Sure maybe it was more of a 'day trip' than a 'road trip', but nonetheless it was still an excursion to a new place outside of where I'm currently living. I left late Sunday morning w/ a bag of almonds, bottles of water, & of course my camera gear. When I was leaving it was very overcast in Omaha, so I was hoping the clouds would have already passed around the Boyer Chute NWR or that it was a slightly downpouring.

The first trip I took out to the Oregon coast w/ my housemates had a rainy first day, but despite roaming around Fort Stevens drenched, I captured some great moments; thus the reasoning of why I wouldn't have minded a downpour during my Boyer Chute NWR expedition.

The week of my trip I had seen a couple photos from, local Omaha photographer, Calvin Smothers's Instagram feed. The photos were lovely engagement photos w/ a beach background, I was very intrigued since Nebraska doesn't have beaches. Talking w/ Calvin I come to find out they were taken at Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, which is one of the many parts along the Missouri River that was flooded the previous year. When I lived in Omaha during '08-'10 I had never heard much about the wildlife areas that are thirty minutes north. So needless to say I never saw the Refuge during it's peak.

When I first started going down the old country road to get to the wildlife refuge, I didn't notice much; it wasn't until I noticed the mounds of sand around stalks of corn in fields & a few abandoned/condemned houses. 

Despite that devastation the Big Muddy left in her path, there were a handful of people out walking the trails that were a little more assessable. No one (aside from me) seemed to interested in exploring off of the trail, around the new sandy landscape. Walking around those parts I felt as if I had just awoke stranded on a deserted island; sparse greens growing through the beige sand while trees haggard in piles along w/ a few scattered ones. While walking around I could only imagine the animals, birds, & insects that used to inhabit the refuge. My encounters were few & far between, mainly w/ a couple different types of birds. I also saw some butterflies & dragonflies around some sunflowers that were freshly sprouted.

During my four hours of wandering through this weird mix of what was & what is now some storm clouds decided to shop. Thankfully they passed, but in the twenty minutes they were around I was able to capture an interesting moodiness that I feel accents to the Boyer Chute's current state.

I plan on making another venture up to check out a few other areas in the wildlife refuge, De Soto Bend NWR & also a stop to the Fort Atkinson state park. I saw a few people traveling up via bicycle around that area, so that's also another possible trip. Maybe when it's not 100 degrees though.