above
the Niobrara Valley Preserve had been
spectacular that evening, with a terrific
sunset followed by a Milky Way so bright
we could see it even while sitting near the
fire. The sun had set nearly three hours
earlier, though, and people had headed
to bed, tired from a day of exploring the
Sandhills and river.
As Nic and I watched the fire slowly die
down, a glow appeared behind the ridge
to the north of us. The light illuminated
a smattering of diffuse clouds moving
across the sky. Slowly, the distant glow
grew brighter and brighter until, finally, the
moon appeared just above the horizon. It
wasn't a full moon — maybe 2⁄₃ of one —
but its light was startlingly bright in the
otherwise dark sky.
We watched, mesmerized, as the moon
climbed higher. Gradually, its light dimmed
our view of the stars and Milky Way but
suffused the beautiful landscape around us
with eerily beautiful light. After a while,
we doused the fire and headed off to sleep,
grateful for an opportunity that too few
people in the world ever get.
A moonlit night around a campfi re at the Niobrara Valley Preserve. CHRIS HELZER
By Chris Helzer
AFTER THE MILKY WAY
