62 NEBRASKAland • NOVEMBER 2015
M
adeline told me earlier today that her favorite season was fall," my wife Laura said
during a recent car ride.
"Mine too," I replied, thinking of sitting in the deer stand.
"She said it's because she gets to go to Ponca."
Ponca. Ponca. Ponca. It's all I've been questi oned about for the last few weeks from
friends who make our annual post-Halloween pilgrimage to the northeast to visit our favorite
Nebraska state park. When are we going? Who's going? How many are going? And now my
6-year-old was starting.
"She said she loves when we have our pumpkin-carving contest," Laura added, "and you know
Eli wants to go back to the playground."
And Matt, Kevin, and Jeff's respective families want to fish at the trout lake, while Betsy and
Terry want to do nothing more than sit in the cabin and enjoy the comings and goings of all who
have ventured with us.
I guess when I say that Ponca is a park for everyone, I have no better proof
than looking at my own family and remembering the checklist of activities
that we just have to accomplish each time we visit.
And I wouldn't change a thing.
Jeff Kurrus
September 19, 2015
Ponca on My Mind
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